Analysis: Fed Judge's Decision Lets NM Non-Profits Breathe Easier
By Eric Mack
Public News Service, New Mexico
August 5, 2009
DENVER -- A federal judge's decision this week has thawed a frosty situation for New Mexico nonprofit groups. The case involved direct-mail pieces that were sent out before last year's primary election and had been critical of certain candidates.
The state had claimed the educational campaigns - by the Southwest Organizing Project and New Mexico Youth Organized - amounted to electioneering, which would have required the groups to register as political committees. However, Judge Judith Herrera rejected that notion on Monday.
... Aaron Dorfman, who directs the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, says the ruling affirms the right of nonprofit organizations to perform one of their most important functions.
"That people have the opportunity to organize and advocate on their own behalf, through nonprofit organizations, on the issues and causes that affect their lives."
Read the full article and listen to radio coverage here.
