Supreme Court strikes down California donor disclosure requirement

Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated a requirement by the state of California that charities fundraising in the state must disclose the identities of their most generous donors.

The high court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines in favor of a pair of nonprofits that challenged the state's policy. The Supreme Court found the measure, which requires charities that fundraise in the state to turn over information about their top contributors, is unconstitutional. "We are left to conclude that the Attorney General's disclosure requirement imposes a widespread burden on donors' associational rights. And this burden cannot be justified on the ground that the regime is narrowly tailored to investigating charitable wrongdoing, or that the State's interest in administrative convenience is sufficiently important," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in an opinion, joined in full by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. "We therefore hold that the up-front collection of Schedule Bs is facially unconstitutional."