The Tax Reform Act of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-455, signed by President Ford on October 4, 1976, includes among its hodge-podge of some 1,500 pages several provisions of interest to those involved with environmental protection. The Act establishes new lobbying rules for tax-exempt charitable organizations, adds tax incentives to encourage the preservation of historic structures, and changes the tax treatment of pollution control facilities.

Section 2502 of the Act¹ provides a new elective set of tests for determining whether an organization (except a church, church affiliate, or private foundation) that is tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code §501(c)(3) has engaged in lobbying activities sufficient to cause it to lose its tax exemption and qualification for receiving deductible contributions.