<This story discusses the exceptions that the FEC wants to discuss to the campaigning limitations.

The Federal Election Commission decided Thursday to free tax-exempt charitable, educational and religious organizations from the rules, despite its lawyers' conclusion that such a move would go beyond what the law allows.



The FEC voted 4-2 to exempt the organizations from the law's provision that bans interest group TV and radio ads the month before a primary and two months before a general election if they name a federal candidate, are funded with unlimited corporate or union contributions and are targeted at the candidate's district.

The exemption was sought by the Sierra Club Foundation and the Alliance for Justice, an association of about 60 consumer, civil rights, environmental and other groups. They argued the restrictions would prevent them from airing effective lobbying ads urging citizens to contact their members of Congress about key issues.



The members of the Alliance for Justice:

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Business and Professional People for the Public Interest
Center for Digital Democracy
Center for Law and Social Policy
Center for Law in the Public Interest
Center for Reproductive Law and Policy
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Children's Defense Fund
Consumers Union
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Drug Policy Alliance
Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
Education Law Center
Equal Rights Advocates
Food Research and Action Center
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, L.L.P.
Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center
Juvenile Law Center
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center
Legal Aid Society of New York
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League Foundation
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Youth Law
National Center on Poverty Law
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
National Council of Nonprofit Associations
National Education Association
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
National Legal Aid and Defender Association
National Mental Health Association
NOW Legal Defense
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Senior Citizens Law Center
National Veterans Legal Services Program
National Women's Law Center
National Youth Advocacy Coalition
Native American Rights Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Physicians for Human Rights
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Public Advocates, Inc.
Public Justice Center
The Tides Center
University of Pennsylvania, Public Service Program
Violence Policy Center
Welfare Law Center
The Wilderness Society
Women's Law Project
Youth Law Center