Election Panel Delays Action

In a decision that won praise from nonprofit groups, the Federal Election Commission voted this month to delay action on a proposed regulation that could have subjected charities and other nonprofit organizations to the fund-raising restrictions of federal campaign-finance law (The Chronicle, April 29).

The proposal would have expanded the legal definition of a “political committee” in a way that could have included nonprofit groups that send mailings to members or supporters or place newspaper advertisements taking positions on public-policy issues. Many officials of nonprofit organizations said the proposed definition would have made it impossible for their organizations to speak out on topics that affect the people they serve.

The commission voted 4-2 to put off a decision on the regulation for at least three months, while its lawyers study the issue. Several commissioners said they preferred not to change any of the regulations until after the November election.

Republicans had asked the commission to change the rule to stop Democratic-leaning groups from spending millions of dollars on television ads criticizing President Bush. Many of those groups were set up under Section 527 of the federal tax law, which allows political organizations that are not directly affiliated with political parties to be established as nonprofit groups exempt from federal taxes.