Election 2015 Issue Roundup
The 2015 elections are mostly decided, and voters decided several issues that affect the work of nonprofits in communities:
- Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs): The election of Jim Kenney as the next Mayor of Philadelphia is sure to renew the effort by city officials to extract large payments from nonprofit missions to fund new spending initiatives and satisfy campaign promises. Current Mayor Nutter, who is retiring after eight years in office, had resisted calls by public sector unions to demand payments in lieu of taxes from large nonprofit institutions to fund city services and pay raises for government employees. Heavily backed by the unions, Mayor-Elect Kenney has proposed new spending programs and vowed not to raise property taxes to pay for them, pointing to nonprofits as his preferred revenue source. Pennsylvania, like all 50 states, exempts from property taxes the property owned by charitable nonprofits that is used for charitable purposes. The Mayor does not have the legal authority to demand or compel payments from nonprofits and could resort to bullying or other negative and confrontational tactics employed by some mayors in other parts of the country.
- Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR): Several ballot measures on Election Day relate to the budget gimmick known as the taxpayer bill of rights measure that restricts government spending based on an arbitrary formula. Voters in Colorado had to expressly instruct the Legislature to retain $66 million in marijuana sales tax receipts because the state revenues grew faster than the rate of inflation and population growth. If Coloradans had not agreed to Proposition BB, the TABOR provision in the state’s constitution would have required the marijuana tax revenues be returned to the citizens, estimated at eight dollars per person. Washington State voters approved a similar budget gimmick, known as Initiative 1366, that will lower the state sales tax by one percent, from 6.5% to 5.5%, unless the Legislature refers for voter consideration a constitutional amendment that imposes a two-thirds super-majority requirement for laws or other ballot measures that would raise taxes. The initiative was strongly opposed by numerous nonprofits — including AARP, the Children's Alliance, League of Women Voters, and NAMI.
- Campaign Finance Reforms: Voters in Maine and Washington State approved campaign finance measures that were strongly touted by nonprofits dedicated to good government. Mainers passed a Clean Elections Initiative establishing a public funding system for election campaigns, a proposal that is actively supported by the League of Women Voters and numerous other groups. Seattle voters approved a unique public campaign financing initiative known as Honest Elections. Registered voters will new receive four so-called “democracy vouchers,” worth $25 each, which they can give to candidates for mayor, city council and city attorney who have agreed to abide to an overall fundraising cap. The vouchers will be funded through a property tax increase.
Newly Elected Officials Who “Get” the Work of Nonprofits
The Nonprofit Quarterly provides a useful sampling of the numerous candidates for public office elected on November 3 who have strong background in the nonprofit community. These include the founder of Coney Island Generation Gap, Pam Harris, who was elected to an Assembly seat representing Brooklyn, N.Y., and Peggy Flanagan, the executive director of the Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, who won a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Shelly Masur, of Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation and the Bay Area Partnership, won a seat on the City Council in Redwood City, California. Likewise, Galeton Development Corporation head Susan Kefover was elected County Commissioner for Potter County, Pennsylvania. Rounding out the list is Nathan Strimling, executive director of LearningWorks in Portland, Maine, who defeated the incumbent Mayor.
