Bill aimed at Nevada charities draws critics from right, left

CARSON CITY — Groups ranging from the far right to the far left protested a bill Tuesday that would allow the secretary of state’s office to investigate and issue subpoenas to acquire records of Nevada charity groups.

Everyone from Janine Hansen of the right-wing Eagle Forum to Elisa Cafferata of Planned Parenthood took shots at Assembly Bill 60, which was submitted by both the attorney general and the secretary of state.

The bill would require nonprofit organizations that solicit funds to register with the secretary of state’s office and file annual statements. It also would allow investigations by the secretary of state’s office and require charities to pay the office for its investigation costs and attorneys fees.

A court also would be permitted to order financial judgments against officers of a charity’s board.

Cafferata said a secretary of state could use such law for “harassment” against a charity he or she doesn’t like.

She said the proposal would mean that the secretary of state could secure records of her agency’s health center and those records are confidential under federal law.

Cafferata said the bill, by making individual officers of a charitable board financially liable, would make it difficult to recruit people to serve on the Planned Parenthood board.

“These are just volunteers trying to do a good job,” she said.

Her sentiments were echoed by Richard Ziser of Nevada Concerned Citizens and Janine Hansen of Nevada Eagle Forum. Both organizations are anti-abortion groups.

“If you are not politically correct, you may be sought out for harassment,” Hansen said.

She said the bill would make the secretary of state the “judge and jury and executioner.”

Their testimony was delivered at an Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing.

Chairman Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, said that before processing the bill, he wants to learn about 40 states that have similar laws.

After the hearing, Deputy Secretary of State Nicole Lamboley said her office will participate in coming discussions. Similar laws already give her office the right to investigate securities companies.

Her office wants to ensure that money Nevadans give to charities is used for legitimate purposes, she said.

The office receives many complaints about charities. In some cases, people even give out their Social Security card numbers to callers who say they represent charities.

Several witnesses questioned why the secretary of state must intercede in charitable matters since the Internal Revenue Service is supposed to oversee their collection of funds.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.