A Resolution to Safeguard First Amendment Rights in Charitable Giving and Increase Efficiency

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Policy Status

  • Type: Model Resolution
  • Status: Draft
  • Date Introduced: July 23, 2026

Task Forces

  • Judiciary

    • Tags

  • 2026 Annual Meeting

    • Summary

    This resolution encourages states to reduce unnecessary regulations on charitable  organizations by eliminating state-specific registration requirements in favor of leveraging already existing public IRS Form 990 for financial oversight, thereby allowing states to focus resources on combating fraud and not compiling information that is already widely available. 
    Draft

    A Resolution to Safeguard First Amendment Rights in Charitable Giving and Increase Efficiency

    WHEREAS, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and association, and forcing charities to register with the state and pay a fee before speaking is a prior restraint on speech; 

    WHEREAS, many state charitable registration systems are duplicative of information already provided by private sector charity watchdog organizations, imposing unnecessary burdens on charities serving the public and wasting state taxpayer funds;  

    WHEREAS, the total cost of registration in states with such registration laws may cost charities $1 billion or more annually in registration fees, attorney fees to file registration forms, and internal staff time to prepare the registration forms, and such funds would be better spent serving charitable purposes; 

    WHEREAS, key financial reporting by charities appears on IRS Form 990, which is readily publicly available online, including on the IRS website; WHEREAS, streamlining regulation allows state resources to be more effectively targeted toward investigating and prosecuting fraudulent use of charitable funds; and 

    WHEREAS, Arizona and Utah recently repealed their charitable registration laws for most charitable fundraising; 

    THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that this body supports legislation that repeals charitable registration requirements because the publicly available federal IRS Form 990 provides potential supporters with relevant information on financial management and transparency; and 

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this body supports coupling regulatory streamlining with stronger, targeted enforcement against fraudulent use of charitable funds to protect the public.