THE NATIONAL consumer advocacy group Public Citizen Foundation Inc. has filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of a Jefferson County, KY, ordinance that requires charities to obtain permission from the county before they solicit supporters there – by mail or otherwise. Washington-based Public Citizen is a nonprofit organization affected by the ordinance. Plaintiffs that have joined the group in the lawsuit are Greenpeace and two umbrella organizations, American Charities for Reasonable Fundraising Regulation and the National Federation of Nonprofits. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in June, seeks to stop the county from enforcing the ordinance because it violates the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to engage in free speech. According to court documents, the ordinance requires tax-exempt groups to obtain approval from the county before any solicitations can be done, and it requires every charity to file three reports about the nonprofit and its activities each year. Much of the information the ordinance demands “overlaps” federal Internal Revenue Service requirements, the papers continue. The papers also point out that the U.S. Postal Service has “broad authority” to prevent mail fraud.
Some 38 states and the District of Columbia also require charities to register if they intend to solicit.
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