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ALERT! Action Needed to Oppose Anti-Advocacy Provision in Campaign Finance Bill According to the Let America Speak Coalition, a campaign finance reform bill containing a provision that would severely hamper non-profits' advocacy abilities could be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives as early as Thursday, March 26, 1998. H.R. 3485, the Campaign Reform and Election Integrity Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, includes a provision that would require non-profit organizations, including charities, to annually obtain their members' consent to use their funds for "political activity." Under Title I of H.R. 3485, the first section of the bill, every non-profit would have to send an annual notice to its members indicating how much it expects to spend in the forthcoming year on "political activities," defined broadly to include the following:
If members voted against using their dues or contributions for such activities, the non-profit would have to reduce the "political activities" budget by a proportional percentage equal to the percentage of members' "no" votes. The amount remaining in the budget estimate would become an actual spending ceiling for the year-in other words, under H.R. 3485, non-profits would not be allowed to spend more than this amount for "political activities," regardless of the reason. For example, assume that a non-profit has a $500,000 budget and 100 members. It estimates to its members that it expects to spend $10,000 on "political activities" in the upcoming year, and $5,000 of this comes from membership dues. Ten members, or 10% of the membership, votes against expenditures. The non-profit would have to reduce the portion of the "political activities" budget that is funded by membership dues by 10%, or $500. Furthermore, it would then be illegal under the Act for the organization to spend more than $9,500 in that year for any of the "political activities" as defined in the bill. This bill is problematic for several reasons: It would significantly reduce non-profits' voice in the public policy arena. Publicly supported 501(c)(3) organizations are already prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities such as electioneering. Charities are also strictly limited in the amount of lobbying that they can conduct. Title I of H.R. 3485 seeks to impose new restrictions on policy activities that are not limited under current law. These include not only attempts to influence regulations, but also disseminating analyses of pending legislation or even of existing laws. Some charities would be prevented from becoming involved in complex regulations or even providing vital research and educational activities if they have not been carefully planned and funds allocated in advance. For many others, the flexibility to respond quickly to unforeseen policy developments would be virtually eliminated. The bill is an administrative and regulatory nightmare. The definitions of "political activity" are not consistent with existing federal or state-level definitions governing lobbying by charities. In addition, enforcement of H.R. 3485 would rest with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), creating a new level of bureaucracy overseeing non-profit lobbying (in addition to the IRS and the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission). Particularly for organizations with many individual members, proper compliance with this legislation would be difficult, if not impossible. Organizations would have to estimate at the beginning of the year each member's pro rata share of the "political activity" budget - a difficult task in itself, especially if an organization's membership significantly grows or shrinks during the course of the year. They would then have to spend time and money to generate and mail the required notices and negative response forms, and keep the multiple layers of records required to track expenses in order to comply with both federal laws as well as New Jersey's state-level lobby disclosure laws. The result would be a needless diversion of scarce resources from vital programs to administrative expenses.
What you can do: The vote on this bill could come as early as Thursday, March 26, so fast action is needed. Call your Representative to urge his/her opposition to H.R. 3485 (phone and fax numbers for New Jersey's delegation appear below). All calls are important, but in New Jersey, contacts with Representatives Bob Franks, Frank LoBiondo, Mike Pappas, Marge Roukema and Chris Smith are especially key. If you need additional information, call Linda Czipo at the Center at 609/951-0800. Name (Party- NJ Cong. District#) Phone FaxThe Hon. Robert Andrews (D-1) (202) 225-6501 (202) 225-6583
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