N.Y. Nonprofits Must Disclose Large Donors, U.S. Court Rules

(Bloomberg) -- New York may require the public disclosure of donors who give more than $5,000 to nonprofits in the state, an appeals court said.

Citizens United sued New York in 2014, saying the rule infringed upon its First Amendment rights and that its donors could face public backlash if their support was disclosed. On Thursday, a federal appeals court in New York upheld a lower-court ruling saying the regulations are "substantially related to the important interest in keeping non-profit organizations honest" and don’t wrongly "chill the speech" of Citizens United or its donors.

“Today’s ruling affirms that Citizens United can no longer shroud its biggest donors in secrecy,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. “State law demands that organizations like Citizens United disclose their biggest donors to regulators so they can police fraud and abuse in the nonprofit sector.”

Citizens United is "extremely disappointed" by the ruling, General Counsel Michael Boos said in a statement. "We are carefully evaluating all of our options, including a possible petition for a rehearing before the full appeals court or an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court," he said.

The group won a Supreme Court victory in 2010 over the Federal Election Commission, paving the way for uncapped political spending by corporations, wealthy individuals and unions.

The case is Citizens United v. Schneiderman, 14-cv-03703, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Paul Cox

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