Protecting Nonprofit 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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Supreme Court Will Hear Voter Identification Case

Sep 26, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Supreme Court will decide whether an Indiana law requiring voters to present photo identification at polling places unfairly discriminates against poor and minority voters. Several other states have enacted various forms of voter ID legislation and the court's ruling could also affect them as well. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and the Indiana Democratic Party filed appeals, arguing that the photo rule would deny some citizens the right to vote. In January the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld the voter identification law.

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Senate Hearing on Protect America Act and FISA Changes

Sep 26, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled, "Strengthening FISA: Does the Protect America Act Protect Americans' Civil Liberties and Enhance Security?" During the hearing Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell testified and generally spoke very carefully in response to proposals to change legislation, as he did last week before House committees.

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Hearing to Examine Whether Charitable Organizations Serve the Needs of Diverse Communities

Sep 25, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Today the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing to consider whether charitable organizations serve the needs of diverse communities. Click here for a witness list and testimony.

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Lobby and Ethics Reform Bill Becomes Law

On Sept. 14, President Bush signed into law the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, S. 1. The new law amends some provisions of the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) to make the relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers more transparent by requiring increased public disclosure of funds spent by lobbyists and of the actions of members of Congress. Because of rumors that President Bush would veto the measure, it was sent to him after Labor Day to avoid a veto while Congress was in recess.

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Holy Land Jury Deliberates When Aid is Support for Terrorism

On Sept. 20, a Texas jury began deliberations on criminal charges of supporting terrorism brought against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and five of its leaders, nearly six years after the charity was shut down and its assets seized by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The two-month long trial was the first opportunity the charity had to hear the evidence against it and present evidence in its own defense. The government did not claim HLF provided direct support of Hamas or a terrorist group.

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IRS Ends Two-Year Probe of California Church's Anti-War Sermon

All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA, recently announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation which began in June 2005 has now been closed. The IRS will not revoke the church's tax-exempt status because of a 2004 anti-war, anti-poverty sermon delivered by its former pastor Rev. George F. Regas on the Sunday before the 2004 presidential election. However, the IRS concluded that the church in fact intervened in the election.

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Comments Urge IRS to Take Time with Form 990 Revisions

On Sept. 14, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) closed comment on its proposed revisions to Form 990, the annual information return filed by nonprofits. A host of organizations have weighed in with extensive recommendations, and many are calling on the IRS to delay implementation until a second draft can be published for further comment and nonprofits have time to adjust their recordkeeping systems to track the new information that will be required. OMB Watch's comments focused on flaws in proposals for reporting advocacy-related activities.

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IRS Ends All Saints Church Investigation

Sep 25, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The LA Times reports that All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California has announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation which began June 2005 has now been closed. The IRS will not revoke the church's tax-exempt status because of a 2004 anti-war, anti-poverty sermon delivered by its former pastor Rev. George F.

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Nonprofits Challenge Two Florida Laws Regulating Voter Registration

Nonprofit groups have launched two separate efforts to challenge voter registration laws passed by the Florida legislature that would suppress voting, especially among minority populations. First, the U.S. Department of Justice has been asked to reject a recently passed law that would discourage nonprofit voter registration drives by making it difficult to collect and submit completed registration forms in batches. Second, a lawsuit was filed Sept. 18 challenging a requirement that all voter registration applications match Social Security or driver's license numbers.

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Transcript: The Need for Clear Rules for 501(c)(3) Groups at Election Time (Pt. 2)

( Click here to return to page 1.)

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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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