Catching Up

Welcome to our second Legislative Watch of the 2018 session. If you missed our last newsletter, make sure to take a look at the proposed state bills we are tracking.

In This Issue:

1. ​Catching Up
2. Johnson Amendment
3. Proposed State Bills
4. New Federal Tax Law
5. Nonprofit Compensation
6. Keeping Up
7. Federal News

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The Johnson Amendment

​As mentioned in our prior newsletter, the Johnson Amendment has been left alone for the time being. We will continue to update our members with the current news concerning that topic.

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Proposed State Bills

If you missed our first Legislative Watch, make sure to take a peek at the proposed state bills in draft form that we are currently tracking. These bills include: Idaho State Income Tax Credit for Certain Charitable Contributions (Bill 63-3029c) and Election Transparency (Bill 67-660).

​Click here for more information on the proposed bills.

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New Federal Tax Law

As we highlighted in our last Legislative Watch, the tax reform is causing nonprofits stress over charitable donations and yearly giving. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, here is a 2018 Tax Law Checklist (updated Feb, 1, 2018), in order to better understand what’s next for nonprofit board and staff members. That document can be viewed here.

Still feeling uneasy about the tax reform? Check out these resources for more information and some peace of mind:
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• Amy Little – Tax Reform Guidance: Will Charitable Giving Decrease in 2018?
• Claire Axelrad – New Tax Law: How Worried Should Your Nonprofit Be
• Martin Levine – Let’s Rewrite Today’s Headline: The Nonprofit Financial Sky is Not Falling
  • This particular article includes facts and figures about nonprofit stability and how in reality, they are actually thriving
  • 92-93% of organizations have assets exceeding liabilities
  • 70% face no liquidity issues
  • 70% have not lost any money over the last three years
  • Around 50% have operating reserves in excess of one month’s activity

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Nonprofit Compensation

​With the current climate our sector is facing, employees may be worried about their quality of life as well as their compensation rates. As John Pratt and Dr. Paul Light mention in their article Sources of Attitudes on Nonprofit Compensation: A Conversation with Paul Light, many people assume that charitable workers should take a “discount” or “pay cut” when it comes to working in this field, because “they have signed up to help others.” Light and Pratt show that this could be because of nonprofit transparency, which attracts public exposure. This has ended up leading to scrutiny within our sector, and a worry for employee compensation.

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Keeping up with Current Bills

Keeping up with the current bills this legislative session is incredibly important in our work. Are you up to date with what’s being heard in the capital this session? My Bill Tracker is a real-time web-based bill tracking system that allows users to follow and track legislation throughout the legislative bill process.

​By maintaining lists of legislation, users are able to follow the progress of the legislation they are interested in without having to sort or search through an entire years’ worth of work from the legislature. Learn how to set up a bill tracker here.

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Federal News

2020 Census To Keep Racial, Ethnic Categories Used In 2010 – “If approved, the proposals would change how the Latino population is counted and create a new checkbox on federal surveys for people with roots in the Middle East or North Africa” (Lo Wang, 2018). This could potentially improve the accuracy of the national headcount in 2020.

Possible Shutdown – If Congress is unable to make a budget decision by February 8, there could be another government shutdown in place. With issues regarding end of the year fiscal spending, negotiators are trying to decide where to allocate funds. Issues continue to float with no resolutions such as: “Dreamers/Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); hurricane/wildfire emergency funding; renewal of funding for community health centers; whether to include language to repeal or weaken the longstanding protections of the Johnson Amendment”
(National Council of Nonprofits, 2018). Official decisions have yet to be made, and negotiations continue.

New Withholding Rules Under the New Tax Law – The IRS issued a Notice to extend the effective period for existing W-4 forms to the end of February and permit employees to claim exemption from withholding for 2018 by using the 2017 forms.
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• The Notice temporarily suspends the 10-day window for employees to provide new W-4s to reduce withholding allowances.
• It provides an optional withholding rate on supplemental wages.
• The Notice makes clear that when no certificate is in effect, employers should make withholdings on periodic payments as if the person is a married individual claiming three allowances.
• Find more information here

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Reminder – Regional Nonprofit Forums

Join us for a full day mini-conference with attendance to ALL three sessions. Lunch is included in the price.
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• Building your Brand and Marketing Toolbox
• Board Engagement and Effective Meetings
• Fundraising and Major Gift Hurdles

Early Bird Registration Ends Today!

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The Idaho Nonprofit Center represents the interests of our state’s 6,000+ registered charitable nonprofit organizations.

​We are an association of forward-looking nonprofit leaders who come together to share knowledge, solve problems, pursue common interests, and serve the public good.

Brooke Damico

Legislative Watch is written by Brooke Damico, a public policy student at Boise State University.