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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more news

Guidance Expected on Political Activity For 501(c)(3) Organizations

May 2, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

According to BNA Money and Politics ($$) the Exempt Organizations Division in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will issue precedential guidance on what constitutes political activity based on the IRS fact sheet published in February 2006, but will hopefully provide more precise information for tax exempt organizations going into the 2008 election season. The guidance on political activity for 501(c)(3) organizations was a part of the IRS's first update of its 2006-2007 priority guidance plan.

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White House Opposes Head Start Reauthorization Bill

May 1, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

According to CQ, ($$) the White House expressed strong opposition to the Head Start reauthorization bill (HR 1429) that the House is expected to vote on today. The administration issued a statement that urges Congress to preserve Head Start's National Reporting System and to amend the bill to give hiring exemptions to faith-based groups. "The Administration strongly encourages the House to amend H.R.

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Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Grassroots Lobbying Case

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 25 in Wisconsin Right to Life's (WRTL) challenge to the constitutionality of a campaign finance law that limits certain broadcasts, including grassroots lobbying messages, during federal campaigns. The issue before the Court is whether the law is unconstitutional as applied to the facts of WRTL's 2004 grassroots lobbying radio ads. Much of the argument addressed what standard should be used to define "genuine issue ads" entitled to constitutional protection.

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Possible Technical Changes to PPA Exempt Organization Provisions

Apr 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Georgetown University Law Center held a conference titled, "Representing and Managing Tax-Exempt Organizations 2007." BNA Money and Politics ($$) reported on much of its content, including news that Congress may be making technical corrections to some of the provisions of the Pension Protection Act (PPA). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also issued a new question-and-answer document to help exempt organizations file their 2006 Form 990s.

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Campaign Disclosure Parity Act Stalled Again

Apr 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Yesterday once again efforts were blocked to take up the Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S.223) by unanimous consent. Watch it happen here. The Sunlight Foundation is still leading an effort to try and uncover why this no nonsense, good government bill, is being blocked. Read the story in the Washington Post.

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Bills to Restrict Political Robocalls Popping Up in States

Apr 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

This article from the New York Times highlights an upcoming vote in the Nebraska state legislature to regulate robocalls. The pending bill in Nebraska would limit the number of automated political calls any household could receive in one day to two, restrict calling to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., who is responsible for the call would have to be disclosed at the beginning, and indicate whether a candidate approved the message.

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Tell Your Representative To Oppose Motion to Recommit; Support Head Start Reauthorization As Approved By Committee!

Apr 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Next week, possibly Wednesday, the House will consider H.R.1429, to reauthorize for the first time in a decade, the childhood development program Head Start. However,

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Good Day for 501(c)(3)s in the Supreme Court

Apr 26, 2007 by Kay Guinane

Yesterday's oral argument before the Supreme Court in Wisconsin Right to Life, suggests that the grassroots lobbying rights of 501(c)(3) organizations may get greater protection in the court's upcoming decision. In the oral arguments the attorney for the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Paul Clement, admitted that 501(c)(3) organizations would have an "inspirational" challenge to the electioneering communications rule because we cannot establish political action committees (PAC).

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Wisconsin Right to Life Arguments

Apr 25, 2007 by Kay Guinane

This morning the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Wisconsin Right to Life case, and this morning's news had an abundant number of stories for those who needed to catch up on the intricacies of the case. (A few include; The Appleton Post-Crescent, The New York Sun, Portland Herald) There is good reason why the case is in the limelight, as many say it is one of the most important campaign finance cases in years.

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House Lobby Reform by Memorial Day?

Apr 24, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

CQ ($$) reports that with any luck, the House lobbying reform bill will be complete by the end of May. "Democrats hope a leadership-endorsed bill will be introduced by the end of this week, but even the chairmen involved in drafting it say they don't yet have a clear idea of what will be in the measure or when it will pass." The article describes the areas of contention that have slowed down drafting the measure, including grassroots lobbying disclosure.

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