Health care reform unlikely to relieve burdens on nonprofits 11/30/09

The Senate is scheduled to begin debate on its $849 billion health care bill (HR 3590) today after clearing its first procedural hurdle before the Thanksgiving holidays. However, no matter what health care bill emerges from Congress, roughly one in six uninsured Californians will be excluded because they are not legal residents. According to a story in the San Jose Mercury News (11/29/09), “none of its provisions are likely to be available to the nation’s estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, a group that typically receives no insurance at work and lacks the means to buy it on their own,” and which often needs to turn to nonprofit clinics and hospitals for medical services. Details: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13892103?source=rss.

Congress plans action on giving incentives 11/23/09

The “Tax Extenders Act of 2009” includes $1.2 billion in incentives to encourage charitable giving, such as the IRA charitable rollover, deductions for food donations, and land conservation giving incentives. It may be taken up as early as the week of November 30 by the House Ways and Means Committee. To support this bill: http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/irarollover_signonletter2009.html

Taxes, government and nonprofits 11/20/09

Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report this week with recent data on the size and scope of the nonprofit sector, how charities are funded, the charitable sector’s relationship with the government, and related policy issues such as the tax treatment of charitable donations, health care reform, responses to the economic downturn, and the federal government's new social innovation initiative. Details: http://cts.vresp.com/c/?IndependentSector/e0344f76f2/cf0f76a79b/db09543d8b

Congress urged to create youth jobs in nonprofits 11/18/09

Congress should provide close to $1.5-billion in extra spending on national-service programs over the next two years to provide jobs for young people who have been hit hard by the economic crisis, a new report <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/11/national_service.html> by the Center for American Progress argues. The report suggests that the effort could help both young people who are experiencing the country’s highest unemployment rates in years and nonprofit groups that could use youth workers to help meet the rising demand for antipoverty services.

Tax law proposals threaten nonprofit funding 11/12/09

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that repealing the estate tax would decrease donations to charity by 6% to 12% a year and reduce bequests by 16% to 28% a year. Estate-tax reforms passed at the start of the decade call for no tax at all in 2010, followed by reinstatement the subsequent year. Many state and natinal nonprofit associations, including CAN, are urging lawmakers to maintain the tax at 2009 levels, including a 45% rate and a $3.5 million exemption. Lawmakers also are proposing a cap on the deductibility of charitable contributions that could make a donor's deduction worth less. Under current law, taxpayers earning more than $200,000 annually can take itemized charitable deductions at a 33% rate (35% for families earning more than $250,000). A number of proposals aim to cap the value of itemized deductions at 33% or 35% for taxpayers whose tax brackets would increase to 36% or 39.6% in 2011. Source: Wall Street Journal. Info: <http://www.independentsector.org>

House passes health care reform, restricts support for abortions and undocumented immigrants 11/9/09

The House has passed its version of comprehensive health care legislation (HR 3962), setting the stage for what is expected to be a difficult debate in the Senate. The bill includes a public health insurance option, insurance exchanges, individual and employer mandates, and assistance for both individuals and small businesses – but not nonprofits - to obtain coverage. A last-minute amendment restricts the availability of coverage for abortions, which many insurance plans now offer, limiting abortion coverage even for women paying for it without government subsidies. Both the House and Senate bills deny subsidies to undocumented immigrants, but the Senate version goes further by also barring them from buying coverage on the new marketplace with their own money.Details: http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/11/house-makes-history-on-health.shtml.

State reopens applications for fundraising opportunity 11/4/09

State reopens applications for fundraising opportunityCalifornia nonprofits now have the ability to link together electronically to play Remote Caller Bingo, recently authorized by state law and offering the opportunity for players in number of different locations to play in a single game, increasing the size of the prizes for the players and the fundraising potential for nonprofits conducting the game. The California Gambling Control Commission recently reopened applications to conduct remote caller bingo. Details: http://www.cgcc.ca.gov/bingo.asp

Reform Groups Unveil Initiatives 11/3/09

Two reform groups have submitted ballot measure language to the Attorney General for review as a first step to putting initiatives on the November 2010 statewide general election ballot. The California Forward Action Fund has submitted a pair of initiatives that they say would bring comprehensive reform to California's broken budget process. Repair California, turned in measures that would select 465 people to conduct "limited" redrafting of the state's basic laws through a constitutional convention. Once they receive the attorney general's approval, supporters will have until mid-April to gather 694,435 registered voters' signatures for each of their initiatives.