July federal nonprofit policy updates
From the National Council of Nonprofit Associations
High Court Rules on Issue Ads On June 25th, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the federal electioneering communications ban is unconstitutional when applied to genuine issue ads. The decision on Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life favors grassroots lobbying communications. The Washington Post covered the ruling; Alliance for Justice provides additional information on electioneering regulations.
High Court also Addresses Faith-Based Funds On June 25, the Supreme Court also ruled 5-4 that taxpayers could not sue to block federal expenditures to the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The New York Times summarized the implications.
Appropriations in Process Democratic leaders in Congress hope to have the dozen FY 2008 appropriations bills completed by Oct. 1, but the President has threatened to veto any spending that exceeds $933 billion. The Budget Resolution approved by Congress includes $21 billion more than that of the President for FY 2008.
Agreement over Earmarks In the House, a compromise on the process of disclosing and approving earmarks was reached after much disagreement. OMB Watch followed the debate on how the House will handle earmarks this year.
IRS Issues The IRS has requested that NCNA, the national affiliate for HANO and other state nonprofit associations, provide feedback on Form 990 revisions from the perspective of small and midsized nonprofits. If you have comments from this perspective, please send them to publicpolicy@ncna.org by Sept. 1. See below for more information.
- The IRS has released a draft redesign of the Form 990, the annual information return filed by tax-exempt entities. The draft includes a core form for each filing organization to complete and 15 separate schedules requiring additional information from only those organizations engaged in certain activities. Schedules cover topics such as compensation, lobbying, fundraising, and non-cash contributions. Comments on the draft are due to the IRS by Sept. 14.
- The new Revenue Ruling 2007-41 provides guidance on nonprofit political activities. The ruling includes 21 examples of the application of facts and circumstances test in areas such as voter guides and education, candidate appearances and forums, and issue advocacy.
- The IRS also released a Report on the Political Activity Compliance Initiative, which describes the initial results of its enforcement and audits related to the 2006 election cycle.
To subscribe to NCNAs nonprofit policy updates, click here. Nonprofits have the right and responsibility to engage in the policy process. Please use this information to advocate for the nonprofit sector and the communities we serve. For more information from NCNA on how to engage in public policy, click here.
