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July 24, 2008
1) Let us
hear from you!
Tell CAN
about the impact of the state budget crisis on your
organization
It's now over three weeks into the new
fiscal year with no state budget in place. That means
that many nonprofits that receive state funding are facing the
unwelcome prospect of not knowing if or when they will receive
their next payments for grants, contracts or
fee-for-service arrangements.
If you are one of those nonprofits, we'd like to hear
from you. We'll take what you tell us and pass it on to the
Legislature, the Governor's Office, and the media.
Please complete this short survey about the
impacts of the the budget impasse on your
organization. We'll report on what
we learn from you in an upcoming Policy Update.
For more information on the state
budget visit http://www.cbp.org.
For a special message from the State Controller
on state payments during the budget crisis, go to CAN's home
page: http://www.CAnonprofits.org.
2) Status Report
on Major Nonprofit Legislation
With the
California State Legislature on its first extended break of the
year - it returns on August 4 for the final scheduled month of
its 2007-08 session - it's a good time to examine progress
to date on key nonprofit-related legislation. Here is the latest
news about some of the most important bills CAN is watching this
year.
Accountability
Diversity:
AB 624 (Joe Coto, D-San Jose), which would
have required California foundations with assets over
$250,000,000 to collect and post diversity data on governance,
contracts and grantmaking, was pulled in June when negotiations
between the author, sponsor and foundations resulted in an
agreement by the foundations to pursue a plan to boost funding
in the coming years to strengthen the staff and infrastructure
of minority-led, grass-roots nonprofits.
The foundations also promised to devote more
attention to "activities that will bolster and train a diverse
pipeline of executives, staff and board members" and "to funding
ongoing research on the nonprofit sector in California,
including the number of minority-led, community-based nonprofits
and their capacity needs."
CAN opposed this bill because of concerns about its
effectiveness, its impact on donor discretion and administrative
burdens it would impose on nonprofits at the same time as it
supported the end product of voluntary action to improve
diversity outcome. For further information on the agreement and
news clips and editorials plus the views of opponents'
(including The Council on Foundations and Independent Sector)
visit www.acreform.com. For the
views of the bill's supporters (including The Greenlining
Institute and California State Conference of the NAACP) go to
http://greenlining.org/sections/view/philanthropy.
Fundraising
Bingo: A federal
judge has stopped Attorney General Jerry Brown from cracking
down on charity electronic bingo. In a series of opinions and
advisories dating to 1984, Brown and his predecessors have
consistently concluded that electronic versions of the game are
illegal in California. But, late last month, district
judge Saundra Brown Armstrong agreed to allow operation of
electronic bingo machines while their legal status is sorted out
in litigation brought by commercial bingo equipment vendors and
nonprofits such as United Cerebral Palsy Association and WIND
Youth Services.
Electronic bingo is booming in some parts of the
state, like Sacramento County, where machines generated a
significant portion of the $43 million in the reported gross
bingo revenues for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. Bingo machines
also have been found or reported in Santa Clara County, Pleasant
Hill, Berkeley, Concord, Whittier, Torrance, Adelanto and
Victorville and proposed for authorization by city officials in
Long Beach and Palmdale.
Meanwhile, three bills are stalled in the legislature
that together would result in major changes in state bingo laws.
CAN supports SB 1328 (Gil Cedillo, D-Los
Angeles), which allows for bingo games to be
interconnected between chapters or affiliates of organizations
like Boys and Girls Clubs or Elks Lodges. This legislation
provides new options for charity bingo fundraising without
posing the complex and controversial issues of SB 1626
(Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento), which legalizes
electronic bingo machines as long as they are determined not to
be slot machines, and SB 864 (Jim Battin, R- Palm
Desert), which allows for legal action to be taken by
private parties against nonprofit electronic bingo machine
operators.
Donation boxes: AB 2610
(Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles) would authorize local
governments to prohibit or to regulate collection boxes for used
clothing and household goods. Sponsored by the Council of
Goodwill Industries of California, the bill raised some policy
concerns that led CAN to seek amendments that have recently been
written into the legislation to provide more oversight and a
more level playing field for nonprofits using donation boxes for
fundraising purposes. Opponents include the League of California
Cities, who argue that the bill is unnecessary and potentially
confusing. AB 2610 has passed the Assembly and is awaiting a
floor vote in the Senate.
Emergency/Disaster
Response and
Recovery
Liability:
AB 2796 (Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara) is a
CAN-sponsored bill that would provide for limited liability
immunity for nonprofit emergency and disaster responders. It has
generated widespread support and interest, with business, law
enforcement, and consumer attorneys all working together with
CAN and a coalition of nonprofits to craft the final version of
the bill. In addition to sponsoring legislation, CAN and
state agencies have convened a series of meetings of nonprofits
to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
emergency/disaster response and recovery. If you
interested in being part of this discussion, please contact
klarsen@CAnonprofits.org.
Volunteerism/service
Volunteers and
public works: Two bills - AB 2364 (Mimi
Walters, R-Mission Viejo); SB 1345 (Roy
Ashburn, R-Bakersfield) - failed in committee; each
would have totally removed the December 31, 2008 sunset on state
law that allows volunteers to work on public works projects that
are subject to prevailing wage requirements. A third bill,
AB 2537 (Warren Furutani, D-Long Beach),
extends the allowance for three years only and requires the
Director of the Department of Industrial Relations to conduct a
study evaluating the impact of allowing volunteers on public
works projects. It has cleared the Assembly and is now in the
Senate Appropriations Committee. These bills are follow-ups to
legislation passed in 2004 to enable volunteering on public
works projects after enforcement actions were taken in response
to complaints from organized labor that volunteers were doing
jobs that, under law, should have been prevailing wage paid
positions. In addition to CAN, which supported all three bills,
AB 2537 has attracted a wide and diverse range of supporters,
including local governments, conservation corps, parks and
recreation associations and districts, water agencies,
environmental groups, and even the Sacramento Rugby
Foundation.
3) White House
Conference comes to California August
18
"Ignite and Unite: A Partnership
Summit to Strengthen Communities" is the theme of a statewide
conference scheduled for August 18 at the Sacramento Convention
Center. Presented by The White House Office of Faith Based and
Community Initiatives and CaliforniaVolunteers, this event will
provide resources and training on a variety of topics, including
volunteer trends and management, disaster preparedness and
response, crime prevention/intervention, prisoner reentry,
accessing private, State and Federal resources and more. The
conference is free, but pre-registration is required at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/.
4) Governor's
health care reform efforts continue
In
spite of the failure of the state legislature to adopt the
governor's plan late last year, the Schwarzenegger
Administration has begun to release draft bill language for a
comprehensive set of health care proposals for lawmakers' future
consideration. Phase one covers cost containment, prevention,
and consumer protection, To view the language, please visit
http://opr.ca.gov/temp/. To discuss health care reform with the
Administration, contact Herb K. Schultz, Senior Advisor, at
(916) 213-0763 or Herb.Schultz@gov.ca.gov.
5) Raise the
Charitable Mileage Rate
A nationwide
campaign to increase the Charitable Mileage Rate is building
momentum in Congress. California has the largest
delegation in Congress, so the votes of our representatives are
crucial.
While the Standard Business Mileage Rate increased
July 1 to 58.5 cents per mile, the Charitable Mileage Rate has
been stuck at 14 cents for ten years. Raising the charitable
rate to match the business rate would provide much-needed
incentives to volunteers who drive their personal vehicles for
charitable service.
For more background and a sample letter on this issue
see http://capwiz.com/pano/issues/alert/?alertid=11426646.
To contact your Congressional representatives visit
https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml.
6) About the
CAN Policy Update
The Update is
published by the California Association of Nonprofits (CAN). CAN
has been working for more than 20 years to strengthen and expand
the professionalism, governance, influence, and effectiveness of
California nonprofit organizations. The CAN Policy Council
brings together community, grantmaking and academic leaders to
shape public policies so that they benefit and respond to
California nonprofit organizations and the communities they
serve.
The Update is one of CAN's many public policy
information and action tools. For calls to action on legislation
affecting nonprofit funding and regulation, research and general
information go to CAN's Advocacy Page.
For more information about CAN and everything else we
have to offer and for information on becoming a member of CAN,
please visit http://www.canonprofits.org/.
Compiled by:
Ken Larsen, Director of Public
Policy
California Association of Nonprofits, Sacramento
Office
P.O. Box 188947, Sacramento, CA 95818-8947
Ph:
916.402.1335
klarsen@CAnonprofits.org | 
