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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Homeless Encounter Hurdles When Registering to Vote

Aug 8, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

Homeless citizens encounter hurdles that can make registering to vote a difficult process. They often have problems establishing residency. Adding to these obstacles are new voter identification requirements that are gaining ground across the country. It is often difficult for homeless citizens to maintain identification because they are transient, their belongings are sometimes destroyed, and they are sometimes subjected to police sweeps. Thus, many homeless citizens do not have birth certificates or identification cards.

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No Appeal to FEC Coordination Rules Decision

Aug 8, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

In June a federal appeals court struck down Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules dealing with coordination rules between candidates and outside groups. Reportedly, the FEC has not appealed the court decision ordering a rewrite of the rules. According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), "FEC Chairman Donald McGahn indicated at a commission meeting July 28 that the FEC could consider issuing advisory rulings on pressing issues in the run-up to the November election, including questions about permissible pre-election activity that may have been raised by the Shays III ruling.

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NAACP Legal Defense Fund Unveils New Program to Protect Voter Rights

Aug 7, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) issued a press release today unveiling a new program called "Prepared to Vote," which is designed to protect voter rights. "Prepared to Vote is a program designed to raise every voter's awareness of the many obstacles in the electoral process that could affect their right to vote in the 2008 election. Through Prepared to Vote we hope to ensure that every eligible voter casts a vote that counts," said John Payton, LDF President and Director-Counsel.

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Interesting Case on Whether A Church Violated Campaign Finance Law

Aug 7, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church v. Unswort, a challenge to Montana's election campaign reporting laws. The Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church held an event in May 2004, and during which the Rev. B.G. Stumberg urged parishioners to sign petitions at the church in support of a constitutional ban on gay marriages. Advocates filed a complaint arguing that the church inappropriately held an event to support a political cause subject to the state's political contribution reporting requirements.

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New Disclosure Reports Provides Some Insight

Aug 6, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires lobbyists and all lobbying organizations to file forms to the Senate and House by July 30 and Jan. 30 reporting contributions to political action committees, federal campaigns, and expenditures for events that honor officials covered by the law. A Wall Street Journal article describes some new understanding into lobbyists' contributions and other activity because of the new lobbying disclosure report, LD-203.

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Pass S.223!

Aug 5, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A new web site has been set up, Pass223.com, to gain support for the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S. 223) with the hopes that it will eventually be approved by the Senate. S.223 would require senators to file their contribution reports electronically.

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Maryland State Police Surveillance of Advocacy Groups Exposed

On July 17, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland disclosed documents revealing that state police engaged in covert surveillance of local peace and anti-death penalty groups for over a year during the administration of former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich (R). In response, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said he might support a Justice Department investigation into why this surveillance occurred. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff requesting a full account of the surveillance actions and further information regarding the funds used.

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IRS Directive Broadens Scope of Prohibited Web Links on Issues

On July 28, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent a memo to revenue agents that contradicts earlier guidance relating to 501(c)(3) organizations' use of web links for issue advocacy. The memo indicated that web links may be considered prohibited intervention in elections, depending on their context, the number of clicks between a site and a partisan message on the linked site, and whether an organization has a position on an issue and links to candidates' positions.

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New Report on Nonprofit Advocacy

Jul 31, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The John Hopkins Listening Post Project released a report describing their findings from a 2007 survey of 872 nonprofit organizations nationwide in four fields (children and family services, elderly housing and services, community and economic development, and the arts). The survey meant to find out "how recent challenges are affecting nonprofit engagement in policy advocacy, and how this varies by field, size of agency, or other factors.

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Group Files Lawsuit Against the FEC Asserting Issue Advocacy

Jul 31, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A new 527 group called The Real Truth About Obama, Inc. ("RTAO"), has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Department of Justice to prevent them from enforcing FEC reporting rules for political committees. RTAO plans to run issue ads examining the Democratic presidential candidate's position on abortion and other policy positions issues.

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