Mass. AG Calls for Oversight of Charity Board Pay

In a Massachusetts legislative hearing Tuesday, Attorney General Martha Coakley called on lawmakers to back a measure that would bar nonprofit organizations from paying their board members unless they win state approval, the Boston Herald and the Associated Press write.

The House bill would require charities to seek approval from the attorney general’s office if they want to pay board members.

“Unjustifiable compensation of charitable board directors creates inherent conflicts of interest,” Ms. Coakley testified. “It involves an unavoidable conflict between board members’ personal financial interests and their obligation to safeguard the organization.”

The effort to curb salaries for charity board members originated in a controversy over stipends for directors at the state’s nonprofit health insurers. Lawmakers rejected similar legislation this summer when it was attached to the state budget bill, but the current proposal is a stand-alone measure.

From The Chronicle: Of the 50 biggest foundations, 38 pay their trustees, according to our analysis of informational tax returns.