Passage of Bill Marks Our Entry Into Policy Arena
Categories: Facilities,Maintenance,Legislation,Construction,high performance schools,Environment,Policy,Funding
John K. Ramsey, CAE
Executive Director/CEO
During my recent travels to region conferences, I've been asked by members why we haven’t been active in the policy-making arena in Washington, D.C. The passage of HR 3021, the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act by a vote of 250-164 on June 4, 2008 marks our entry into this important area. The Bill authorizes $6.4 billion to assist state and local communities with federal grants for energy efficient school modernization and construction projects, and has now moved to the Senate for consideration. This is the first time that we have actively engaged in bi-partisan political activity.
The CEFPI Board of Directors, through the Executive Committee, approved the support of this Bill. After it was learned that attempts were made to make the “green” language in the Bill pertinent to only meeting LEED certification to be eligible to receive the funds, President Kirkley visited with committee staff who authored the bill and voiced concern about the issue. The language now states that "LEED, CHPS, or any state designated equivalent standard" may be used to qualify for federal funding assistance for these programs. We were in good company as AASA, NSBA, PTA, and other allied associations officially signed on to support this initiative. Details about this Bill can be found by inserting the bill number HR 3021 at http://thomas.loc.gov/
I've been asked by a number of CEFPI members about our ability to lobby given that we are a 501(c)(3) organization. Here is the response I've been sending.
As far as CEFPI and the Chapter Charters and Bylaws state, there is no prohibitive language concerning advancing legislation or regulatory activities.
One of the common misconceptions (even made by some attorneys) is that a 501 (c) (3) organization, which is a subsection of IRS Code, is prohibited from lobbying and/or educational activities and political influence. The IRS has two tests that are used to determine if the organization is ineligible for being tax exempt known as the “substantial test” – in which a substantial amount of the annual budget is used to lobby; or the $1 million test – in which the organization spends more than $1 million annually on influencing specific pieces of legislation and/or regulatory initiatives. In short, CEFPI, and all of its US Chapters/Regions are permitted to lobby and/or educate members of legislatures so long as neither of the two tests are violated. As a practice, it is best to not sponsor legislation that does not have at least one member from another party supporting it (which is very rare).
Executive Branch educational activities do not count as long as the educational effort is general rather than tied to specific regulations. These can vary from state-to-state so we would have to research specific rules in each. However, these rules are not applied by the IRS.
What we are prohibited from doing according to the IRS includes; partisan activities, PAC’s, fund raising of any kind for a political candidate, openly endorsing one party over another or one particular candidate, and using our influence for legislative/regulatory issues that are not tied to our members or our industry (i.e. we can’t lobby on behalf of gun owners’ rights or support gay marriage).
I encourage all of you to sign up for our Membership E-Group (CEFPI members only) or participate in our blogs – this is the kind of discussion that would be great in those two mediums.
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John, thanks for this clarification. CEFPI has the resources, both in people and information, to have a tremendous impact on developing local, state, and national policy. I encourage each chapter and region to put these issues on your radar screens. We have the credibility that can really make a difference here.
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John and Sue,
I agree wholeheartedly with Sue that we should be impacting local, state and national policy. The American Planning Association, to which I am a member, has wonderful policy positions that are published on their website. These positions are well-researched statements of Association held beliefs. These statements guide legislation through planning law and zoning written by (or influenced by) their members. We as an organization need to use our platform (this wonderful organization)to influence policy at local, state and national levels.
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