Nonprofit Speech Rights

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Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

  UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Groups Willing to Dress Up to Get Issues Addressed

Jan 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

With every group and issue area competing for the attention of the Presidential candidates, the Wall Street Journal reports on a popular method for many nonprofits during the primary season, the use of gimmicks. For example, members of the League of Conservation Voters dressed up as Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman as part of an effort by to bring attention to global warming. And less dramatically, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored the "Ed in '08" campaign to make education the top issue in the election.

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IRS Needs to Increase Outreach to Smaller Nonprofits

Jan 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Nina E. Olson, the taxpayer advocate, released the annual report to Congress, which addressed a need for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to help small nonprofit groups understand its rules. "Smaller EOs frequently lack professional tax guidance. The IRS has increased enforcement actions against EOs [tax-exempt organizations] and the resources dedicated thereto. However, resources devoted to EO education and outreach, which were never adequate, have continued to decline."

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Watchdog Group Asks IRS To Investigate Texas Group On Charges Of Election Intervention

Jan 14, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Texas Freedom Network — a liberal government watchdog group promotes religious freedom — has asked the IRS to investigate the role a nonprofit played in supporting efforts to politically mobilize members of conservative Christian churches in Texas. In their press release, the Texas Freedom Network urges the IRS to examine the financial support the Niemoller Foundation — a 501(c)(3) organization — provided to the Texas Restoration Project.

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Report Marks 5-Year Anniversary of HAVA

Jan 10, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A new report by electiononline.org — a project of Pew's Center on the States — reflects on the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) five years ago, examining what these crucial early years of development might mean for elections in HAVA's next five years and beyond. The report — The Help America Vote Act at 5 -- argues that "HAVA represented a dramatic shift in the relationship between the federal government and its state and local counterparts in the area of election reform —

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Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In Critical Case on Voter ID

Jan 9, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Today the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the much anticipated voter ID law case — Crawford v. Marion County Election Board . The Supreme Court Justices must determine whether to uphold an April 2006 decision , written by Judge Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, which supported Indiana's requirement that voters present valid photo identification before being allowed to vote. The New York Times is reporting that the justices "appeared reluctant" to strike down the law.

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Article urges bright-line rule on partisan intervention in elections by 501(c)(3)s

Jan 8, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

In an article in the current edition of the University of North Carolina School of Law's First Amendment Law Review , OMB Watch's Nonprofit Advocacy Director Kay Guinane argues that IRS rules regulating political activities of 501(c)(3) organizations should be changed to ensure the First Amendment protections of charities. Guinane's piece was published as part of the First Amendment Law Review's 2007 Symposium: No Strings Attached? — The First Amendment and Tax-Exempt Organizations.

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IRS Issues Final Version of New Form 990

On Dec. 20, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the final version of its updated Form 990, the informational return for public charities and other tax-exempt organizations. The new form marked the first revision since 1979 and will be used for the 2008 tax year (returns filed in 2009). The IRS expects to release draft instructions for the 2008 Form 990 later in January. Although the new Form 990 incorporated many suggestions made in public comments on the draft version, the IRS did not make key changes to clarify and simplify reporting of advocacy-related activities.

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Pastors in Iowa Supporting Huckabee Received Anonymous Warning Letters

Jan 7, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Washington Post reported last week that several Iowa pastors supporting Republican Presidential nominee Mike Huckabee received anonymous letters cautioning that support of Huckabee could jeopardize their tax-exempt status. According to IRS regulations, charities, educational institutions and religious organizations are prohibited from participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.

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In Defense of Free Speech Rights and Fair Elections

Jan 3, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

An editorial in today's LA Times responds to the worries that outside groups will have dangerous influences on the election, taking on the concept that, "a 'fair' election . . . means ones in which voters are shielded from the propaganda of special interest groups." Importantly, it is noted that the support of wealthy individuals, or newspaper editorial boards, is just as prevalent as any outside group.

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What Will Become of the FEC?

Jan 3, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has begun 2008 with only two sitting commissioners, Republican David Mason and Democrat Ellen Weintraubunder both serving expired terms themselves. A stalled Senate confirmation of commissioners was caused by the controversial Republican Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky who many opposed because of his work in the Justice Department's civil rights division where he supported efforts to require that voters present a photo ID. Bob Bauer at moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com has a few opinions on the state of the FEC, here and here.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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