101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4161

 

Introduced 1/22/2020, by Rep. Ryan Spain

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
225 ILCS 460/2  from Ch. 23, par. 5102

    Amends the Solicitation for Charity Act. Provides that the Attorney General shall include specified language informing charitable organizations of the registration requirements under the Act in the Attorney General's "Building Better Charities" website content or other similar website content and the Attorney General's Charitable Organization Instruction Sheet found on the Attorney General's website. Effective immediately.


LRB101 15898 SPS 65255 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4161LRB101 15898 SPS 65255 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Solicitation for Charity Act is amended by
5changing Section 2 as follows:
 
6    (225 ILCS 460/2)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5102)
7    Sec. 2. Registration; rules; penalties.
8    (a) Every charitable organization, except as otherwise
9provided in Section 3 of this Act, which solicits or intends to
10solicit contributions from persons in this State or which is
11located in this State, by any means whatsoever shall, prior to
12any solicitation, file with the Attorney General upon forms
13prescribed by him, a registration statement, accompanied by a
14registration fee of $15, which statement shall include the
15following certified information:
16        1. The name of the organization and the name or names
17    under which it intends to solicit contributions.
18        2. The names and addresses of the officers, directors,
19    trustees, and chief executive officer of the organization.
20        3. The addresses of the organization and the addresses
21    of any offices in this State. If the organization does not
22    maintain a principal office, the name and address of the
23    person having custody of its financial records.

 

 

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1        4. Where and when the organization was legally
2    established, the form of its organization and its tax
3    exempt status.
4        5. The purpose for which the organization is organized
5    and the purpose or purposes for which the contributions to
6    be solicited will be used.
7        6. The date on which the fiscal year of the
8    organization ends.
9        7. Whether the organization is authorized by any other
10    governmental authority to solicit contributions and
11    whether it is or has ever been enjoined by any court from
12    soliciting contributions.
13        8. The names and addresses of any professional fund
14    raisers who are acting or have agreed to act on behalf of
15    the organization.
16        9. Methods by which solicitation will be made.
17        10. Copies of contracts between charitable
18    organizations and professional fund raisers relating to
19    financial compensation or profit to be derived by the
20    professional fund raisers. Where any such contract is
21    executed after filing of registration statement, a copy
22    thereof shall be filed within 10 days of the date of
23    execution.
24        11. Board, group, or individual having final
25    discretion as to the distribution and use of contributions
26    received.

 

 

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1    (b) The registration statement shall be signed by the
2president or other authorized officer and the chief fiscal
3officer of the organization.
4    (c) Such registration shall remain in effect unless it is
5either cancelled as provided in this Act or withdrawn by the
6organization.
7    (d) Every registered organization shall notify the
8Attorney General within 10 days of any change in the
9information required to be furnished by such organization under
10paragraphs 1 through 11 of subdivision (a) of this Section.
11    (e) In no event shall a registration of a charitable
12organization continue, or be continued, in effect after the
13date such organization should have filed, but failed to file,
14an annual report in accordance with the requirements of Section
154 of this Act, and such organization shall not be eligible to
16file a new registration until it shall have filed the required
17annual report with the Attorney General. If such report is
18subsequently filed and accepted by the Attorney General such
19organization may file a new registration. If a person, trustee,
20or organization fails to timely register or maintain a
21registration of a trust or organization as required by this Act
22or if its registration is cancelled as provided in this Act,
23and if that trust or organization remains in existence and by
24law is required to be registered, in order to re-register or
25file a late registration a current registration statement must
26be filed accompanied by financial reports in the form required

 

 

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1herein for all past years. In all instances where
2re-registration and late registration are allowed, the new
3registration materials must be filed, accompanied by a penalty
4registration fee of $200. The Attorney General shall include
5the following language informing charitable organizations of
6the registration requirements under this Act in all capital
7letters and bold print in the Attorney General's "Building
8Better Charities" website content or other similarly
9characterized website content and on the Attorney General's
10Charitable Organization Instruction Sheet found on the
11Attorney General's website:
12    "REGISTRATION WITH THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL MUST
13    OCCUR BEFORE THE CHARITY MAY MAKE ANY SOLICITATION IN THIS
14    STATE. FAILURE TO REGISTER PRIOR TO SOLICITATION SHALL
15    TRIGGER A LATE FILING FEE AS SPECIFIED IN SUBSECTION (e) OF
16    SECTION 2 OF THE SOLICITATION FOR CHARITY ACT.".
17    (f) Subject to reasonable rules and regulations adopted by
18the Attorney General, the register, registration statements,
19annual reports, financial statements, professional fund
20raisers' contracts, bonds, applications for registration and
21re-registration, and other documents required to be filed with
22the Attorney General shall be open to public inspection.
23    Every person subject to this Act shall maintain accurate
24and detailed books and records at the principal office of the
25organization to provide the information required herein. All
26such books and records shall be open to inspection at all

 

 

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1reasonable times by the Attorney General or his duly authorized
2representative.
3    (g) Where any local, county or area division of a
4charitable organization is supervised and controlled by a
5superior or parent organization, incorporated, qualified to do
6business, or doing business within this State, such local,
7county or area division shall not be required to register under
8this Section if the superior or parent organization files a
9registration statement on behalf of the local, county or area
10division in addition to or as part of its own registration
11statement. Where a registration statement has been filed by a
12superior or parent organization as provided in Section 2(g) of
13this Act, it shall file the annual report required under
14Section 4 of this Act on behalf of the local, county or area
15division in addition to or as part of its own report, but the
16accounting information required under Section 4 of this Act
17shall be set forth separately and not in consolidated form with
18respect to every local, county or area division which raises or
19expends more than $4,000.
20    (h) The Attorney General may make rules of procedure and
21regulations necessary for the administration of this Act.
22Copies of all such rules of procedure and regulations and of
23all changes therein, duly certified by the Attorney General,
24shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.
25    (i) If a person, organization, or trustee fails to register
26or if registration of a trust or organization is cancelled as

 

 

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1provided in this Act, the person, organization or trustee is
2subject to injunction, to removal, to account, and to
3appropriate other relief before the circuit court exercising
4chancery jurisdiction. In addition to any other relief granted
5under this Act, the court may impose a civil penalty of not
6less than $500 nor more than $1,000 against the organization or
7trust estate that failed to register or failed to maintain a
8registration required under this Act. The collected penalty
9funds shall be used for charitable trust enforcement and for
10providing charitable trust information to the public.
11(Source: P.A. 90-469, eff. 8-17-97; 91-444, eff. 8-6-99.)
 
12    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13becoming law.