Our NP Law/Legislation webpage:

The FNAC provides information on recent laws, rulings and legislation that affect nonprofit practice. Listing of these items is for information purposes only and does not constitute any kind of support, endorsement or call to action by the FNAC. We encourage readers to do further research on listed items and will provide links whenever possible.

Pending California legislation:

Fundraising

  1. Bingo: three bills are pending that together would result in major changes in state laws that are intended to enhance the appeal of charitable bingo, which has suffered from declining revenues in recent years. (AB 1924, SB 1328, SB 1626)

  2. Wine donations: pending legislation would ease timelines around wine donations and increase the number of times per year that nonprofits could hold wine fundraising events. (AB 1964)

  3. Solicitations: pending legislation would require that mail solicitations that ask a recipient’s consent to receive information by telephone disclose that a telephone solicitor may contact the recipient even if he or she is listed on the federal "Do Not Call" registry. (AB 2059) 

  4. Donation boxes: pending legislation would authorize counties to prohibit or to regulate collection boxes for used clothing and household goods. (AB 2610)  

  5. Spam: pending legislation states the Legislature’s intent improve and strengthen existing laws against unwanted and unsolicited commercial e-mail. (AB 2950)

  6. Mega-deduction for park contributions: pending legislation would allow a 200% deduction for corporate contributions to a trust to improve state parks. (SB 1463)

 Emergency/Disaster Response and Recovery

  1. Language diversity: pending legislation would require the state to plan and establish a process to meet the needs of populations with limited English proficiency for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. (AB 1930)

  2. Eligibility: pending legislation would require responders to strive to ensure that victims receive the assistance they need and are eligible to receive without requesting information or documents that are not strictly necessary to determine eligibility under state or federal law. (AB 2327)

  3. Liability: pending legislation sponsored by CAN would provide for limited liability immunity for nonprofit emergency and disaster responders. For an action alert on this bill, visit CAN’s website. (AB 2796)

Accountability

  1. Diversity: pending legislation would require a private, corporate, or public operating foundation with assets over $250,000,000 to collect and post diversity data regarding its governance, contracts and grantmaking. See CAN’s website for analysis of this bill. (AB 624) A settlement has been reached on this bill in which the legislation will be dropped, but foundations agree to seek more diveristy on their boards.

  2. Community benefit: pending legislation would require California hospitals to spend at least 50% of their community benefit funds on programs to eliminate health disparities in race and gender. (AB 2298)

  3. Fund management and dissolution: pending legislation would update the prudence standard for management and investment of charitable funds and provides for the dissolution of a nonprofit by the Attorney General when it is impossible or impractical for the nonprofit to do it on its own. (SB 1329) 

Volunteerism/service 

Workplace/employer-employee issues

A.  Alternative workweek: pending legislation would authorize individual employees, with the approval of their employer, to work up to ten hours per day within a 40-hour workweek without overtime. (AB 2127)

B.  Discrimination: pending legislation would resolve inconsistencies in state laws prohibiting discrimination in specific government, business and nonprofit operations. (AB 2654)

C.  Paid sick leave: pending legislation requires employers to provide paid sick leave to an employee who works seven or more days in a year and prescribes employer and employee rights and responsibilities in regard to sick leave. (AB 2716)

D.  Retirement: pending legislation would create the California Financial Advantage Account Program (CFAAP), under the administration of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the nation’s largest pension fund, to provide retirement savings opportunities to California's private sector employees. (AB 2940)


Web Resources on California legislative issues: 

California State Assembly: www.assembly.ca.gov
California State Senate: www.senate.ca.gov
For full bill text and legislative staff analysis: http://leginfo.ca.gov
For live and archive broadcast of hearings and floor sessions: www.calchannel.com

---From the California Association of Nonprofits

From the IRS website:

New Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Tax-Exempt Organizations — e-Postcard (Form 990-N)

Beginning in 2008, small tax-exempt organizations that previously were not required to file returns may be required to file an annual electronic notice, Form 990-N, Electronic Notice (e-Postcard) for Tax-Exempt Organizations not Required To File Form 990 or 990-EZ . This filing requirement applies to tax periods beginning after December 31, 2006. Organizations that do not file the notice will lose their tax-exempt status.

Small tax-exempt organizations, whose gross receipts are normally $25,000 or less, are not required to file Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax , or Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax . With the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), these small tax-exempt organizations will now be required to file electronically Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard, with the IRS annually. Exceptions to this requirement include organizations that are included in a group return, private foundations required to file Form 990-PF, and section 509(a)(3) supporting organizations required to file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. In addition, this filing requirement does not apply to churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.

The IRS will mail educational letters starting in July 2007 notifying small tax-exempt organizations that they may be required to file the e-Postcard. The IRS is developing an electronic filing system (there will be no paper form) for the e-Postcard and will publicize filing procedures when the system is completed and ready for use.

The PPA requires the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of any organization that fails to meet its annual filing requirement for three consecutive years. Therefore, organizations that do not file the e-Postcard (Form 990-N), or an information return Form 990 or 990-EZ for three consecutive years, will have their tax-exempt status revoked as of the filing due date of the third year.

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