Public Policy Update – May 14, 2026
Supreme Court Ruling Sets Off Wave of Redistricting in the Southeast
The congressional map for this year’s elections is set to look very different in the wake of the Supreme Court’s April 29 decision that weakened a Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The decision in Louisiana v. Callais was focused on a proposed map in Louisiana that would have created two majority-Black congressional districts. However, in the days following the ruling, it became clear it would have implications throughout the country and on this year’s race for control of Congress.
Since the decision, lawmakers in several Southeastern states have advanced plans that would break up majority-Black districts. Maps in Florida and Tennessee have already been signed into law, while new maps are still under consideration in Louisiana, Alabama, and South Carolina. Georgia and Mississippi have decided to not pursue changes to this year’s maps, but leaders there have indicated they will take action in time for the 2028 elections. Some maps that have been adopted are facing legal challenges.
The new maps would make the election of Black lawmakers less likely while also improving prospects for Republicans in a year where they face electoral headwinds.
Meanwhile, a plan by Democrats in Virginia to give them a stronger advantage in their state’s delegation fell apart last week after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the process used to approve a new map via referendum violated the state’s constitution. Democrats have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put the state court’s ruling on hold.
Majority-Black districts in states controlled by Democrats could also be eliminated eventually – in that case, voters previously “packed” into those districts could be divided in ways that improve Democrats’ prospects for other seats. However, those changes will likely not have an impact until the 2028 elections.
No Tax Changes in Republican Reconciliation Package
A $70 billion funding package making its way through Congress seems unlikely to contain any tax provisions, despite earlier concerns that the legislation could be a vehicle for changes affecting philanthropy.
The bill’s main purpose is to provide funding for immigration enforcement agencies that were left out of a bipartisan spending bill passed in April. The legislation now in the works will be advanced through the reconciliation process, which prevents the use of a filibuster in the Senate.
Southern Poverty Law Center Indictment Raises Questions for Philanthropy
Last month, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was indicted on federal fraud charges – acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche has alleged the organization improperly paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups without disclosing the payments to donors.
The SPLC and its supporters have criticized the indictment as politically motivated. “The charges against the SPLC are provably wrong; they are based on inaccurate facts and a misapplication of law,” the organization said in a statement. “The SPLC is no stranger to legal threats by those on the wrong side of history. In our 55 years, we have faced and prevailed in numerous fights.”
In response to the indictment, two of the largest commercial donor-advised fund sponsors, Fidelity Charitable and Charles Schwab’s DAFgiving360, announced they would pause grants from DAFs under their control to the SPLC, citing internal policies that allow them to suspend grants to organizations under investigation for alleged illegal activities. Vanguard, another commercial DAF sponsor which paused giving to the SPLC, has said that as a matter of policy they prohibit giving to any organization that is subject to a state or federal criminal indictment.
Those actions, however, have drawn criticism from others in the charitable sector. Fred Blackwell, president of the San Francisco Foundation, said the Bay Area community foundation would continue to allow grants to the SPLC from its DAFs.
“Giving platforms are not acting neutrally when they cut off access to charitable resources based solely on a charge, before any court has weighed the facts,” Blackwell wrote. “They are imposing a penalty in advance of due process, reinforcing the very deterrent effect such prosecutions are intended to produce, and weakening civil society in the process.”
A letter signed by dozens of individual donors, DAFs, and nonprofit organizations asked Fidelity, Vanguard and DAFgiving360 to reverse their decision.
“Donor advised funds exist to channel charitable giving to organizations donors have chosen,” the letter reads. “We ask Fidelity Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, and DAFgiving360 to reverse this decision, immediately restore the ability of donors to make grants to Southern Poverty Law Center, and reaffirm your commitment to respecting donor intent.”
Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Expand Retirement Charitable Giving Incentives
On Wednesday, Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Don Beyer (D-VA) and Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Charity Parity Act, which would allow retirement-aged taxpayers with 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored retirement plans to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from those accounts.
Currently, only Individual Retirement Account (IRA) holders can make QCDs, capped at $111,000 a year in 2026. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) are co-sponsoring identical legislation in the Senate.
This new QCD would be structured exactly the same as the QCD for IRAs, also allowing taxpayers to make a one-time contribution to fund a charitable gift annuity, capped at $55,000 in 2026. While DAFs would not be eligible recipients under the current version of the bill, there may be opportunities to advocate for including them before the bill is considered in earnest.
Several sector organizations have endorsed the proposal. Lawmakers and staff have indicated they may try to advance retirement legislation in the coming years, which could provide a pathway to enactment for this bill and others, such as legislation to allow IRA distributions to DAFs, a policy Philanthropy Southeast has long supported.