(The Center Square) – If a judge approves a proposed court order, the IRS will soon allow churches to endorse candidates from the pulpit again without losing their nonprofit status.

Churches lost the right to endorse candidates after the 1954 Johnson Amendment by former President Lyndon Johnson was approved.

The Johnson Amendment prohibits nonprofits “from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office,” according to the IRS.

Johnson – at that time a senator – was “running for re-election, and he and other members of Congress pushed the amendment to stop support for their political opponents’ campaigns,” according to Time.

A recent lawsuit filed by the National Religious Broadcasters and a few churches against the IRS may change the way the amendment affects churches, however.

National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an association of Christian communicators that – among other things – advocates for freedom of speech.

NRB and the churches involved in the case state that the Johnson Amendment “violates their First Amendment rights to the freedom of speech and free exercise of religion, their Fifth Amendment rights to due process of law and equal protection under the law, and the Religious Freedom Restoration.”

Both plaintiffs and defendants jointly motioned in a proposed court order that “the Johnson Amendment does not reach speech by a house of worship to its congregation, in connection with religious services through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith.”

If the order is approved, the IRS will recognize that “when a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither ‘participate[s]’ nor ‘intervene[s]’ in a ‘political campaign.’”

“Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more than does a family discussion concerning candidates,” the proposed court order said.

“Thus, communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted,” the court order said.

When asked twice for comment, the IRS did not respond.

NRB General Counsel Mike Farris told The Center Square “this is all tentative until the judge approves the proposed order,” and so NRB will not yet comment.

Likewise, NRB media relations told The Center Square that “NRB is awaiting the judge’s approval of the filing prior to publicizing our comments,” and that it “will issue this formal statement once the judge grants approval.”

The National Council of Nonprofits is against the proposed order, with its president and CEO Diane Yentel stating in a release that she believes the filing will “radically [alter] campaign finance laws” and could allow political operatives to give money to their preferred candidates while also receiving tax breaks.

As it now stands, however, the order only applies to churches.

When reached, the National Council of Nonprofits referred The Center Square to its release.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker told The Center Square: “We are pleased with the IRS’s decision to lift its restrictions upon church sermons as it reaffirms that the government shouldn’t be able to threaten a church with financial penalties based on a requirement that the church self-censor and surrender its constitutionally protected freedom.”

“Now and always, churches have the constitutional right to speak freely,” Tucker said.

(The Center Square) – Five months after his release from Hamas, Chapel Hill native Keith Siegel has shared details of his time in captivity and said President Donald Trump is powerful enough to get other hostages home.

The Middle East war between Hamas and Israel started Oct. 7, 2023, when the militant organization killed about 1,200 in Israel and took 251 hostage. Published reports say 57,000 have lost their lives since, the latest five Israeli Defense Forces soldiers on Monday in an explosion in northern Gaza.

The majority of fatalities, however, have been civilians caught in the crossfire. 

Twenty-eight of 50 hostages still held by Hamas are believed dead, Israeli Defense Forces says. Isreal believes 20, and possibly the remaining 22, are still alive. Negotiations are ongoing involving length of time for a ceasefire, and number of hostages both living and dead to be returned.

Trump has sought to broker deals for peace since before his inauguration, in part leading to Siegel’s release on Feb. 1 after 484 days. His wife, Aviva, was released after 51 days.

“I believe he has a lot of strength, power and ability to put pressure on those that need to be pressured, on both sides in order to get the agreement, get the deal signed, and get all of the hostages back and bring an end to the war,” Siegel told the BBC on the cusp of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting the White House this week.

On Tuesday, Siegel – he has dual citizenship in Israel and America – testified before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, a panel in Israel’s parliament. He described torture tactics against others and himself by Hamas, abuse and violence. It happened to men and women hostages, he said.

Siegel told the committee those alive and dead “could disappear” if not returned soon.

“I call on Netanyahu and Trump to do everything they can and bring everyone home,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., said Monday two American hostages must be released or Hamas should “face swift consequences.”

The United States has long been an ally of Israel in the Middle East, including being the first to recognize it as an independent state in 1948 under President Harry Truman. Back in Siegel’s native homeland last month, the North Carolina Democratic Party’s executive committee formally resolved ending American support of Israel to include all military aid, weapons shipments and military logistical support.

It boldly stated Israel is guilty of apartheid against Palestinians; genocide in Gaza; and using American weapons in “self defense” against hospitals, schools, homes, refugee camps, mosques, churches, journalists and humanitarian aid workers.

First-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, since the resolution was announced, has not publicly issued a press release or made a social media statement about his party’s position. Nor have any of the Democrats in the U.S. House – Reps. Don Davis, Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams.

The other four members of the Council of State representing the North Carolina Democratic Party have also been similarly silent – Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, Attorney General Jeff Jackson, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, and Education Superintendent Mo Green.

(The Center Square) – In the first six months of this fiscal year, the North Carolina state pension plan investments made $8 billion and outperformed the stock market, the state’s treasurer said Tuesday.

“That number is we think the largest profit in the six-month history of our state pension system,” first-term Republican Brad Briner said at a meeting of state leaders. “But moreover, it is $2.5 billion more than we expected.”

North Carolina’s $127 billion pension plan has “underperformed for years,” according to Briner.

The plan has been running a $16 billion annual deficit based on the gains it needed to sustain pension payments without raising state contributions to the plan, Briner said.

Gains in the pension plan investments can reduce the need to increase the state contribution which has grown from zero 25 years ago to the current 17% of employee salary, Briner said.

“We can’t keep letting it go up.” Briner said told other state leaders Tuesday.

The North Carolina Retirement System serves more than 1 million people, from teachers to state employees, local governments, firefighters, police officers and other public workers. It operates at a deficit similar to Social Security, with fewer people paying in than are eligible for benefits.

Estimated market value was $89 billion when former Treasurer Dale Folwell took office in January 2017 and $127 billion on Dec. 27, 2024, in his final days of office.

This fall, the treasurer’s office will conduct studies to determine how to possibly reduce the employer match.

“All of that is getting to what we can do on the employer match side to relieve some of the pressure on our agencies and on the state budget,” the treasurer said.

Also, the Legislature this year passed and the governor signed the Investment Modernization Act which according to Briner “fundamentally” changes the way the state manages pension fund investments.

It creates a five-member North Carolina Investment Authority, chaired by the treasurer, which includes financial professionals appointed by the governor, treasure and leaders of the legislature.

The state has been one of only three in the country to give one person – the treasurer- sole power for administering pension plan investments, Briner said.