Potential Bill Impacting Nonprofits

2/7/2019

In This Issue:

Draft Legislation on Campaign Finance

Next Wednesday, February 13, a bill on campaign finance may be introduced during the Senate Affairs meeting. We were able to secure a copy of the draft legislation (CLICK HERE to read it) and did some analysis of it for your review.

NOTE: We are specifically referencing DRKFM050 which is the second draft legislation in this packet.

On the surface, the legislation appears to be aimed specifically at organizations who routinely engage in electioneering communications. However, there are some sections of the legislation that could impact many charitable organizations who advocate for ballot measures or routinely engage elected officials in their work (and broadcast such activity through their newsletters or other communications).

501(c)3, 501(c)4, those who file form 501(h), etc who “engage” in electioneering communication as broadly defined in this legislation

We would like to draw your attention to them here:

Page 2 line 31: The current draft of the legislation does not clearly define what is paid communication, it could be anything which may put any nonprofit at risk. For example, if we sent out a message about the Medicaid expansion asking our members to study the issue and vote, the time we spent on staff time to build and send the email and/or the cost of the email software could be considered “paid.” A better more clear definition of what constitutes paid communication could be helpful.
Page 2 line 33: The legislation does clearly define a very lengthy time frame and what content would be considered electioneering: “electioneering communication that takes place between 5pm on the candidate filing deadline set forth in section 34-704, Idaho Code, and midnight on the date of the general election, and that unambiguously refers to a specific candidate or measure to be on the ballot.”
- Any charitable nonprofit sending any type of communication about a ballot measure, or even sending a newsletter that mentions an elected official (running for office) was in attendance at an event throughout this time period could be considered as sending electioneering communications
Page 6 line 38: “Any person who incurs costs an aggregate amount exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) when making an electioneering communication shall be required to file a statement with the Secretary of State. Contents of the statement shall include the amount spent on such communications, the name and address of the person, and the names and addresses of any persons who donate an aggregate amount of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250) or more to any person under this section during the calendar year in which the communication is made to date, together with the date and amount of each donation. The statement shall be filed by the tenth day of the month following the month during which the expenditure was made.”
- Once again, it would be better if the legislation clearly defined what constitutes the $1000 in expenditures. Is it staff time? Is it website maintenance? Internet fees? Clearly defining how the expense would be calculated could be helpful.
Note that this legislation would require disclosure of any donors giving in aggregate $250 or more to the organization. It does not specify those donations as they pertain to policy and advocacy work, it simple says all donors. Adding language to protect our ability to enforce our donor’s bill of rights as well as clarifying the types of donations that should be disclosed could be a welcome addition. This is the most concerning portion of this draft legislation.

At this time the Idaho Nonprofit Center is not taking a position for or against the proposed (and not yet printed) legislation. We just want to make you aware of the possibility and encourage you to contact the Senate Affairs Committee to voice your concerns (or your support).

CLICK HERE to find the list of committee members. (click the Members tab for names and contact information)

We will be monitoring the progress of this legislation and will keep you informed throughout the session.

Bill Tracking Resource

For all nonprofits who routinely advocate to advance their mission, we wanted to make sure you know about the Bill Tracker resource on our Idaho State Legislature page. CLICK HERE to log in or set up an account.

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. This web-based application is available at no charge to its users.

By creating multiple lists, users are able to categorize the legislation they wish to track. For example, grouping all taxation related bills on one list, and all education related legislation on another. Legislation can also be added to multiple lists, moved from one list to another, or copied from one list to another. For example, the same bill might be included in lists regarding taxation, transportation, and agriculture.

This is a great tool and we highly recommend using it throughout the session.

Full User Manual Here

Follow the Idaho Legislature With ‘Idaho in Session’

Stay informed about the discussions, issues and legislation that affect your nonprofit with Idaho Public Television’s ‘Idaho in Session.’ This free online service provides live feeds of the Idaho House and Senate; the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC); and the Lincoln Auditorium, East Wing 42, and eight additional committee legislative hearing rooms while the Idaho Legislature is in session.

More Information Here

Contacting Idaho’s Senators and Congressmen

Learn who your representatives are
Contact information for Senators Mike Crapo and James E. Risch and Congressmen Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson

Legislative Watch is written by Albertine Amouzougan, a student at Boise State University.

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