Humane Society Legislative Fund

“OFFICERS KARL, BARSNESS AND PARRA WERE EMPLOYED BY ANOTHER ORGANIZATION ON WHOSE BOARD DIRECTORS LAUE, Mcmillen, LINEHAN, ATHERTON AND SABATINO SERVED. THEREFORE, THESE INDIVIDUALS HAD "BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS" WITH EACH OTHER - BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP. - Business relationship”

“The members of the corporation shall consist of persons who support the corporation's purposes and who affirmatively respond to the corporation's invitation to join. Members shall pay annual dues in such amount as shall be determined by the board of directors. Any person who responds affirmatively to an invitation to become a member of the humane society legislative fund (hslf) and either 1) makes a single contribution of ten dollars ($10) or more to hslf as membership dues, or 2) makes a series of contributions that total ten dollars ($10) or more in the aggregate within four (4) months after the date of the first contribution shall be considered a member of hslf for the twelve-month period ending on the anniversary date on which hslf has determined that an aggregate of ten dollars has been reached in the case of contributors described in section 2, above.”

“After internal accounting staff drafts the 990, the draft is submitted to hslf's independent tax preparers for their review and revision, as may be appropriate. The revised draft is then given to hslf's treasurer for further review. Once all staff and professional reviews/revisions are done, the treasurer sends the proposed final of the form 990 to the hslf board for its consideration. Once the board has had an opportunity to review and comment, the finalized version is filed with the irs.”

“Hslf is an affiliate of the humane society of the united states (hsus). All policies and procedures of the hsus apply to hslf including, inter alia, those codified in the current hsus employee handbook. In cases where the literal reading of the hsus policies and procedures may or could cause confusion (e.g., the hsus conflict of interest policy's references to hsus directors), for purposes of internal hslf activities, these policies will be read to apply as close as possible to hslf, making substitutions in terminology as necessary to achieve the desired goal. In case of any conflict between the policies and procedures of the hsus and hslf, the stricter will control. Hslf has adopted a conflict of interest policy to reinforce the obligation of officers and directors to disclose actual or potential conflicts. The policy covers hslf officers and directors. Hslf board members and/or officers who are directors or senior staff members of the hsus are subject to additional annual reporting requirements in those capacities. A decision as to whether a conflict exists and how it should be addressed with regard to hslf is made at the hslf executive level or, if necessary, by its board. Consideration of possible conflicts is also provided during the legal review of proposed transactions and concerns are addressed before proceeding. Individuals having possible conflicts of interest cannot vote or participate in board or committee deliberations on the subject or to be counted toward meeting a quorum; however, they may respond to questions.”

“The board of directors is charged with annually leading the compensation determination process for the president. In accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of treas. Reg. 53.4958-6, the process of determining the president's compensation involves attention to and avoidance of conflicts of interest, use of comparability data gathered and presented by an outside compensation expert, and contemporaneous documentation of the meetings, deliberations, and decisions. This process, which is completed annually, was undertaken for the tax year in may 2020.”

“Hslf makes its articles of incorporation and bylaws available to donors free of charge upon request. Formal audited financial statements are filed with state charitable solicitation registrations and are made available to major donors and, where required by state law, to the general public by mail upon request. Hslf makes copies of its form 1024 application for recognition of tax-exempt status available to the public upon request both by mail and in person at hslf's headquarters in washington, dc. Hslf makes copies of the three most recently-filed forms 990 available to the public upon request both by mail and in person at hslf's headquarters in washington, dc, as well as on hslf's website, as set forth in irs code section 6104(d). The conflict of interest policy has not been made available to the general public.”

“Humane society legislative fund's (hslf) mission is to undertake and support programs designed to enhance and protect the status of animals through education of the public and mobilization of public opinion and through the reform of laws, enactment of remedial legislation and changes in public policy. The goal of hslf is to advance social welfare by helping to pass state and federal laws that protect animals from cruelty, suffering, and unnecessary killing and use.”

“Continued from part iii, line 4a (1 of 2) the fy21 appropriations bill also doubles the fy20 funding level for usda enforcement of the horse protection act to over $2 million to address the "soring" of tennessee walking horses and related breeds. This bill provided an increase of more than $14 million for the bureau of land management (blm) to implement non-lethal management of wild horses and burros based upon a proposal federal affairs worked with coalition partners to submit to congress. The bill increases investment in key department of interior (doi) law enforcement, wildlife and conservation programs and endangered species act (esa) administration, including an additional $3 million for the multinational species conservation funds, an increase for esa programs, continued funding for the wolf-livestock demonstration program, and an increase of over $4.8 million for law enforcement against wildlife trafficking. The bill includes a $5 million funding increase for usaid biodiversity conservation programs, new language for the continued sale of the multinational species conservation funds semipostal stamp, and funding for a study on the impacts of wildlife markets on the emergence of new diseases. The bill requires the u.s. Fish and wildlife service to provide congress with the briefing mandated in the fy20 appropriations package, which the agency failed to complete, on its current policy for allowing imports of sport-hunted trophies into the united states and to explain how these imports benefit the survival of these imperiled species. The bill increases funding to protect critically endangered north atlantic right whales, to sustain the marine mammal commission, a key, independent oversight agency, and to fund a program that coordinates nationwide emergency response for stranded, sick, injured, distressed or dead marine mammals. The bill directs the usda to start the rulemaking process on lifting the stay on the rule requiring facilities regulated by the animal welfare act to have emergency response plans for the animals in their care. The bill directs the department of veterans affairs to submit a plan to congress by the end of 2021 on how it plans to reduce or eliminate the use of dogs, cats and non-human primates in its research within five years; encourages the use of non-animal testing methods by the fda for new drugs; directs that usda run laboratories be inspected for compliance with the awa; and renews the bar on licensing "class b random source" dealers. The bill provides $2.5 million - up from $2 million in fy20 - to expand the paws grant program that provides funding for shelter and transitional housing services for survivors of domestic violence and their companion animals. It directs the usda to review the impacts of waivers granted for increasing line speeds at slaughter plants and report back to congress within 90 days and consult with the occupational safety and health administration on any future line speed increases. The bill promotes usda-funded research into innovations in plant-based protein. The bill provides an additional $500,000 for usda's inspector general to better enforce federal law against dogfighting and cockfighting. The bill also urges usda to move forward with an international agreement to ban the trade of dog and cat meat worldwide. Finally, it directs usda to ensure that each awa noncompliance observed by an inspector is documented on an inspection report and restores awa and hpa records purged from the agency's website in 2017, making sure databases are searchable. It also encourages usda to ensure that online dealers selling dogs have the necessary license under the awa. Federal affairs worked in support of animal protection bills, including the horseracing integrity and safety act (h.r. 1754/s. 1820/s.4547) which was signed into law; the driftnet modernization and bycatch reduction act (h.r. 1979/s. 906) which passed the house and senate; the big cat public safety act (h.r. 1380/s. 256”

“CONTINUED FROM PART III, LINE 4b (1 OF 1) HUMANE SCORECARD: HSLF PUBLISHED ONLINE AND PRINT VERSIONS OF ITS ANALYSIS OF VOTES AND CO-SPONSORSHIPS BY FEDERAL LEGISLATORS ON ANIMAL PROTECTION ISSUES. HUMANE SCORECARD ENABLES THE READER TO ASSESS HOW THE U.S. SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES ACTED ON THESE ISSUES. TAKING ACTION FOR ANIMALS: HSLF SPONSORED THE VIRTUAL "TAKING ACTION FOR ANIMALS" EVENT SEPTEMBER 19-20, 2020, WHICH SERVES AS THE LEADING NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR ANIMAL ADVOCACY, BRINGING TOGETHER VOLUNTEERS AND ADVOCATES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO PARTICIPATE IN ONLINE WEBINARS AND OTHER LEARNING SESSIONS, WHICH SAW AN INCREASE IN REGISTRANTS OF ABOUT 1,000 THIS YEAR WITH A TOTAL OF ABOUT 1,400 PARTICIPANTS. NUMEROUS HSLF STAFF PARTICIPATED AS SPEAKERS AT THE EVENT INFORMING PARTICIPANTS ABOUT HSLF'S WORK.”

“Continued from part iii, line 4a (2 of 2) federal affairs continued support of the u.s. Department of veterans affairs memorandum of agreement with the humane society of the united states to support veterans' well-being and social integration through interactions with and adoption of rescued animals for pets. Federal affairs encouraged usda to comply with the directive from congress to return the awa and hpa enforcement data to its online repository of public information. Federal affairs also advocated in support of improving the animal welfare act licensing regulations and dog dealer standards. Usda issued a final rule which federal affairs supported. Federal affairs advocated for the department of transportation to prohibit airlines from discriminating against breeds of service dogs; and excluding wild animals from serving as service and support animals under the air carrier access act. Dot issued a final rule which federal affairs supported. Federal affairs supported the doj in taking steps to implement the grants program created by the pet and women safety (paws) act. Federal affairs fought for the passage of the bill in earlier congresses and have been working to see the program implemented. Federal affairs advocated for and supported the policy instituted by the department of state to restrict visas for wildlife traffickers, closing a loophole in current visa practices and treating wildlife trafficking as the extremely serious crime it is, by putting them in the same league as money launderers, arms runners, and drug and human traffickers. Federal affairs advocated for and supported interim guidance from usda to mink farmers on the potential spread of covid-19 and protocols that should be implemented. Federal affairs supported the environmental protection agency's phase-out of animal testing, including advocating for the finalization of guidance for waiving sub-acute avian dietary tests for pesticide registration and supporting retrospective analysis for waterfowl and upland game species. Federal affairs lobbied support for a congressional letter to the world health organization (who) urging them to take aggressive action to shut down live wildlife markets and ban the international trade in wildlife that is not intended for conservation purposes, after which dr. D. Nabarro, representing the who, issued a statement calling on nations to end wildlife markets because of the high risk they pose for the spread of pathogens like the corona virus that can jump from animals to humans. Federal affairs successfully lobbied support for congressional letters that were sent to the u.s. Fish and wildlife service against a rule to delist the gray wolf from under the esa; against a proposed rule to allow extreme hunting practices on the kenai national refuge in alaska; and against proposed rules to amend regulations on critical habitat designations under the esa. Coalitions: international coalition for animal protection in the oecd (icapo): with partners in europe, japan, canada and the united states, hslf served for doris day animal league (ddal) on the steering committee for the icapo, which actively lobbies for changes in test guidelines to harmonize international standards for alternatives and animal tests. Hslf supported expert comments on test guideline reviews and proposed policy changes, lobbied the u.s. And canadian representatives to oecd and provided guidance for the direction of the working groups. Coalition for consumer information on cosmetics (ccic): hslf provided ddal representation on the steering committee for ddal, which manages the u.s. Standard for "cruelty-free" cosmetics and household products. Hslf works in conjunction with european partners for a north american and european standard. Wildlife trafficking alliance (wta): hslf provided representation as a participating partner on the wta, which works to combat wildlife trafficking by raising public awareness, reducing consumer demand for illegal wildlife and wildl”

“CONTINUED FROM PART III, LINE 4c (1 OF 1) HSLF MADE INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES IN THE FORM OF DIRECT MAIL, DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENTS, AND TEXT MESSAGES TO SUPPORT OR OPPOSE SPECIFIC CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE. HSLF SOLICITED FUNDS THROUGH PEER-TO-PEER FUNDRAISING OF HSLF MEMBERS FOR ITS FEDERAL AFFILIATED POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE AND SEVERAL STATE AFFILIATED POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES.”

“The Humane Society of the United States pays wages to the employees of HSLF and files all required federal employment tax returns, including Form W-3. HSLF does not report employees on Form W-3.”

“The process for overseeing the audit of the financial statements and selection of an independent accountant that audited the financial statements has been consistent with prior years. The audited financial statements are reviewed by the board which acts as its own committee.”