The Church of Express Advocacy

A WSJ article informs us that the “Internal Revenue Service is investigating the United Church of Christ, saying that the denomination may have threatened its tax-free status by allowing Sen. Barack Obama to speak before thousands of members at a church conference last June.”

Mr. Obama spoke mainly about his decision to join Trinity. A text of the speech posted on the UCC Web site also cited “the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who’ve been all too eager to exploit what divides us. At every opportunity, they’ve told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their Church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage; school prayer and intelligent design.”

A church official said the church did not consider Mr. Obama’s presence or words political.

The IRS offers some advice to charities and churches on this topic.

Congressional Ethics

The Hill reports that

[e]thics issues could return to the House floor next week with a debate on a plan, months in the making, to create an independent ethics commission.

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), who chaired the task force that crafted the proposal, said he has been told to be prepared for a vote on the floor next week. If that occurs, he expects it to pass, despite criticism from Republicans and some ethics groups.

…

Under Capuano’s plan, a six-member board would oversee the new Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The six members would be appointed jointly by the Speaker and minority leader. If the two leaders can’t agree after 90 days, they would be named separately.

The commission would screen ethics allegations made against House members and pass those with merit along to the House ethics committee.

Many watchdogs and political observers regard the existing ethics panel as a paper tiger that did nothing to prevent several wide-ranging corruption scandals involving House members in recent years.

GOP lawmakers are particularly unhappy with a provision that would allow any two members of the OCE to initiate an investigation into charges against a member, arguing that it would enable partisan witch-hunts.

Alabama Disclaimers

Alabama’s Fair Campaign Practices Act includes provisions requiring disclaimers.   The Secretary of State’s website describes these requirements and asks:

Does the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McIntrye v. Ohio Elections Commission affect FCPA disclaimer requirements?
That case, which involved an individual who distributed anonymous leaflets opposing a proposed school tax levy, has very limited impact. Alabama’s attorney general has written in AG’s Opinion 95-218 that the ruling is limited to individuals who distribute anonymous written material (particularly leaflets) in a non-candidate election. In all other circumstances, the advertising must carry identification.

The Attorney General’s 1995 opinion is available online.