The rider, Section 116 of the
House Financial Services and General Government FY2018 Appropriations bill, would prevent the IRS from spending any funds to make a final determination that a house of worship or its affiliate has violated the Johnson Amendment unless the IRS meets three conditions: (1) the Commissioner of the IRS consents to a determination of unlawful conduct; (2) politicians on the House and Senate tax committees are given 30-days' notice of the law-enforcement determination; and (3) an additional 90-days' notice is provided before enforcement can commence. According to
Newsweek, Section 116 "would make it exponentially more difficult to enforce" even the most blatant violations of the Johnson Amendment. The rider is fatally flawed in that it would erect unconstitutional and unreasonable hurdles on enforcing the law that ensures nonpartisanship. Tim Delaney, President & CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, has an
excellent article in the Nonprofit Quarterly explaining why this provision is a threat to all 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
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