People United for Privacy has issued a new survey report forecasting that at least 31 states will consider legislation in 2024 “that would chill nonprofit advocacy and expose members and supporters of nonprofit groups to threats, harassment, and intimidation. This concern is particularly pronounced in California, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, and Wyoming. … Party control has no bearing on whether an anti-speech or anti-privacy proposal will receive consideration or become law.” The report summarizes the potential legislative focus in each of the 31 states.

Most of the legislation discussed in this memo is very unlikely to emerge as a serious threat or become law. However, as both parties increasingly view donor disclosure mandates as a tool for ruining their opposition and settling political scores, the threat of anti-privacy proposals passing in states across the country is high. All nonprofits must be on guard for harmful proposals in their state.

That so many states would be considering such proposals less than three years after the Supreme Court’s resounding defense of donor privacy in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 141 S.Ct. 2373 (2021), is troubling.

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