Protecting Nonprofit 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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League of Women Voters Challenges Florida Election Law

Apr 29, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

On Apr. 28, 2008, the League of Women Voters of Florida and several voting rights advocates filed a new lawsuit challenging a Florida voter registration law that imposes prohibitive fines on voter registration groups and risks preventing eligible Florida citizens from registering and voting in the 2008 elections.

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Court Upholds Stealth Lobbying Disclosure

The National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) legal challenge to the stealth lobbying disclosure provisions in the 2007 lobbying and ethics reform law was rejected by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on April 11. After the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay pending appeal, NAM announced it would comply with the law while its appeal proceeds by disclosing members who contributed more than $5,000 toward lobbying in a quarter and have supervision, control, or active participation in NAM's federal lobbying efforts.

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HHS Proposes Restrictive Rules for HIV/AIDS Grantees

On April 17, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks public comments on special requirements for organizations that receive HIV/AIDS funding from HHS. The rule would require "legal, financial, and organizational" separation between a grantee and any affiliate organization that does not adopt mandatory language opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. This "pledge requirement" is being challenged in court by groups that say the policy might stigmatize and alienate the people in need of HIV/AIDS prevention services and violates First Amendment rights because it applies to other programs that are not federally funded. Comments on the proposed regulation are due May 19.

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IRS to Continue Flawed Enforcement Program on Partisan Activities

In an April 17 letter, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that its enforcement program on partisan activities by charities and religious organizations will remain in effect for the 2008 election season. The IRS announcement provided some helpful information on how the agency will consider cases involving charities' websites, but it muddied the waters for organizations that publish voter guides. The announcement does little to mitigate the vagueness of the standard, a problem Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) addressed in a hearing where he called for a bright-line rule defining what is and is not allowed.

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Supreme Court Upholds Strict Indiana Voter ID Law

Apr 28, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Supreme Court, voting 6-3, ruled against a constitutional challenge to Indiana's voter identification law, requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID. Opponents of the law argue that having to present such a photo ID will prevent some poor, elderly and minorities from voting. The law will now be in effect for next week's Indiana primary. Bloomberg.com news says that the Court "gave Republicans an election-year victory." This recent decision could also encourage other states to pass similar measures.

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DCCC and DSCC File Complaints Against 501(c)(4)s

Apr 25, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The 501(c)(4) organization, U.S. Term Limits, now has some more trouble. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claiming that the group violated the law by not disclosing on its Web site that contributions made to the group are not tax-deductible.

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New report draws attention to 2008 primary election protection failures

Apr 25, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The National Campaign for Fair Elections, The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, and Election Protection 2008 -- the nation's largest non-partisan voter protection coalition — released a report last week on the problems at the polls during the 2008 primary election season. The report — Election Protection 2008 Primary Report: Looking Ahead to November hopes to spur action to address issues that occurred during the primary season so as to prevent repeat problems during the November general election.

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ACORN Files Lawsuit to Force Missouri Agencies to Register Voters

Apr 25, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

On Wednesday, voting-rights advocate ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) filed suit against the state of Missouri for failing to implement a key provision of the National Voter Registration Act ("NVRA") of 1993 in failing to provide voter registration opportunities at state public assistance agencies. According to ACORN's press release on the lawsuit, ACORN is seeking a preliminary injunction that would require Missouri's Department of Social Services (DSS) to come into compliance with the NVRA as soon as the court can set a hearing date.

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Blogger Protection Act

Apr 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) has introduced the Blogger Protection Act of 2008, HR5699. The bill would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to exempt bloggers and their internet activity from being considered as a contribution to or expenditure of a campaign. The bill would "cover blogs and other Internet and electronic publications under the general media exemption pertaining to expenditures." Therefore bloggers would be able to write about the positions of federal candidates without their material being considered a contribution to any campaign. What about bloggers at nonprofits?

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The Candidates and Nonprofit Issues

Apr 23, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has put together a new section of their website that has information about the presidential candidates and where they stand on the issues that matter to nonprofit causes. The Chronicle also invites readers to send in suggestions and additional information. Click here to go to the Chronicle's Special Report on the Campaign 2008.

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