Bill would give Treasury Secretary broad power to revoke tax exemptions with little due process
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House Vote Scheduled Wednesday 11/20 on Dangerous Anti-Nonprofit Legislation
IMMEDIATE CALLS NEEDED: Tell your Member of Congress to OPPOSE H.R. 9495
The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to reconsider H.R. 9495, harmful legislation that would empower the U.S. Treasury Secretary to unilaterally deem nonprofits as terrorist-supporting organizations and revoke their tax exemptions with little due process. The bill failed to pass the House on November 12, but the House is planning another vote as early as Wednesday, November 20, under rules that allow for no floor amendments and only a simple majority needed to pass.
H.R. 9495, the "Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act," purports to stop bad actors from using nonprofit organizations to fund terrorism, as is already prohibited under current law. It also includes some laudable provisions to extend tax deadlines for those unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad.
But H.R. 9495 goes much, much farther, building on provisions in previous legislation, H.R. 6408, to empower the Secretary of Treasury to designate 501(c) organizations as “terrorist supporting organizations” and revoke their tax-exempt status with minimal due process. It would allow the Secretary to bring such accusations without disclosing the evidence behind them, provides for a 3-year lookback period, and would place the burden of proof on the organization to disprove the allegations. The potential for overreach, subjective application, and abuse of this authority is enormous, and the consequences for organizations and the people they serve cannot be overstated.
A sample message: “Please vote NO on H.R. 9495. This legislation inappropriately combines well-intentioned tax relief for Americans held hostage abroad with deeply destructive provisions that would allow the Treasury Secretary to designate nonprofits as ‘terrorist-supporting organizations’ and strip their tax exemptions with little justification or due process.This bill in its current form is extremely harmful to nonprofits and the people and communities we serve.”
For additional background, see the joint statement of the National Council of Nonprofits, Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, and United Philanthropy Forum opposing H.R. 9495.
If you receive any feedback from your Congressperson, please let us know so we can track the response.
Feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you for your advocacy.
Court Strikes Down Federal Overtime Rule
Late last week, a federal district judge in Texas invalidated the U.S. Labor Department’s overtime rule that sought to raise the minimum salary level that white collar employees must be paid to remain exempt from overtime pay.
Most employers in the U.S., or their individual employees, are protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards for employees. Unless specifically exempted, an employee covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than one and one-half their regular rate of pay. In New Jersey, because the state overtime rules are tied directly to the federal FLSA, the federal overtime rules apply to most employers in our state (including nonprofits) and their employees.
Employees are exempt from overtime pay requirements if they are employed on a salaried basis in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional (EAP) capacity as those terms are defined by the DOL.There is also an exemption for highly compensated employees.All of these minimum salary thresholds were increased on July 1, 2024, and a second round of increases was scheduled to take effect January 1, 2025.
The ruling restores the thresholds to their 2019 levels, which means that employees making less than $684/week or $35,568/year, are not exempt from overtime, even if they are employed in an EAP capacity. The “highly compensated employee” threshold also returns to the 2019 rate of $107,432/year, making employees who make more than that amount automatically exempt from overtime.
Although the Department of Labor could appeal the ruling, this is considered unlikely, given the impending change in administrations.
On November 18, Governor Murphy signed legislation that will require employers of 10 or more workers to include wage or salary information and benefits descriptions in job postings for new positions. S-2310/A4151 (signed into law as P.L. 2024, c.91) will also require covered employers to provide notice to existing employees of positions that might qualify as a promotion for its current workers.
Although pay transparency has been increasingly recommended as a good practice that promotes equitable hiring and efficiency in the hiring process, New Jersey now joins a growing list of states and localities that have enacted it as a legal requirement. Jersey City already has a pay transparency ordinance that applies to employers with 5 or more employees.
American Rescue Plan Act spending deadline draws near; opportunities may still exist for New Jersey nonprofits
Time is running short for governments to allocate any remaining unobligated COVID-19 funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program. There may be still be funding available for nonprofits if they investigate soon.
Background:Enacted by the federal government in 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program allocated $350 billion to state and local jurisdictions for COVID-19 relief.New Jersey received approximately $10 billion divided between the state, counties, and municipalities.
ARPA explicitly includes nonprofits as possible recipients of these funds, available both to assist nonprofit organizations directly, and to hire nonprofits as providers of services on behalf of local governments.To date, these funds have been obligated for a wide set of recovery-oriented purposes, including childcare, housing assistance, healthcare, capital expenditures, and many others.
Sources vary greatly on how much of New Jersey’s $10 billion allocation remains unobligated.However, the most recent U.S. Treasury report from June 2024 indicates a total of $1.5 billion in unspent funds across these three jurisdictions, with $640 million remaining at the county and municipal levels.Some of these funds may still be available, but the deadline for allocation is fast approaching.
Importantly, the Act requires these funds to be obligated by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026.The federal government may reclaim any SLFRF funds not obligated by the end of this year.
The Center previously sent a letter to Governor Murphy, Lieutenant Governor Way and legislative leadership urging them to insure all funds are obligated and as a reminder that nonprofits are well positioned to administer programs that benefit New Jersey residents.
Opportunity:Now is the time for you to reach out to your county and local government officials to determine if any local relief dollars remain, position your organization as a possible recipient of these resources, and to remind officials that the federal government may take back any unobligated funds.
While county and local governments can be structured differently, find information here on how to contact your county administration.
Please reach out to Doug Schoenberger (doug@njnonprofits.org) at the Center with any questions or feedback you receive.
Are you registered?
Join with fellow changemakers at YOUR New Jersey Nonprofits Conference on December 4 in Somerset. Register today!
"As nonprofits, our entire reason for being is to make society better by our missions and deeds.
As part of that promise, we have a responsibility to advance an equitable society, to shine a bright light on the harsh reality of systemic racism and injustice and to actively work against it."
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