Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed its amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of itself and 34 other public policy organizations in the combined cases of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra and Thomas More Society v. Becerra. The brief calls upon the Supreme Court to protect the privacy and First Amendment rights of individuals who donate to charities and other nonprofit organizations.

“Simply put, the government ought not be in the business of keeping lists of people’s names, addresses, and charities they support,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute. “Recent history is replete with examples of public and private harassment and intimidation based upon this type of sensitive information. Government officials unnecessarily warehousing private information about the causes and organizations taxpayers support is antithetical to the First Amendment precisely because it chills free speech and association.”

Alt continued, “The Buckeye Institute fiercely opposes and denounces this unconstitutional, alarming, and abhorrent government abuse that would sicken our nation’s founders and should unite all of us across the full political spectrum in objection.”

Beginning in 2010, Kamala Harris—then California’s attorney general—announced that charities and tax-exempt organizations could not legally fundraise in California unless they first turned over a list containing the full names and addresses of their significant donors. The Buckeye Institute is leading the charge against these appalling and unconstitutional government actions that violate First Amendment rights to speak and associate freely and privately.

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UPDATE: March 19, 2021, with the appointment of Matthew Rodriquez as acting attorney general of California, the two cases became Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Rodriquez and Thomas More Society v. Rodriquez. April 23, 2021, with the appointment of Rob Bonta as attorney general of California, the two cases became Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta and Thomas More Society v. Bonta.

UPDATE: July 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the Thomas More Society and invalidated California’s unlawful collection of the private information of individuals who donate to charities and other nonprofit organizations. See Buckeye’s statement on the ruling here.