Michigan Nonprofit Caucus
The Michigan Nonprofit Caucus is a bipartisan, bicameral forum through which lawmakers can collaborate on legislative and regulatory issues impacting charities and foundations in Michigan. The purpose of the Caucus is to enhance the ability of Michigan's nonprofit organizations to achieve their missions on behalf of those they serve and the resources they protect. To accomplish this goal, the Caucus will monitor and take a leadership role on legislative issues that impact Michigan's nonprofit sector and serve as a resource for information on the sector for their fellow legislative colleagues.
The Michigan Nonprofit Caucus is co-chaired by Sen. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit), Sen. Mark C. Jansen (R-Gaines Township), Rep. John Proos (R-St. Joseph) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit).
Legislative Agenda
The co-chairs of the Michigan Nonprofit Caucus have identified the following legislative items as their policy agenda for this legislative session.
- Exempt Volunteer Activities from Work Permit Requirements
- Revisions to the Charitable Organizations and Solicitation Act (COSA) to Promote Accountability
- Clarify the Sales Tax Exemption for Fundraising Purposes
1. Exempt Volunteer Activities from Work Permit Requirements (SB 860)
The work permit requirement in the Youth Employment Standards Act does not specifically exempt volunteer activities. Therefore, those minors who perform volunteer work for charitable organizations are most likely required to obtain work permits, usually from the school where the minor is enrolled. Often charities are unaware that minors need work permits before doing volunteer work. If work permits are required by charities, it would act as a barrier to young people engaging in volunteer activities in their communities.
The Michigan Nonprofit Caucus supports eliminating this requirement by amending the definition of work to exclude volunteer activities performed for charitable organizations.
On September 23, 2009, Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) introduced SB 860, a bill to amend the Youth Employment Standards Act to exempt volunteer activities for charitable organizations from the work permit requirement.
UPDATE: The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee held a hearing on SB 860 on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 and indicated their intent to vote on the bill at the next meeting of the committee.
2. Revisions to the Charitable Organizations and Solicitation Act (COSA) to Promote Accountability
While the Charitable Organizations and Solicitation Act (COSA) has undergone some useful changes since its original adoption in 1975, there are several changes that still need to be adopted that would be beneficial to Michigan's nonprofit community by enabling more streamlined processing of files for those charities wishing to solicit donations and more effective enforcement of standards to protect Michigan charities from undue pressures from the few who are "charities" in name only.
The Michigan Nonprofit Caucus has identified the following revisions to COSA as their legislative priorities for this legislative session:
- Increasing the filing threshold from $8,000 to $25,000;
- Changing the processing from a licensing procedure to registration, clarifying that a charity is registered upon filing of the proper information, unless notified of deficiencies; and
- More effective enforcement provisions to protect the nonprofit community from undue competition from fraudulent fundraising and questionable activities of those organizations that do not operate for the benefit of their constituents.
3. Clarify the Sales Tax Exemption for Fundraising Purposes
Currently, nonprofits must pay sales tax on items used to raise funds for their organization, since it is not a direct program expense.
The Michigan Nonprofit Caucus supports amending the language of the General Sales Tax Act to clarify that products purchased by 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) organizations to carry out administrative or fundraising activities would clearly be exempt from sales tax.
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Caucus Members
The following legislators from the Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senate have joined the Michigan Nonprofit Caucus.
Rep. Richard Ball (R-Laingsburg)
Sen. Jim Barcia (D-Bay City)
Rep. Joan Bauer (D-Lansing)
Sen. Patty Birkholz (R-Saugatuck Township)
Rep. Timothy Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe)
Rep. James Bolger (R-Marshall)
Rep. Darwin Booher (R-Evart)
Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield)
Rep. Terry Brown (D-Pigeon)
Rep. Brian Calley (R-Portland)
Sen. Nancy Cassis (R-Novi)
Rep. Bill Caul (R-Mount Pleasant)
Sen. Hansen Clarke, Co-Chair (D-Detroit)
Rep. Bob Constan (D-Dearborn Heights)
Rep. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville)
Rep. Hugh Crawford (R-Novi)
Rep. Kevin Daley (R-Arcadia Township)
Rep. Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids)
Rep. Cindy Denby (R-Fowlerville)
Rep. Larry DeShazor (R-Portage)
Rep. Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak)
Rep. Kate Ebli (D-Monroe)
Rep. Doug Geiss (D-Taylor)
Sen. John Gleason (D-Flushing)
Rep. Kevin Green (R-Wyoming)
Rep. Vincent Gregory (D-Southfield)
Rep. Geoff Hansen (R-Hart)
Rep. Joe Haveman (R-Holland)
Rep. Dave Hildenbrand (R-Lowell)
Rep. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth)
Rep. Shanelle Jackson (D-Detroit)
Sen. Gilda Jacobs (D-Huntington Woods)
Sen. Mark C. Jansen, Co-Chair (R-Gaines Township)
Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks)
Rep. Robert Jones (D-Kalamazoo)
Sen. Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw Township)
Rep. Deb Kennedy (D-Brownstown)
Rep. Eileen Kowall (R-White Lake)
Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland)
Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R-Coldwater)
Rep. Richard LeBlanc (D-Westland)
Rep. Gabe Leland (D-Detroit)
Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods)
Rep. Lesia Liss (D-Warren)
Rep. Matt Lori (R-Constantine)
Rep. Peter Lund (R-Shelby Township)
Rep. Mark Meadows (D-East Lansing)
Rep. Tim Melton (D-Auburn Hills)
Rep. Kim Meltzer (R-Clinton Township)
Rep. Paul Opsommer (R-DeWitt)
Rep. Tom Pearce (R-Rockford)
Rep. John M. Proos, Co-Chair (R-St. Joseph)
Sen. Randy Richardville (R-Frenchtown Township)
Rep. Sarah Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores)
Rep. Tory Rocca (R-Sterling Heights)
Rep. Bill Rogers (R-Brighton)
Sen. Alan Sanborn (R-Richmond)
Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City)
Rep. Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc)
Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch)
Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-Lawton)
Sen. Martha Scott (D-Highland Park)
Rep. Dan Scripps (D-Leland)
Rep. Kate Segal (D-Battle Creek)
Rep. Dian Slavens (D-Canton Township)
Rep. Jim Slezak (D-Davison)
Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Township)
Rep. Dudley Spade (D-Franklin Township)
Rep. Jim Stamas (R-Midland)
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Co-Chair (D-Detroit)
Rep. Sharon Tyler (R-Niles)
Rep. Mary Valentine (D-Muskegon)
Sen. Jerry Van Woerkom (R-Norton Shores)
Rep. Coleman A. Young (D-Detroit)
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History of the Michigan Nonprofit Caucus
There are now more than 23,000 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the state of Michigan. These organizations work diligently across the state in the areas of human services, health care, arts and culture, education and the environment. As a sector that directly employs 10% of Michigan's workforce, the nonprofit sector is large in size and service.
Despite the breadth of the nonprofit community, it lacked a voice from within the legislature. While the various subsectors and the issues of importance to these groups are represented through standing committees in both the Michigan House and Senate, there was not a standing committee or volunteer caucus to serve on behalf of the broader nonprofit community, which includes both charities and foundations. To address this absense of collective leadership within the legislature, the Council of Michigan Foundations, Michigan Nonprofit Association, and Michigan Association of United Ways proposed the formation of the Michigan Nonprofit Caucus.
The Michigan Nonprofit Caucus was formed and announced in April 2009.
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Contact Us
Tiffany Aurora, Public Policy Manager, 517-492-2400
Direct media inquiries to:
Lisa Sommer, Public Relations Manager, 517-492-2400
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