Pennsylvania Lawmakers Debate Over Who Should Decide Nonprofit Status

Nonprofit organizations are everywhere in the community, but now Pennsylvania lawmakers are asking, "Who should get nonprofit status, and who should make that decision?"

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says the answers to those questions could have a direct effect on tax dollars.

Currently, Pennsylvania courts decide who gets nonprofit status, which comes with tax exemptions. A proposed state constitutional amendment would take that power from the courts and give it to the General Assembly.

DePasquale says the danger of that move is the possibility of lowering the defining standards for nonprofits. This would open the door to more tax exemptions...