St. Louis County’s health director, Dr. Dolores Gunn, said Thursday that an anti-smoking organization had broken no tax law in its use of federal grant money.
The organization, Tobacco Free St. Louis, is using $545,148 from a federal stimulus grant for anti-smoking efforts.
We disagree with Dr. Gunn…. here is a quote from Stacy Reliford, field government relations director for the American Cancer Society. She assures us that the organization tracks its lobbying expenditures closely — and that the O’Fallon expenditure was within the limits. "As you know, we’re a large organization, not a tiny non-profit," she says. "We’re within 100 percent of our legal limits."
She adds, "Frankly, if we weren’t involved, it would be a disservice to our constituency. Working for ballot measures like this one is an important piece of what we do."
There you have it "working for ballot measures like this one is an important piece of what we do." IRS regulations state that a 501(c)3 cannot be involved in writing or endorsing any type of legislation.
They just managed to put their own foot in their mouth!
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