On July 1, 2021, in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 141 S.Ct. 2373 (2021), the United States Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a California regulation requiring charitable organizations to file with the state Attorney General’s Office a copy of their Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 Schedule B (Schedule B) when renewing their annual registrations. Schedule B is a form that requires tax-exempt organizations to disclose the names and addresses of major donors.
In light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision, the Division’s Charities Registration Section has proposed to revise its rules to eliminate the requirement that charities submit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 Schedule B as part of their initial and yearly registrations. In the interim, the Division will not be taking enforcement action based on the failure to include Schedule B or an equivalent donor schedule in such registrations. The Division will deem any entities that were previously deemed non-compliant solely because they failed to submit Schedule B or an equivalent donor schedule to be in compliance with registration requirements. All other regulations at N.J.A.C. 13:48-1.1 et seq. remain in effect and the Division continues to require the submission of all other schedules and statements.
The proposed regulation, and information on how to submit a comment by December 17, 2021 can be viewed here.