101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB2907

 

Introduced 2/4/2020, by Sen. Heather A. Steans

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
225 ILCS 460/4  from Ch. 23, par. 5104

    Amends the Solicitation for Charity Act. Provides that every charitable organization registered under the Act which shall receive in any 12-month period contributions in excess of $750,000 (rather than $300,000), shall file a written report with the Attorney General, which shall include a financial statement containing information provided for in the Act. Makes a conforming change.


LRB101 18014 SPS 67452 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2907LRB101 18014 SPS 67452 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 4 as follows:
 
6    (225 ILCS 460/4)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5104)
7    Sec. 4. (a) Every charitable organization registered
8pursuant to Section 2 of this Act which shall receive in any
912-month period ending upon its established fiscal or calendar
10year contributions in excess of $750,000 $300,000 and every
11charitable organization whose fund raising functions are not
12carried on solely by staff employees or persons who are unpaid
13for such services, if the organization shall receive in any
1412-month period ending upon its established fiscal or calendar
15year contributions in excess of $25,000, shall file a written
16report with the Attorney General upon forms prescribed by him,
17on or before June 30 of each year if its books are kept on a
18calendar basis, or within 6 months after the close of its
19fiscal year if its books are kept on a fiscal year basis, which
20written report shall include a financial statement covering the
21immediately preceding 12-month period of operation. Such
22financial statement shall include a balance sheet and statement
23of income and expense, and shall be consistent with forms

 

 

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1furnished by the Attorney General clearly setting forth the
2following: gross receipts and gross income from all sources,
3broken down into total receipts and income from each separate
4solicitation project or source; cost of administration; cost of
5solicitation; cost of programs designed to inform or educate
6the public; funds or properties transferred out of this State,
7with explanation as to recipient and purpose; cost of
8fundraising; compensation paid to trustees; and total net
9amount disbursed or dedicated for each major purpose,
10charitable or otherwise. Such report shall also include a
11statement of any changes in the information required to be
12contained in the registration form filed on behalf of such
13organization. The report shall be signed by the president or
14other authorized officer and the chief fiscal officer of the
15organization who shall certify that the statements therein are
16true and correct to the best of their knowledge, and shall be
17accompanied by an opinion signed by an independent certified
18public accountant that the financial statement therein fairly
19represents the financial operations of the organization in
20sufficient detail to permit public evaluation of its
21operations. Said opinion may be relied upon by the Attorney
22General.
23    (b) Every organization registered pursuant to Section 2 of
24this Act which shall receive in any 12-month period ending upon
25its established fiscal or calendar year of any year
26contributions:

 

 

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1        (1) in excess of $15,000, but not in excess of $25,000,
2    during a fiscal year shall file only a simplified summary
3    financial statement disclosing only the gross receipts,
4    total disbursements, and assets on hand at the end of the
5    year on forms prescribed by the Attorney General; or
6        (2) in excess of $25,000, but not in excess of $750,000
7    $300,000, if it is not required to submit a report under
8    subsection (a) of this Section, shall file a written report
9    with the Attorney General upon forms prescribed by him, on
10    or before June 30 of each year if its books are kept on a
11    calendar basis, or within 6 months after the close of its
12    fiscal year if its books are kept on a fiscal year basis,
13    which shall include a financial statement covering the
14    immediately preceding 12-month period of operation limited
15    to a statement of such organization's gross receipts from
16    contributions, the gross amount expended for charitable
17    educational programs, other charitable programs,
18    management expense, and fund raising expenses including a
19    separate statement of the cost of any goods, services or
20    admissions supplied as part of its solicitations, and the
21    disposition of the net proceeds from contributions,
22    including compensation paid to trustees, consistent with
23    forms furnished by the Attorney General. Such report shall
24    also include a statement of any changes in the information
25    required to be contained in the registration form filed on
26    behalf of such organization. The report shall be signed by

 

 

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1    the president or other authorized officer and the chief
2    fiscal officer of the organization who shall certify that
3    the statements therein are true and correct to the best of
4    their knowledge.
5    (c) For any fiscal or calendar year of any organization
6registered pursuant to Section 2 of this Act in which such
7organization would have been exempt from registration pursuant
8to Section 3 of this Act if it had not been so registered, or in
9which it did not solicit or receive contributions, such
10organization shall file, on or before June 30 of each year if
11its books are kept on a calendar basis, or within 6 months
12after the close of its fiscal year if its books are kept on a
13fiscal year basis, instead of the reports required by
14subdivisions (a) or (b) of this Section, a statement certified
15under penalty of perjury by its president and chief fiscal
16officer stating the exemption and the facts upon which it is
17based or that such organization did not solicit or receive
18contributions in such fiscal year. The statement shall also
19include a statement of any changes in the information required
20to be contained in the registration form filed on behalf of
21such organization.
22    (d) As an alternative means of satisfying the duties and
23obligations otherwise imposed by this Section, any veterans
24organization chartered or incorporated under federal law and
25any veterans organization which is affiliated with, and
26recognized in the bylaws of, a congressionally chartered or

 

 

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1incorporated organization may, at its option, annually file
2with the Attorney General the following documents:
3        (1) A copy of its Form 990, as filed with the Internal
4    Revenue Service.
5        (2) Copies of any reports required to be filed by the
6    affiliate with the congressionally chartered or
7    incorporated veterans organization, as well as copies of
8    any reports filed by the congressionally chartered or
9    incorporated veterans organization with the government of
10    the United States pursuant to federal law.
11        (3) Copies of all contracts entered into by the
12    congressionally chartered or incorporated veterans
13    organization or its affiliate for purposes of raising funds
14    in this State, such copies to be filed with the Attorney
15    General no more than 30 days after execution of the
16    contracts.
17    (e) As an alternative means of satisfying all of the duties
18and obligations otherwise imposed by this Section, any person,
19pursuant to a contract with a charitable organization, a
20veterans organization or an affiliate described or referred to
21in subsection (d), who receives, collects, holds or transports
22as the agent of the organization or affiliate for purposes of
23resale any used or second hand personal property, including but
24not limited to household goods, furniture or clothing donated
25to the organization or affiliate may, at its option, annually
26file with the Attorney General the following documents,

 

 

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1accompanied by an annual filing fee of $15:
2        (1) A notarized report including the number of
3    donations of personal property it has received on behalf of
4    the charitable organization, veterans organization or
5    affiliate during the preceding year. For purposes of this
6    report, the number of donations of personal property shall
7    refer to the number of stops or pickups made regardless of
8    the number of items received at each stop or pickup. The
9    report may cover the person's fiscal year, in which case it
10    shall be filed with the Attorney General no later than 90
11    days after the close of that fiscal year.
12        (2) All contracts with the charitable organization,
13    veterans organization or affiliate under which the person
14    has acted as an agent for the purposes listed above.
15        (3) All contracts by which the person agreed to pay the
16    charitable organization, veterans organization or
17    affiliate a fixed amount for, or a fixed percentage of the
18    value of, each donation of used or second hand personal
19    property. Copies of all such contracts shall be filed no
20    later than 30 days after they are executed.
21    (f) The Attorney General may seek appropriate equitable
22relief from a court or, in his discretion, cancel the
23registration of any organization which fails to comply with
24subdivision (a), (b), or (c) of this Section within the time
25therein prescribed, or fails to furnish such additional
26information as is requested by the Attorney General within the

 

 

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1required time; except that the time may be extended by the
2Attorney General for a period not to exceed 60 days upon a
3timely written request and for good cause stated. Unless
4otherwise stated herein, the Attorney General shall, by rule,
5set forth the standards used to determine whether a
6registration shall be cancelled as authorized by this
7subsection. Such standards shall be stated as precisely and
8clearly as practicable, to inform fully those persons affected.
9Notice of such cancellation shall be mailed to the registrant
10at least 15 days before the effective date thereof.
11    (g) The Attorney General in his discretion may, pursuant to
12rule, accept executed copies of federal Internal Revenue
13returns and reports as a portion of the foregoing annual
14reporting in the interest of minimizing paperwork, except there
15shall be no substitute for the independent certified public
16accountant audit opinion required by this Act.
17    (h) The Attorney General after canceling the registration
18of any trust or organization which fails to comply with this
19Section within the time therein prescribed may by court
20proceedings, in addition to all other relief, seek to collect
21the assets and distribute such under court supervision to other
22charitable purposes.
23    (i) Every trustee, person, and organization required to
24file an annual report shall pay a filing fee of $15 with each
25annual financial report filed pursuant to this Section. If a
26proper and complete annual report is not timely filed, a late

 

 

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1filing fee of an additional $100 is imposed and shall be paid
2as a condition of filing a late report. Reports submitted
3without the proper fee shall not be accepted for filing.
4Payment of the late filing fee and acceptance by the Attorney
5General shall both be conditions of filing a late report. All
6late filing fees shall be used to provide charitable trust
7enforcement and dissemination of charitable trust information
8to the public and shall be maintained in a separate fund for
9such purpose known as the Illinois Charity Bureau Fund.
10    (j) There is created hereby a separate special fund in the
11State Treasury to be known as the Illinois Charity Bureau Fund.
12That Fund shall be under the control of the Attorney General,
13and the funds, fees, and penalties deposited therein shall be
14used by the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of this
15Act and to gather and disseminate information about charitable
16trustees and organizations to the public.
17(Source: P.A. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)