New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
As a general matter, state attorney generals have broad regulatory powers over nonprofit organizations operating in their states, and New York's attorney general is
employing those powers to shed light on so-called "dark money" political spending:
As part of a groundbreaking effort to bring transparency to the political process and protect donors to nonprofits, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that he has adopted new regulations that will require nonprofit groups, including 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organizations, to make more robust disclosures of their political campaign activities. Effective today, nonprofits that are registered with the state will now be required to report the percentage of their expenditures that go to federal, state and local electioneering. Groups that spend at least $10,000 to influence state and local elections in New York will be required to file itemized schedules of expenses and contributions. Those disclosures will be available to the public on the Attorney General’s NY Open Government website.
“There is only one reason to funnel political spending through a 501(c)(4), and that is to hide who has bankrolled the effort. By shining a light on this dark corner of our political system, New York will serve as a model for other states, and for the federal government, in protecting the integrity of nonprofits and our democracy,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “By requiring nonprofits to disclose the extent and nature of their electioneering activities, we are protecting prospective donors from misleading solicitations, and giving voters more information about who is behind many of the ads they will see in this year’s elections, and elections to come.”
What counts as an electioneering activity?
Express advocacy: advertisements and other communications that call specifically for (or are susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as a call for) the election or defeat of a particular candidate, referendum, or party.
Election targeted issue advocacy: communications made within 45 days of a primary election or 90 days of a general election that identify or depict particular candidates, referenda, or parties by name, but do not explicitly call for their election or defeat.
However, this does not include "the promotion of town halls and similar forums to which multiple candidates are invited and given equal opportunity to present," or communications by an organization to its own members that are purely issue advocacy. Also, there is an exemption available from disclosure requirements "if the organization’s primary activities involve areas of public concern that create a reasonable likelihood that disclosure of donors will cause undue harm, threats, harassment or reprisals."
Efforts are also proceeding in California and Montana in favor of greater disclosure of contributors to such communications.