President Joe Biden recently signed into law a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill (H.R. 2617) to fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year (through September 30). Unfortunately, the omnibus spending bill does not restore the universal charitable deduction and two other incentives for charitable giving that expired at the end of 2021, nor does it retroactively restore the Employee Retention Tax Credit, which had expired after the third quarter of 2021. It also doesn’t reinstate the enhanced child tax credit, which had led to record-low child poverty levels last year and which also expired at the end of 2021.
On a positive note, the omnibus spending bill does include several spending increases that will benefit many nonprofits, including a 30% increase in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, increased funding for the Community Development Block Grant and the Homeless Assistance Grants, and significant new investment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill also spends $15 billion on 7,200 earmarks to local governments and nonprofits around the country.
To help your organization better understand the implications of the omnibus spending bill for charitable nonprofits, the National Council of Nonprofits has provided a helpful two-page summary of highlights and lowlights in the bill for nonprofits.
After several days of balloting, the Republican party, which won back majority of the US House of Representatives, elected Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as the new Speaker of the House. This allowed for the Representatives to be sworn in and the House rules to be adopted.
The Louisiana Alliance for Nonprofits recommend that your organizations get to know Louisiana’s congressional members and invite them for visits to your organization or any special events when the congressional members are in Louisiana. The more informed they are of the work that nonprofits do in Louisiana, the better they can advocate for programs you implement and obtain the resources needed in order to continue to serve Louisiana communities.
Nonprofits continue to be impacted by the pandemic and the economic downturn. As we know, these events have made the need for charitable giving more important than ever. The Universal Charitable Deduction makes a difference to individual donors as many nonprofits have seen a huge drop off in that tax bracket since the new standard deduction took effect.
The Charitable Giving Coalition has a new letter that is being used as the primary advocacy tool for making the case for restoring, extending, and improving the universal charitable deduction. To date, the letter has over 700 signers from all 50 states. Although this isn’t a National Council of Nonprofits letter, the messaging is good to share with congressional members should your nonprofit elect not to sign onto the letter.
Congressional members are off for the holidays after December 15th. The House calendar and swearing in of new elected congressional members will be held on January 3, 2023. 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.
Nonprofits around the country are focusing advocacy efforts using the following three points:
Please email shelly@impactmanagement.com if you have seen a huge drop in your donations since the new deduction took effect.
In the National Council of Nonprofits blog, Tiffany Gourley Carter has an in-depth article on student loan policy developments, providing an overview of the changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and an update on the many moving parts related to student debt cancellation proposed by the Administration.
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.
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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:
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
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