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Public Policy
Nonprofit
Policy News The
health care debate matters to nonprofits
As Congress
and the Obama Administration move forward in developing health care
reform legislation, nonprofit organizations are convinced that major
action is needed from three vantage points:
- as employers
purchasing health insurance for employees and their families,
- as providers
of medical care serving many people without health insurance,
and
- as advocates
for the needs of local communities.
Under current
versions of health care reform legislation in the U.S. House, millions
of nonprofit organizations would be left out of protections aimed
at helping employers afford health care coverage for their employees.
Members of the Minnesota Congressional delegation, led by Rep. Betty
McCollum, have signed onto a a
joint letter to the House leadership which calls for the inclusion
of nonprofits in such protections.
What
your organization can do:
Nonprofits
are ready to act in concert and many have joined a sign-on
letter to the Minnesota Congressional delegation supporting
MCN's health care reform
principles which include:
- Support for
small employers, including nonprofit employers
- Making health
care affordable for low-income Minnesotans
- Adequate
federal funding
- Containment
of unsustainable cost increases
Read MCN's
position statement on health care reform
Read our sign-on
letter to the Minnesota Congressional delegation
Read MCN's October
28th press release, 'Health
care matters to nonprofits'
Get up-to-date
information on the health care debate from the
Minnesota Budget Bites Blog
Notice
of proposed annual street maintenance and street lighting fee assessment
for nonprofits in Minneapolis (Update
below November 11)
If your organization
owns property in Minneapolis, you may have recently received a notice
from the City of Minneapolis regarding public hearings related to
assessments on street maintenance and street lighting fees strictly
aimed at nongovernmental tax exempt parcels. The Transportation and
Public Works (TPW) Committee met on October 20, 2009 to discuss this
and other issues. We are proud to report that sixteen tax-exempt organizations
including service providers, arts groups, hospitals, churches and
cemetery associations spoke up with the message that the cumulative
effect of similar targeted fees and assessments is undercutting the
very reason these organizations are exempt in the first place.
Read
the compelling testimony from Peter Rodosovich, Vice President
of Operations for the YMCA of Metropolitan Minneapolis; also check
out coverage
of this important issue from Minnpost.
(Update)
The Transportation
and Public Works Committee of the Minneapolis City Council reconvened
on Thursday, November 5th to further consider the proposed street
light operations and street maintenance fee assessments on nongovernmental
tax exempt properties. The committee took action on the two items
separately. Cemetery properties were removed from the rolls for
both assessments. Regarding the street light operations fee assessment,
no major changes were made as it relates to nonprofit tax-exempt
organizations. For the street maintenance assessment, the committee
is recommending that the levies be phased in over a three-year period.
The full council
is to review these recommendations at their regularly scheduled
meeting, Friday, November 13th at 9:30 a.m. in Room 317 of the City
Hall building. You can follow this link to review the city staff
presentations, including power points, and the minutes of the committee
meeting. http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2009-meetings/20091113/tpw20091105agenda.asp
MCN members
in Minneapolis continue to express concern regarding the impact
of further assessments diverting funds from community programs and
services at a time when there is increased demand for the services
nonprofits provide while at the same time they are experiencing
decreased revenues from all sources.You
can find the contact information for your Minneapolis city council
member by following this link:http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/
For more information,
please contact MCN Deputy Public Policy Director Jeannie Fox at
jeannie@mncn.org or 651-757-3083
MCN
announces fall Nonprofit Advocacy Training Series
Economic
recession. Budget deficits. Unallotment. 2010 Elections. Rarely have
we seen the kind of “perfect storm” that has resulted
in record unemployment, record foreclosure rates, near national budget
deficits, uncharted legislative and administrative maneuvering and
dozens of Minnesota leaders running for Governor – all creating
unprecedented levels of uncertainty for Minnesota’s future.
Minnesota’s
nonprofit sector needs to be a strong voice in the public dialogue.
Increasing demand for the services that nonprofits provide while
the sector is experiencing a period of retrenchment means that we
need to ensure the state’s precious fiscal and policy resources
are put to their best use. Those decisions can’t be made well
without nonprofit voices at the table speaking from the front lines
of Minnesota’s communities. Join us in sessions around the
state as we explore basic advocacy rules, communications and social
media, organizing and coalitions, legislative and local government
processes and building for power! Check back to see selected repeats
of these sessions scheduled in Greater Minnesota.
See
full list of training sessions with event details
MMB
releases list of Governor’s approved unallotments
July
1st was the first day of Fiscal Year 2010 and the first day that the
Governor’s $2.7 billion in unallotments take effect.
For the most current list of unallotments, download
this list of “Approved
Unallotments and Administrative Actions,” released by
Minnesota Management and Budget.
As always, keep up-to-date on budget news from the
Minnesota Budget Bites
blog
Nonprofit
property tax exemption bill signed into law
MCN's top 2009 legislative agenda item was to pass a nonprofit property
tax exemption bill; we're very pleased to report the bill was passed
and signed on Saturday, May 16th. Please visit the charitable
property tax exemption campaign site to learn more about the
new law and what it means for nonprofits.
Audit
threshold raised to $750,000 for nonprofits
The governor has signed a bill with a provision to increase the threshold
at which organizations are required to obtain an audited financial
statement that have been examined by an independent certified public
accountant. The bill changes the threshold from $350,000, where it
has sat for the last twelve years, to $750,000. Organizations with
a fiscal year ending July 1, 2008 or later, fall under the new limit
of $750,000 for 2008 reporting. MCN believes that for Minnesota, given
the dramatically increased costs of audits and the filing of the new
IRS form 990, along with the effects of inflation, this is an appropriate
time to increase the threshold. Read
the language of the bill, HF1298, that was included in the the tax
policy bill. The provision is at section
191.34 in the bill.
Public
Policy at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
MCN supports individual nonprofits and Minnesota’s
nonprofit sector to be their own best voice. Our policy work has
focused on informing nonprofits of what is proposed in policy arenas,
what it means and how nonprofits can serve as a resource to decision
makers as they choose priorities and funding options. We host events,
workshops, trainings and issue briefings, deliver testimony and
distribute email legislative updates to ensure that nonprofits are
educated and engaged on key issues facing the state.
Over
the past 20 years, MCN has advocated on issues that impact all
nonprofits, their constituents and communities and has succeeded
in a range of efforts to increase incentives to charitable giving
and protect nonprofit tax exemptions, lobbying rights and election
activity rights.
Current
Campaigns include:
Invest
in Minnesota Campaign - The Invest in Minnesota
Campaign is a coalition of Minnesota’s nonprofit organizations,
labor groups and religious communities organized around raising
revenues fairly to address Minnesota's budget shortfall.
Projects
of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits include:
Minnesota
Participation Project (MPP) - This is an exciting effort
to support and expand the capacity of Minnesota nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organizations to effectively engage in permissible nonpartisan voter
engagement efforts - registration, voter education and beyond. MPP
is also working with community partners to ensure a complete count
in the 2010 Census.
Minnesota
Budget Project - The Minnesota
Budget Project provides independent research, analysis and outreach
on budget and tax policy issues at the state and federal level,
emphasizing their impact on low- and moderate-income persons and
the nonprofits that serve them.
National
Voter Education Network (NVEN)
- The Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network (NVEN) is a collaboration
of statewide voter engagement initiatives anchored in the nonprofit
sector. NVEN is dedicated to expanding the role of America’s
nonprofits in voting and elections with the goal of increasing participation
in the democratic process among all citizens with a focus on those
with a history of lower voter participation. The initiative is a
nonpartisan program of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the
largest statewide nonprofit association in the country.
Questions? Comments? Contact Jeff Narabrook
at jeff@mncn.org
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