N.Y. Senate Political Fight Leaves Endowment Bill in Limbo

A protracted battle for control of the New York State Senate is delaying action on a bill to ease financially strapped charities’ ability to tap their endowments, Newsday reports.

A proposal to lift a ban on spending from endowments for philanthropic organizations that have dropped below their original value is languishing in committee in both houses of the state legislature. Forty-three states have passed such measures in recent years, with the trend gaining steam this year as the recession batters charities’ coffers, the paper reports.