Legislative Round-Up | October 2024
“Click to Cancel” for Subscription Payments
The new FTC “click to cancel” rule for subscription payments does not generally apply to nonprofits. The statute establishing the FTC gave it jurisdiction over “commerce.” Courts have ruled that, in the usual case, this leaves NPOs outside the FTC’s reach.
Nevertheless, your donors deserve as much attention and respect as do consumers of commercial products and services. Be sure you provide your recurring donors with easy-to-find and easy-to-use means of making adjustments to their gifts by viewing The Nonprofit Alliance’s (TNPA) Sustainer Best Practices Guide.
TNPA Weighs in with House Ways & Means Committee Leaders on Universal Charitable
Deduction
TNPA, as one of the leaders in the drive to reinstate the Universal Charitable Deduction, joined 270 other organizations in calling on House Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) and the committee’s Ranking Democrat Richard Neal (D-MA), urging Congress to increase charitable giving by permanently restoring the charitable deduction for taxpayers, who do not itemize their deductions.
Click here to view the letter.
Why this matters:
- With only 7.5 percent of taxpayers itemizing their taxes and thus eligible to claim a deduction when supporting a charity, it is important that the other 92.5 percent of taxpayers become eligible to deduct contributions to charitable causes.
- Next year will be the big year for tax policy with over $4 trillion of tax provisions enacted in the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act up for renewal or revision. We are working hard to ensure the Universal Charitable Deduction is part of next year’s tax legislation, which will likely be in the form of a multi-trillion dollar package.
Important Postal Legislation Introduced in the House
While we are pleased that there will be no January postal rate increase, TNPA is engaged in a “long game” to slow down the massive postal rate increases of the last few years. On September 25, Congressman Jake La Turner (R-KS) introduced legislation (H.R. 9839) to address the long-term challenge of postal rate increases.
Among the key provisions of the La Turner postal bill are:
- Prohibits the Postal Regulatory Commission from creating a rate system with no price cap.
- Holds the Postal Service accountable for service performance by reducing rate authority if it fails to meet established service targets.
- Limits rate increase to once per year.
- Enables the Postal Service to invest retirement assets in private index funds such as those used by the Thrift Savings Fund.
California Governor Gavin Newsom Vetoes Comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Legislation
Among the provisions of the legislation, which is complex and far-reaching, are the following:
- The legislation covers entities that spend $100 million or more annually on AI development.
- It places liability on both the developers of AI and the deployers of AI. AI developers face a long list of requirements, including strict prevention of unauthorized access to an AI model, conducting an annual review of protocols, and publishing annual safety and security protocols.
In his veto message, the Governor described the legislation as “well-intentioned.” Still, he noted that its requirements would have called for “stringent” regulations that would have been onerous for the state’s leading artificial intelligence companies. It is uncertain if the California Legislature will override the Governor’s veto.
Click here to view the legislation.
Legislation in the States
Read more about new state laws and proposed state bills that could impact the work of the nonprofit sector by visiting TNPA’s State Legislation webpage.
Around Capitol Hill in 90 Seconds with Mark Micali
October 2024 | Recorded: 10.2.2024
Congressional Spotlight: Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Each month TNPA introduces you to a member of Congress who is a leader on legislative matters important to our TNPA community, with representation from both parties.
Q&A with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)
TNPA has worked closely with Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina and had the opportunity to ask the Senator a few questions, and share them here:
What was the moment you realized you were serious about getting into public service?
When my wife Susan and I lived in Cornelius, NC just outside of Charlotte, I advocated to build a mountain bike trail in our community, but was blocked by our local representative. I decided afterward that he wasn’t representing his constituents very well, so I decided to run against him and we actually ended up with the same number of votes in the next election so I won by a coin-flip, and the rest is history.
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Author: Mark Micali
Mark Micali is Vice President, Government Affairs for The Nonprofit Alliance and has spent his career on Capitol Hill. You can reach him at mmicali@tnpa.org.
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