On September 12, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking as part of its biennial review of media ownership rules mandated under the 1996 Telecommunications Act to determine whether the marketplace is sufficiently ensuring the goals of local responsiveness, diversity, and competition with respect to local media, or if existing rules need to be maintained or modified, in order to promote these goals.

H.R. 2357, titled the “Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act”, would allow religious organizations to support or oppose candidates for public office without losing their tax-exempt status. (Current tax law prohibits all nonprofits exempt under 501(c)(3) of the tax code from attempting to influence elections.) H.R. 2357’s sponsors claim: ? The bill is needed to allow religious leaders to speak on issues of the day. ? This year’s campaign finance reform law will prevent religious congregations from spending funds on partisan electioneering even if H.R. 2357 becomes law. Why are they wrong?

The IRS is considering revising Form 990 to increase public accountability through better disclosure. IRS Announcement 2002-87, released September 4th, seeks public comment on a variety of proposed changes to reporting on fundraising, transactions between PACs and their nonprofit affiliates, corporate ties and conflicts of interest and grants to foreign organizations. The announcement also lists recent changes made to Form 990 in the areas of fundraising and the inclusion of section 527 organizations as 990 filers. For a more detailed breakdown of the proposed changes, click here.

As the FEC considers new rules implementing restrictions on electioneering broadcasts disguised as issue ads, OMB Watch filed comments and presented testimony urging them to create exemptions that protect lobbying and policy advocacy. See our comments to the FEC and a summary of the hearing.