Nonprofit Speech Rights

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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Yes, Nonprofits Should Lobby

Jun 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The current issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy ($$) has an opinion piece titled " How to Guarantee Respect for Public-Interest Lobbyists." It addresses some of the negative consequences of the growing disdain towards lobbyists that has led to the presidential candidates' public purge of any such connections. In response, "to restore public faith in democracy, nonprofit groups need to do even more lobbying and advocacy.

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Grassroots Lobbying Campaign on Climate Bill Runs into FEC Rules

Two recent grassroots media campaigns promoting action on climate change learned that campaign finance rules can be a trap for unwary advocates, illustrating how federal election law has reached beyond partisan campaigning to treat traditional grassroots issue advocacy like electioneering. Both ads appeared to comply with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) prohibition on intervention in elections.

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Nonprofit Input Sought on the Future of Communicating with Congress

The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), a nonprofit, non-partisan organization working to improve communications between citizens and members of Congress, recently released two important documents that could have significant implications for Congress and the public. One report, Communicating with Congress: How the Internet Has Changed Citizen Engagement, reveals that the Internet has revitalized citizen communication with Congress. A draft report, Communicating with Congress: Recommendations for Improving the Democratic Dialogue, seeks public comment on a new model for constituent communications and makes specific recommendations for congressional offices, citizens, and advocacy groups.

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Pastor Invites IRS Scrutiny with Opposition to Candidates

The Rev. Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church in Minnesota, a delegate to this year's Republican National Convention, gave a sermon in May urging the opposition of Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. About two weeks after the sermon, Booth sent an e-mail message to Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), noting that he had used his pulpit for partisan purposes and attaching a copy of a newspaper article describing the sermon. As a result, on June 11, AU asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate the church for possible illegal campaign intervention in violation of its tax-exempt status.

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September Argument Set In NAM Appeal

Jun 20, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) challenge to a new member disclosure law was dismissed on April 11, followed by both the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to grant a stay pending appeal. Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has scheduled an oral argument for Sept. 12 with a decision expected weeks or months after the argument date.

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The Internet and Political Engagement

Jun 18, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Pew Internet and American Life Project has recently released a new report titled "Internet and the 2008 Election". The survey found that 46 percent of all Americans have used the internet, e-mail or cell-phone text messaging to participate in the political process. In addition, 35 percent of Americans have watched online videos related to the campaign, and 10 percent have used social networking sites to engage in political activity. Voters are increasingly making campaign contributions online, and more are using the Internet to get unfiltered information.

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FEC To Do List

Jun 18, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Senate is likely to quickly confirm five Federal Election Commission (FEC) nominees. CQ Politics discusses the list of issues that await a FEC with a complete quorum. These include writing regulations to implement new bundling rules in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, rewriting rules regarding "advertisements run in tandem by presidential candidates and the national parties. . .

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VA's Ban on Voter Registration Drives Questioned in Court

Jun 13, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

According to an Alternet article, an attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), "told a federal appeals court Thursday that the VA could not conceive of any circumstance where voter registration drives could occur at its facilities." For the most part the atrocious decision to ban registration drives at VA facilities has largely been absent from major newspapers, but the New York Times has now covered the recent federal appeals court hearing.

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Final FEC Nomination

Jun 13, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The White House formally nominated Matthew S. Petersen for the Federal Election Commission (FEC), completing a panel of members for Senate consideration. President Bush announced his plans to nominate Petersen last month to replace controversial FEC nominee Hans von Spakovsky. Howard Gantman, an aide to Senate Rules Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told BNA Money and Politics ($$) that the Petersen's nomination could be advanced to the Senate floor for a vote within days.

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ABA Tax Section Offers Recommendations for IRS Guidance Priority List

Jun 13, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The American Bar Association Section of Taxation recommended guidance to be included in the 2008-2009 Treasury Department Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance priority list. The section asked for guidance in a range of practice areas including exempt organizations.

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