Bill would require nonprofits to register

By Cy Ryan

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 | 2 a.m.

CARSON CITY – A bill has been introduced in the Senate to require nonprofit organizations to register with the state to see if the money they collect is actually providing any services.

The bill, says sponsor Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, is aimed at revealing who the “good and non-good” charitable groups are and to see if all the money is going for salaries and administration or if the majority of funds is filtering down to the intended people.

Parks had no idea how many nonprofits this would affect but there are a “horrendous number.” And it would not include political or religious groups. Of the nonprofits he serves on, 80 to 90 percent of the funds raised make it down to the people to be served, he said.

Senate Bill 153, referred to the Judiciary Committee for study, would require the nonprofits to file with the Secretary of State’s Office. Included would be two pages from their Internal Revenue Service documents that show where the money is going.

The bill would not require the names of the donors.

Parks said the bill is designed make sure nonprofits are operating “on the up and up.” He had a similar bill in 2005 but it died in the Legislature.