Introduced Version
Senate Bill 154 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 154
(By Senator Yost)
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[Introduced February 14, 2013; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary .]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §29-19-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requirements for a charitable
organization to submit an audit report or statement of
financial review by an independent certified public
accountant.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §29-19-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 19. SOLICITATION OF CHARITABLE FUNDS ACT.
§29-19-5. Registration of charitable organizations; fee.
(a) Every charitable organization, except as provided in
section six of this article, which intends to solicit
contributions, donations or grants within this state or to have funds solicited or received on its behalf shall, prior to any
solicitation, file a registration statement with the Secretary of
State upon forms prescribed by him or her which shall be good for
one full year and which shall be refiled in the next and each
following year in which the charitable organization is engaged in
solicitation activities. If an organization discontinues
solicitation at any time after its last registration filing, then
it shall file a registration statement reflecting its activities
during its last fiscal year in which solicitation in West Virginia
took place. It is the duty of the president, chairman or principal
officer of the charitable organization to file the statements
required under this article. The statements shall be sworn to and
shall contain the following information:
(1) The name of the organization and the purpose for which it
was organized;
(2) The principal address of the organization and the address
of any offices in this state. If the organization does not
maintain an office, the name and address of the person having
custody of its financial records;
(3) The names and addresses of any chapters, branches or
affiliates in this state;
(4) The place where and the date when the organization was
legally established and the form of its organization;
(5) The names and addresses of the officers, directors,
trustees and the principal salaried executive staff officer;
(6) A copy of a balance sheet and a statement or report of
income and expenses for the organization's immediately preceding
fiscal year or a financial statement reporting information showing
the kind and amount of funds raised during the preceding fiscal
year, the costs and expenses incidental to the fundraising and
showing how the funds were disbursed or allocated for the same
fiscal year: Provided, That in addition to the financial documents
required by this subdivision:
(A) Charitable organizations raising more than $200,000
$500,000 per year in contributions, excluding grants from
governmental agencies or private foundations, shall submit a report
of an audit by an independent certified public accountant; and
(B) Charitable organizations raising more than $100,000 per
year but less than $200,001 $500,001 per year in contributions,
excluding grants from governmental agencies or private foundations,
shall submit a statement of financial review by an independent
certified public accountant. Organizations are required to report
the amount of money received in the state and the amount spent in
the state for charitable purposes;
(7) A copy of any determination of the organization's tax
exempt status under the provisions of 26 U.S.C. §501(c)(3) and a copy of the last filed Internal Revenue Service Form 990 and
Schedule A for every charitable organization and any parent
organization;
(8) Whether the organization intends to solicit contributions,
donations or grants from the public directly or have other
solicitation done on its behalf by others;
(9) Whether the organization is authorized by any other
governmental authority to solicit contributions, donations or
grants and whether it is or has ever been enjoined by any court
from soliciting contributions;
(10) The general purpose or purposes for which the
contributions to be solicited shall be used;
(11) The name or names under which it intends to solicit
contributions;
(12) The names of the individuals or officers of the
organization who will have final responsibility for the custody of
the contributions;
(13) The names of the individuals or officers of the
organization responsible for the final distribution of the
contributions; and
(14) Copies of all contract documentation from professional
fund-raising counsels and professional solicitors as provided in
subsection (d), section seven of this article.
(b) Each chapter, branch or affiliate, except an independent
member agency of a federated fund-raising organization, may
separately report the information required by this section or
report the information to its parent organization which shall then
furnish the information regarding its West Virginia affiliates,
chapters and branches in a consolidated form to the Secretary of
State. An independent member agency of a federated fund-raising
organization, as defined in section two of this article, shall
comply with the provisions of this article independently. Each
organization shall file a separate registration form for each name
under which funds will be solicited.
(c) The registration forms and any other documents prescribed
by the Secretary of State shall be signed by an authorized officer
or by an independent public accountant and by the chief fiscal
officer of the charitable organization and shall be verified under
oath.
(d) Every charitable organization receiving less than $1
million during any year which submits an independent registration
to the Secretary of State shall pay an annual registration fee of
$15; every charitable organization collecting more than $1 million
during one year which submits an independent registration to the
Secretary of State shall pay an annual registration fee of $50; and
a parent organization filing on behalf of one or more chapters, branches or affiliates or a single organization filing under
different names shall pay a single annual registration fee of $50
for itself and the chapters, branches or affiliates included in the
registration statement. All fees and moneys collected by the
Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of this article shall
be deposited by the Secretary of State as follows: One-half shall
be deposited in the state General Revenue Fund and one-half shall
be deposited in the services fees and collections account
established by section two, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this
code for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State shall dedicate sufficient resources from
that fund or other funds to provide the services required in this
article.
(e) For good cause shown, the Secretary of State may extend
the due date for the annual filing of a registration statement or
report by a charitable organization or a professional fundraiser
for a period not to exceed ninety days. During that period, the
previously filed registration statement or report of the charitable
organization which has been granted the extension remains in
effect.
(f) In addition to the registration fee required by this
section, a charitable organization or professional fundraiser, or
both, which fails to file a registration statement or report by the original or extended due date for filing as required by this
section shall, for each month or part of the month thereafter in
which the registration statement or report is not filed, pay an
additional fee of $25: Provided, That the total amount of the
additional fees for a registration statement or report required to
be filed in any one year may not exceed $500. All fees and moneys
collected by the Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of
this article shall be deposited by the Secretary of State as
follows: One-half shall be deposited in the state General Revenue
Fund and one-half shall be deposited in the service fees and
collections account established by section two, article one,
chapter fifty-nine of this code for the operation of the Office of
the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall dedicate
sufficient resources from that fund or other funds to provide the
services required in this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to raise the threshold
amount from $200,000 to $500,000 for which a charitable
organization would be required to submit an audit report from an
independent certified public accountant.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.