The Marsh & McLennan Agency recently published an article that clarifies a new IRS regulation that states that many nonprofit employees can purchase subsidized health insurance on the ACA marketplace for their spouses and dependents starting January 2023. A link to details of the full alert and marketplace Premium Tax Credit (PTC) eligibility can be found here.

After Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry officially launched his gubernatorial campaign last month, Senator John Kennedy announced that he may consider running for Louisiana’s top office. The federal mid-term election results,  AG Landry and Senator Kennedy’s announcement have changed the course of one of the Republican names that previously considered a run, and delayed announcements for other Republican officials who earlier mentioned their consideration.

• U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy stated that he won’t jump into the 2023 governor's race, choosing instead to leverage his growing seniority in the U.S. Senate.
• Republican Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, who has been considered likely to run, stated that Senator Kennedy’s decision "will absolutely make a difference in my decision.” Nungesser will launch a poll on December 10th and will make final decision by January 10, 2023.
• Treasurer John Schroder said that he will make his final decision of whether he will run for Governor by January 12, 2023.
• Some early names brought up to run on a Democratic gubernatorial ticket include Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Shawn Wilson and former Congressman Cedric Richmond.
• Qualifying for state races begins on August 8, 2023.

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2023 Regular Legislative Session will convene at noon on Monday, April 10, 2023. Final adjournment no later than 6:00 p.m. on Thursday June 8, 2023.

2023 is both an election year and a fiscal session. During a fiscal session, “no matters shall be introduced or considered unless they relate to fiscal (money) matters or local or special laws and legislators are limited to filing five non-fiscal bills.”

The 2023 political calendar will include races for governor and legislative seats, and many lawmakers will be in their final session before term limits force them out of the Legislature. This will likely leave little taste for many controversial bills being filed.

Some interesting things to review before the 2023 fiscal session are the fiscal highlights for 2022-2023 published by the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office and parish-by-parish audit reports put out by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office.

The Legislative Fiscal Office is an independent agency created by statute to provide factual and unbiased information to both the House of Representatives and the State Senate. The Office provides assistance to individual legislators, committees of the Legislature and the entire Legislature. Legislators' individual requests are considered confidential and will remain confidential unless otherwise requested. Specific information about the Legislative Fiscal Office can be found in the Louisiana Revised Statutes, RS 24:601 through 24:608.

Louisiana Legislative Auditor provides an independent assessment and proactive guidance, resulting in accurate reporting of the fiscal condition and performance of government and the sources and uses of its financial resources. The office is a resource in matters ranging from local fiscal issues to the State’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

The results of the November 8th mid-term elections moved some Louisiana congressional members up the leadership ladder. First District Congressman Steve Scalise from Jefferson Parish has been elected as Majority Leader in the 118th Congress, which will be controlled by Republicans starting in 2023. As House Majority Leader, Congressman Scalise is the lead speaker for the majority party during floor debates, develops the calendar, and will assist the speaker with program development, policy formation and policy decisions. Scalise will gather and count votes to support initiatives that not only he but the party considers a priority. The last Majority Leader from Louisiana was Hale Boggs from 1971-1973. A list of roles and responsibilities of selected leadership positions can be found here.

In addition to Congressman Steve Scalise serving as House Majority Leader in D.C. next year, Congressman Mike Johnson will keep his current position as vice-chair of the Republican caucus. Congressmen Garret Graves, Clay Higgins, Julia Letlow, and Troy Carter are also expected to advance in their committee assignments. Lastly, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) is now in line to become the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The formal process to seat the next ranking member will take place in the new Congress.

What does all of this mean for Louisiana? It gives Louisiana more of a voice on steering committees and committee chair appointments and possibly brings Louisiana more federal projects and funding. If you don’t have relationships with your congressional members or the

Louisiana and D.C. staff, now is the time to call to schedule a meeting with your members and/or their staff to discuss your organizations’ major challenges and how they can help. Last votes for 2022 will be held on December 15, then members are off for the holidays.

Links to the recent webinar, “Federal Mid-Term Elections: Impact on Charitable Nonprofits” can be found below. The consistent message from each of the speakers is that the sector is stronger when we work together.

The National Nonprofit Council is encouraging nonprofit organizations to sign onto the Charitable Giving Coalition letter calling on Congress to support restoring and expanding the charitable deduction for non-itemizers in year-end legislation. Link to letter and sign on form.

Webinar Resources:

• View the webinar recording
• View the slides from the webinar (PDF)

2023 Regular Legislative Session will convene at noon on Monday, April 10, 2023.

Final adjournment no later than 6:00 p.m. on Thursday June 8, 2023.

2023 is both an election year and a fiscal session. During a fiscal session, “no matters shall be introduced or considered unless they relate to fiscal (money) matters or local or special laws and legislators are limited to filing five non-fiscal bills.” https://legis.la.gov/legisdocs/23rs/23RS_House_Bulletin.pdf

The 2023 political calendar will include races for governor and legislative seats, and many lawmakers will be in their final session before term limits force them out of the Legislature. This will likely leave little taste for many controversial bills being filed.

Some interesting things to review before the 2023 fiscal session are the fiscal highlights for 2022-2023 published by the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office and parish-by-parish audit reports put out by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office.

The Legislative Fiscal Office is an independent agency created by statute to provide factual and unbiased information to both the House of Representatives and the State Senate. The Office provides assistance to individual legislators, committees of the Legislature and the entire Legislature. Legislators' individual requests are considered confidential and will remain confidential unless otherwise requested. Specific information about the Legislative Fiscal Office can be found in the Louisiana Revised Statutes, RS 24:601 through 24:608.

Louisiana Legislative Auditor provides an independent assessment and proactive guidance, resulting in accurate reporting of the fiscal condition and performance of government and the sources and uses of its financial resources. The office is a resource in matters ranging from local fiscal issues to the State’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

A list of congressional, state and local elections results can be found on the Secretary of State’s voter portal site. Also, results of which Constitutional Amendments passed or failed on the November 8th ballot can be found here.

It’s worth noting the re-election of the sponsors of the National Council of Nonprofit’s main bills – the Universal Charitable Deduction and the ERTC Reinstatement Act, and a volunteer mileage bill that might be gaining some traction.

S.618 - Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act

• Among the 19 sponsors, all up for election are returning next Congress with the possible exception of Sens. Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Warnock (D-GA).

• Sponsor Chris Pappas (D-NH) won re-election. Here’s the co-sponsor list for further analysis.

H.R.6161 - Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act

• Sponsor Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) easily won re-election, although lead co-sponsor Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) retired. It’s worth noting that the impressive 113 co-sponsor list is heavy with Republicans.

S. 3625 - Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act

• Sponsors Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Tim Scott (R-SC) both handily won re-election. All of the remaining co-sponsors who stood for re-election appear to be returning in the 118th Congress.

H.R.8265 - TEAM Volunteers Act

• Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), sponsor of the bill to raise the volunteer mileage rate to the business rate for two years, has been declared the winner of a very tight race. While only two of the 10 co-sponsors are Republicans, a variation of the bill could show up on a year-end tax bill.

Mastercard has new rules for recurring transactions. This link is a good recap of current discussions between the National Council of Nonprofits and Mastercard, especially in the midst of year-end giving campaigns.

Join nonprofits from across the U.S. on Monday, November 14th at 1pm CT to discuss the impact of the federal elections on nonprofits, their missions, and our communities. This webinar hosted by the networks of the National Council of Nonprofits will focus on the election results, how they affect the lame-duck session of Congress, and what nonprofits from many different sub sectors can expect from and achieve in the 118th Congress.

Register for the Post-Election Webinar now!