Senate finance committee recommends tighter laws for charities News
Senate finance committee recommends tighter laws for charities

[JURIST] The US Senate Finance Committee released a report Tuesday saying stricter laws may be necessary to prevent insider deals, regulate moneymaking ventures, and open more activities to public scrutiny in large nonprofit organizations. The recommendation follows a two-year investigation of the Nature Conservancy [non-profit website], a nonprofit land conservation organization, which revealed that the charity acted more like a large corporation by maximizing its tax advantages through aggressive planning. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley [official website] released a statement [PDF] saying that "current law has not kept up with the sophistication and complexity of many of today's charities," which are acting in ways that Congress did not intend when it approved tax-exempt laws for nonprofits. The Nature Conservancy, which cooperated with the committee's investigation, said that it has already implemented changes [statement] to address nearly every point of the committee's report. The committee will meet Wednesday [agenda] to review the report and concerns regarding land donations and the tax code in general. Read the Nature Conservancy's review of the Senate committee report [press release]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.