ACLU To Jesse White: "This Is A Tax On Free Speech"

By aaroncynic in News on Dec 14, 2009 5:20PM

On January 1st, 2010 an increase in registration fees will make it more difficult for non-profit organizations to lobby the state legislature. The ACLU of Illinois filed suit on Friday asking a federal court to block the increase, calling it a “tax on free speech.”

Presently, Illinois' law requires an annual, non-refundable fee of $350 per entity and $350 per lobbyist, already one of the highest registration fees in the nation. That cost will nearly triple to $1000 per entity per lobbyist on January 1st. For the ACLU, that means their cost will jump from $1050 to $3000. Colleen K. Connell, executive director for the ACLU of Illinois said via press release “Every dime the ACLU of Illinois spends on this unnecessarily high registration fee is a dime that we cannot spend on our advocacy.” The suit asks that it be determined exactly what the administrative costs are on lobby registrations and to forbid the state from charging more.

The lawsuit also challenges two exemptions made to the new fee as unconstitutional. Both religious organizations and news media outlets are exempted from the fees. "When government creates a burden on advocacy, it cannot pick and choose favorites like churches and the news media” said Edward Feldman, a lawyer who is assisting with the suit. The ACLU press release added “creating an exemption for religious groups and the media is an unfair favoritism than simply is not permissible under the Constitution.”