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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FEC to Meet Nov. 20 to Possibly Approve Electioneering Communications Rule

Nov 14, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has scheduled a special meeting Nov. 20 to approve a new rule on electioneering communications in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life Inc. (WRTL). BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that the rule "is expected to set critical ground rules for political ads in the 2008 campaign season and beyond.

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Council of Europe Disapproves of Terrorism Blacklist Standards

Nov 14, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Washington Post has addressed a Council of Europe report, Europe's leading human rights watchdog organization, approved by their Legal Affairs Committee criticizing the way the United Nations and the European Union blacklist terrorist suspects. The report states that the method used to sanction individuals and organizations does not include any "procedures for an independent review of decisions taken, and for compensation for infringements of rights.

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"Diverse Nonprofit Groups Condemn Ensign Amendment Obstructing Passage of Senate Electronic Disclosure Bill"

Nov 13, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Campaign Finance Institute has issued a press release announcing an effort led by OMB Watch which culminated in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging them to drop the Ensign Amendment to S. 223, the Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. The unrelated amendment would require charities, religious organizations, and civic nonprofit organizations to disclose all of their donors who contributed $5,000 or more when they file an ethics complaint against any Senator. This is clearly meant to defeat a bill that has no public objection.

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Nonprofits, Elections, and an Issue Advocacy Campaign

Nov 13, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The LA Times reports on an option for political campaign donors that is expected to become more popular as time closes in on the presidential election, donating to a nonprofit. "It is the 501(c)(4), named for the tax code that defines it, that seems to have struck a chord with people looking for new ways to organize their independent fundraising."

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Another Bump In the Road to Implement new Ethics Law

Nov 9, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that after a decline in privately sponsored travel by members of Congress, sponsors have now increased their spending, paying to send lawmakers to conferences and on fact-finding trips. The article examines how the new rules have affected some of the biggest private sponsors of congressional travel, including the nonprofit Aspen Institute and the American Israel Education Foundation (AEIF). As it turns out, both suggest that the new rules have increased attendance at their events.

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GovernmentDocs.org

Nov 8, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

A coalition of organizations, including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the Sunlight Foundation, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Public Citizen, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have launched GovernmentDocs.org. It is an online document database that will make results of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests easily searchable, browsed and reviewed. Registered users will be able to review and comment on documents. Check out the site here.

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Grassley Wants To Investigate Ministries Spending

Nov 7, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six evangelistic ministries to determine whether they have illegally used donations to finance lavish lifestyles. Senator Grassley sent letters to each of the ministries requesting documents to answer questions regarding expenses, executive compensation, housing allowances, checking and savings accounts, cars, airplanes and overseas trips. They have until Dec. 6 to respond.

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Trade Associations Protest Stealth Lobbying Disclosure Provision in New Ethics Law

Nov 7, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

An article in Roll Call ($$) addresses another element of carrying out the ethics and lobbying bill that was signed into law in September, the stealth lobbying coalition disclosure provision. Coalitions will have to disclose any organization that contributes at least $5,000 per quarter and actively participates in the lobbying campaign. Trade associations are not exempt from the rule, which means they could be forced to disclose their members. As a result, many trade associations are threatening to sue, arguing that forcing groups to name their members could violate First Amendment rights.

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FEC Expanding to Regulate Issue Advocacy: New Article in Tax Analysts

Nov 6, 2007 by Kay Guinane

Attorney Ezra Reese of Perkins Coie has done us all a favor by calling attention to little-known enforcement actions at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over the past year that expand its authority beyond federal campaigns and election activity. Reese's article, The Other Agency: The Impact of Recent Fedral Law Enforcement on Nonprofit Political Activity appears in the November 2007 issue of Tax Analysts. It has a good summary of both Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and FEC rules and enforcement trends over the past few years. The conclusions are ominous. Reese says,

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Lobbying and Ethics Reforms Being Implemented

President Bush signed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), S.1, on Sept. 14; revised House ethics rules took effect in March. The focus of these reforms has now shifted to implementation of the changes. Congressional officials have started developing the new forms and guidance that will be used by lobbyists to comply with the law. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has proposed new regulations to implement campaign contribution bundling disclosure requirements. From lobbyists to lawyers, nonprofits, and members of Congress themselves, all parties in Washington have begun preparing for these and other adjustments to their current practices.

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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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