An Oklahoma City developer and two state lobbyists are behind a newly minted for-profit corporation spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on Oklahoma’s special senate election. Two of the group's "incorporators" have ties to a federal PAC.
Continue readingContraception vs. campaign cash: Only birth control drew more comments than IRS plan to rein in dark money
More than 140,000 individuals and organizations had something to say about IRS plans to regulate political nonprofits — only the birth control debate surrounding Obamacare garnered more comments.
Continue readingSunlight to IRS: Don’t give up on rules for dark money groups
The Sunlight Foundation urges the IRS to keep fighting the good fight, and to draft rules to properly scrutinize the political activities of social welfare nonprofits.
Continue readingIRS intimidation? House GOP turns the tables as tax agency considers limits on outside political spending
On the week that the IRS is closing the books on comments about its proposed new regulations of political non-profits, Republicans are using their control of the House agenda to not-so-subtly signal their views.
Continue readingGroup plans to sue FEC after dark money deadlock
A public interest group plans to file suit against the FEC for failing to take action against Crossroads GPS, a conservative nonprofit group that never registered as a political committee.
Continue readingAs IRS Takes Aim at Fake Social Welfare Organizations, Will Some in Congress Take Aim at the IRS?
In a surprise announcement, the IRS has opened the door to re-writing outdated rules regarding political activity of so-called social welfare organizations. The move is long overdue. Over a year ago, Sunlight urged the agency to take a look at rules that have not been updated since 1959. We also told Congress that after it held hearings on the IRS’s targeting of groups with conservative sounding names, it should provide guidance for the agency as to how it could more effectively, efficiently and fairly enforce the law. Even though that congressional leadership never materialized, the IRS should be congratulated for taking the first steps toward reforming its broken rules.
The IRS doesn’t have an easy road ahead of it. In the best case scenario, rules won’t be finalized until after the 2014 elections, ensuring that fake social welfare organizations—organizations like Crossroads GPS on the right and Patriot Majority USA on the left—will continue spending the vast majority of their money on election-related activity, not "social welfare." The IRS will face obstruction from congressional Republicans (in the form of legislation attempting to ban the IRS from enacting new rules, threats to its budget, or still more hearings) as well as court challenges that will further threaten the adoption of clear regulations.
IRS takes aim at $300 million campaign influence industry
Updated: 11/26; 6 p.m.
Tuesday's surprise announcement that the Internal Revenue Service intends to take aim at campaign spending by so-called social welfare non-profits could substantially alter the political landscape -- if the tax agency's proposed new regulations eventually take effect. That's a big if given the lengthy and, given the stakes involved, highly contentious path ahead.
Outside groups organized as non-profits poured at least $305 million into the 2012 elections, according to Federal Election Commission figures compiled by the Sunlight Foundation. Those figures likely represent the tip of the dark money iceberg as the groups ...
Continue readingTed Cruz Moves on from Trying to Defund Obamacare to Defending Dark Money
Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) mission to shutter the government in one fell swoop may be (temporarily) over, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped trying to handcuff federal agencies in an effort to impose his own agenda on their work. His most recent effort involves preventing a Senate vote on the nomination of Tom Wheeler for FCC chairman because he wants to get Wheeler’s commitment that he will not use the FCC’s regulatory authority to require disclosure of the dark money behind political ads.
In a statement, Senator Cruz’s office announced, “Yes, the Senator is holding the nominee until he gets answers to his questions regarding Mr. Wheeler’s views on whether the FCC has the authority or intent to implement the requirements of the failed Congressional DISCLOSE Act. Mr. Wheeler had previously declined to give specific answers, but as he’s now expressed his readiness to revisit the Senator’s questions, the Senator hopes to communicate with him soon.”
Good luck to Mr. Wheeler during that conversation.
Koch operative’s dark money group leading charge to cut spending
A Koch-affiliated dark money group is the newest organization to jump on train of shutdown ads and has a new wave of ads targeted at government spending and waste.
Continue readingTo Combat Dark Money, States Must Focus on Disclosure
A recent story in the Huffington Post outlined state-level efforts to combat the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, even as reform... View Article
Continue reading
59063
