Nonprofit Speech Rights | Center for Effective Government

Church Electioneering Bill Introduced in Senate

Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) has introduced a Senate version of the "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act" (S. 2886) which is sponsored in the House by Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) (H.R. 2357). This legislation would allow churches to engage in express electoral advocacy, which is currently prohibited for all 501(c)(3) charities, including churches.

read in full

Congressional Letter to HHS Sparks Fears of Retribution for Advocacy Activities

Twelve members of Congress, including Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), have requested that the Health and Human Services (HHS) administration provide them with a list of individuals from organizations that receive any federal funds that attended July's International AIDS Conference in Barcelona. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson was noisily heckled by members of more than a dozen AIDS service organizations while giving a speech at the conference. The protesters handed out flyers signed by twelve organizations criticizing the US for not spending enough money on AIDS in developing countries.

read in full

OMB Looking for Comments on New Federal Grant Procedures

We are collecting feedback for comments on these announcements. You can provide us with input through our online forum

read in full

FEC Releases Draft Rules on "Issue Advocacy"

The second set of proposed regulations implementing this year's new campaign finance reform law will focus on "electioneering communications," also known as sham issue ads. At its August 1 meeting, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released draft rules, which will be published in the Federal Register on August 7. Final regulations are scheduled to be ready by late September, and will become effective the day after this fall's elections.

read in full

Corporate Disclosure Bill Goes to President Without Philanthropy Disclosure Requirements

In the wake of the widening corporate accounting scandals, both the House and Senate have passed versions of corporate accountability and reform legislation and a conference committee hammered out the differences, sending the bill the to the President on July 26. The conference agreement re-named the legislation the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, after its primary sponsors in each house. The final bill does not contain the philanthropy disclosure requirements from the original bill in the House.

read in full

CARE Act, Faith-Based Initiative Update

Following a press conference sponsored by Americans for Community and Faith-Centered Enterprise and the Charitable Giving Coalition last Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) agreed to seek agreement on rules of debate so the CARE Act ( S. 1924) could go the Senate floor during the week of July 22. CARE Act sponsors Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) spoke at the press conference, and said they expect the bill to be considered before the August recess. However, several Senators have objected to floor debate unless amendments are allowed. Sen.

read in full

FEC To Publish Proposed Issue Advocacy Rule in August

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced that it will be not be ready to consider proposed regulations on issue advocacy on July 25, as had been planned, delaying action until August 1. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be published in August 8 and public comments are due August 21. A hearing will be held on August 28 and 29 at the FEC’s office in Washington. A proceeding to define illegal coordination between campaigns and donors and advocacy groups will not begin until mid-September.

read in full

IRS Sets 2004 Goals for E Filing Form 990, Seeks Comments on 990 EZ

The Internal Revenue Service expects to develop an electronic filing system for nonprofits to file Form 990, the annual information return required of most groups. Terry Lutes, director of the IRS's Electronic Tax administration, told participants in a July 9 web audio broadcast sponsored by the IRS that he is working with software developers to develop better e filing systems.

read in full

Church Electioneering Bill Gains Sponsors, IRS Issues Guidance for Religious Organizations

Two bills that would allow religious congregations to endorse or oppose candidates for office and spend church funds on electioneering gained new sponsors last week, as its sponsors criticized the IRS for publishing a Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations, Publication 1828, in early July.

read in full

Corporate Reform Bills Differ on Nonprofit Disclosure

In the wake of the widening corporate accounting scandals, both the House and Senate have passed versions of corporate accountability and reform legislation. As reported in a previous Watcher, on April 24, the House passed the "Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act" (H.R. 3763), while the Senate passed its version (S. 2673) last Monday, July 15th. The conference committee that will hammer out the differences between the House and Senate version was appointed on Wednesday, July 17th, and has promised to be finished with the legislation by July 26th.

read in full

Pages