Public interest groups comment on proposed AO
I received the following by email:
The Alliance for Justice, joined by over 300 other organizations, filed
comments that criticize a proposed Federal Election Commission advisory
opinion that could fundamentally alter the ability of nonprofits to advocate
for the causes they care about.
The heart of the draft AO states that any communication that "promotes,
supports, attacks, or opposes" any federal candidate must be paid for using
funds raised under the restrictions of the federal election laws - so-called
"hard money." If the FEC adopts the reasoning of this draft AO,
incorporated 501(c)(3)s and 501(c)(4)s would effectively be banned from
doing anything that "promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes" a federal
candidate, even if the message focuses only on policy issues.
Here is the comment letter.