Interesting comments on this. As Directors are fiduciaries of ARRL, how does that play into it? That said, our bylaws now state that only the President or CEO can officially speak on behalf of ARRL on matters of policy, so maybe that relieves us? 73; Mike W7VO
On 10/15/2023 12:38 PM PDT Mark J Tharp <kb7hdx@gmail.com> wrote:
Dave Sumner had a "It seems to us" note along these lines which is still included in the Current SM workbook FYI.
Mark, HDX
"It Seems to Us . . ." Political Campaigns and the ARRL
By David Sumner, K1ZZ ARRL Chief Executive Officer August 1, 2006
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This fall's off-year federal election campaign promises to be one of the most contentious in memory. Non-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as is the ARRL, must pay strict attention to what they can and cannot do during campaign season.
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The IRS has issued a fact sheet that is available on the web. The fact sheet goes into more detail than either space or your likely attention span would allow here, but in view of our ongoing legislative efforts the subject is worth some discussion.
First, to address a common misconception: tax-exempt non-profits are not prohibited from attempting to influence legislation. The ARRL can lobby, and we can encourage individuals (principally our members) to lobby, on behalf of our legislative positions as long as the resources we devote to this purpose are "insubstantial." Exactly what that means is beyond the scope of this month's editorial, but the ARRL is in no danger of exceeding the limit.
What is prohibited is any involvement in a political campaign. Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. The prohibition applies to all campaigns at the federal, state and local level, and violating it could result in revocation of tax-exempt status.
Political campaign intervention includes any and all activities that favor or oppose one or more candidates for public office. Endorsements of candidates are prohibited, of course. So are contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position made by or on behalf of an organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Distributing statements prepared by others that favor or oppose any candidate is not permitted. Allowing a candidate to use an organization's assets or facilities also violates the prohibition if other candidates are not given an equivalent opportunity.
Leaders of organizations are free to speak for themselves, as individuals, about candidates. However, for their organizations to remain tax exempt under section 501(c)(3), leaders cannot make partisan comments in official organization publications or at official functions of the organization. This applies to anyone who may be perceived as speaking for the ARRL. Leaders who speak or write in their individual capacity should always indicate that their comments are personal and not intended to represent the views of the organization.
As we said at the outset, the ARRL may take positions on public policy issues, including issues that divide candidates in an election for public office. However, we must avoid any issue advocacy that functions as political campaign intervention. Even if a statement does not expressly tell an audience to vote for or against a specific candidate, we risk violating the political campaign intervention prohibition if there is any message favoring or opposing a candidate. The IRS fact sheet lists the key factors that are used in determining whether a communication, including a Web site or a link to someone else's Web site, amounts to prohibited intervention. Links are particularly tricky since the content of a linked site may change over time.
For us this is not simply a matter of the law. It is also a matter of principle. By long tradition, Amateur Radio and the ARRL are staunchly non-partisan. Individual ARRL members can and should be politically active, but we should never imply that the mission of the Amateur Radio Service is more closely aligned with one political party than with another.
Over the years we have been fortunate to win many friends on both sides of the aisle. We want to keep them.
On Sun, Oct 15, 2023 at 10:35 AM Walls, Brent, N9BA (VD, CD) <n9ba@arrl.org mailto:n9ba@arrl.org> wrote:
I want to make sure I understand this since there is an appearance of some confusion.
Any donation is supposed to be personal in nature, but it is being solicited using ARRL resources and delivered by ARRL retained lobbyists. A reasonable person may construe this as an ARRL affiliated donation.
I think the intention here is noble, but we must be careful.
-Brent
Sent from my mobile phone
--------------------------------------------- From: arrl-odv <arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> on behalf of Lee Cooper <w5lhc01@gmail.com mailto:w5lhc01@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 13:09 To: Zygielbaum, Art, K0AIZ (Dir, MW) <k0aiz@arrl.org mailto:k0aiz@arrl.org> Cc: arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org mailto:arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org mailto:arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> Subject: [arrl-odv:35250] Re: Cruz & Johnson
Perhaps one should read the email again? It clearly states PERSONAL Donation, not League. In fact clearly stated it cannot be a corporate one .
Lee
On Sun, Oct 15, 2023, 11:26 AM Arthur I. Zygielbaum <k0aiz@arrl.org mailto:k0aiz@arrl.org> wrote:
While I appreciate John's intent and enthusiasm, I would urge caution. I am not a lawyer and would like to get a legal opinion to corroborate or disavow the following.
Under IRS 501(c)(3) regulations according to the IRS: "Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office."
We need to be very careful not to endanger the ARRL's 501(c)(3) status. John's email may broach the prohibition.
And yes, as a board president of another 501(c)(3), I may be hypersensitive.
Art
On 10/14/2023 9:54 PM, John Robert Stratton wrote:
All
We have a 10.20.23 in-person meeting with Sen. Ted Cruz at his Houston office. We will have multiple, local AR reps in the meeting, including at least one elected office holder. The purpose of the meeting is to persuade Sen.Cruz to be our lead Senate sponsor.
We also have a 10.24.23 dinner in DC with Cong. Bill Johnson and one other Congressman.
It would be beneficial to our cause if we were to tender contributions to their campaigns. I will be tendering contributions to both.
We are advised that $250 and up are reasonable contributions. If you can't hit that mark, any contribution would be beneficial. These contributions MUST be individual, non-corporate donations — and NO — any contribution cannot be reimbursed from your Director's budget. No contribution is too small.
If you wish to contribute to either Johnson or Cruz, you may make your check payable to "Bill Johnson Campaign" or "Ted Cruz Campaign" and send them to me. I will see to it that our lobbyists deliver your donations along with mine to the appropriate campaign person.
_______________________________________
John Robert Stratton
N5AUS
Director West Gulf Division
Office: 512-445-6262 Cell: 512-426-2028 P.O. Box 2232 Austin, Texas 78768-2232
_______________________________________
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-- Arthur I. Zygielbaum, K0AIZ ARRL Midwest Division Director Member, Executive Committee Member, Programs and Services Committee Member, ARRL Foundation Board ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio®
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