Posted by Emily Champlin, AFJ Summer Legal Intern
UPDATE: On June 17, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously (11-0) voted to adopt the proposed legislation in the form discussed below, including retaining the exemption for all 501(c)(3)s and small (c)(4)s. The legislation awaits the signature of Mayor Ed Lee. Advocates expect him to approve the bill. Once the Mayor signs the ordinance, it will go into effect 30 days later. You can view the status of the legislation at the Board of Supervisors website.
In addition to helping nonprofits understand the IRS rules on lobbying limits and definitions, Alliance for Justice tracks changes to lobbying disclosure requirements on the state and local level so we can help navigate the intersecting web of federal, state, and local disclosure laws.
AFJ has been closely following a San Francisco lobbying ordinance that was first proposed about a year ago. The proposal initially required anyone who made five for more contacts with a city official in a calendar month to register and report as a lobbyist. Given that it takes eight votes to pass a budget, nonprofits would quickly reach this threshold.
At its May 22nd meeting, the Government Audit and Oversight Committee voted unanimously to finally send the legislation to the full San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 10th. By then, thanks to AFJ and many other local nonprofits’ hard work, the legislation had some major changes. The latest version of the ordinance included amendments excluding all 501(c)(3) and small 501(c)(4) employees and officers from having to register and report as lobbyists at the local level. For more background see our recent blog post, “Expanded Lobbying Disclosures Possible for San Francisco.”
A surprising comment was made at the meeting, by one of the elected officials, that it is illegal for a 501(c)(3) to lobby. This is one of the most common misconceptions out there. We at AFJ want to make it clear that (c)(3)s absolutely can lobby and lobbying is, in fact, one of the most effective advocacy tools available. Read our fact sheet on basic lobbying rules, or contact us as 1- 866-NPLOBBY or advocacy@afj.org for technical assistance if you have any questions.
This ordinance is an example of how overlapping laws regulate nonprofit lobbying. AFJ produces many resources to help nonprofits decipher these laws so they can use their full lobbying potential to participate in public policy debates. Check out our state law resources and our California local lobbying disclosure fact sheet.
Stay tuned for updates after the June 10th Board of Supervisors meeting!
