ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Center for Competitive Politics’ External Relations Director Matt Nese submitted comments today to the Nevada Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committee concerning Senate Bill 246, which expands the state’s definition of “committee for political action” to include any organization making an expenditure of $5,000, regardless of the nature and extent of its other activities.
“Senate Bill 246 inappropriately ignores decades of jurisprudence regarding the need for a ‘major purpose’ test for organizational registration and reporting,” Nese writes. It further “places an unreasonable and legally-suspect burden on many organizations, and may subject donors to harassment. As a result, many provisions in this legislation raise serious legal concerns, and the bill should be reconsidered and revised.”
The bill’s definition of “committee for political action” uses a monetary trigger to blur the distinction between groups that exist for political purposes, and groups that do not, but happen to incidentally engage in political speech. The comments explain a series of significant court decisions, which have ruled that it is constitutionally impermissible to use such a trigger, rather than an analysis of a group’s major purpose, to determine whether an organization qualifies as a committee for political action.
S.B. 246 will be heard before the Committee this morning at 8:00 AM PT. A copy of the comments can be found here.
For more information, contact CCP Communications Director Sarah Lee at 770.598.7961.
The Center for Competitive Politics promotes and defends the First Amendment’s protection of political rights of speech, assembly, and petition. It is the nation’s largest organization dedicated solely to protecting First Amendment political rights.
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