102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5814

 

Introduced 11/16/2022, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II and Steven Reick

 

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

    Amends the Solicitation for Charity Act. Provides that every charitable organization registered as a charitable organization, who solicits or intends to solicit contributions from persons in the State, which shall receive in any 12-month period ending upon its established fiscal or calendar year contributions in excess of $750,000 (instead of $300,000), shall file a written report with the Attorney General upon forms prescribed by him within specified time periods. Provides that every charitable organization which shall receive in any 12-month period ending upon its established fiscal or calendar year of any year contributions in excess of $25,000, but not in excess of $750,000 (instead of $300,000) if it is not required to submit a report under provisions concerning contributions in excess of $750,000, shall also file a written report with the Attorney General within specified time periods.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB5814LRB102 29024 AMQ 40926 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
21the immediately preceding 12-month period of operation. Such
22financial statement shall include a balance sheet and
23statement of income and expense, and shall be consistent with

 

 

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1forms furnished by the Attorney General clearly setting forth
2the following: gross receipts and gross income from all
3sources, broken down into total receipts and income from each
4separate solicitation project or source; cost of
5administration; cost of solicitation; cost of programs
6designed to inform or educate the public; funds or properties
7transferred out of this State, with explanation as to
8recipient and purpose; cost of fundraising; compensation paid
9to trustees; and total net amount disbursed or dedicated for
10each major purpose, charitable or otherwise. Such report shall
11also include a statement of any changes in the information
12required to be contained in the registration form filed on
13behalf of such organization. The report shall be signed by the
14president or other authorized officer and the chief fiscal
15officer of the organization who shall certify that the
16statements therein are true and correct to the best of their
17knowledge, and shall be accompanied by an opinion signed by an
18independent certified public accountant that the financial
19statement therein fairly represents the financial operations
20of the organization in sufficient detail to permit public
21evaluation of its operations. Said opinion may be relied upon
22by the Attorney General.
23    (b) Every organization registered pursuant to Section 2 of
24this Act which shall receive in any 12-month period ending
25upon its 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
2    $25,000, during a fiscal year shall file only a simplified
3    summary financial statement disclosing only the gross
4    receipts, total disbursements, and assets on hand at the
5    end of the year on forms prescribed by the Attorney
6    General; or
7        (2) in excess of $25,000, but not in excess of
8    $750,000 $300,000, if it is not required to submit a
9    report under subsection (a) of this Section, shall file a
10    written report with the Attorney General upon forms
11    prescribed by him, on or before June 30 of each year if its
12    books are kept on a calendar basis, or within 6 months
13    after the close of its fiscal year if its books are kept on
14    a fiscal year basis, which shall include a financial
15    statement covering the immediately preceding 12-month
16    period of operation limited to a statement of such
17    organization's gross receipts from contributions, the
18    gross amount expended for charitable educational programs,
19    other charitable programs, management expense, and fund
20    raising expenses including a separate statement of the
21    cost of any goods, services or admissions supplied as part
22    of its solicitations, and the disposition of the net
23    proceeds from contributions, including compensation paid
24    to trustees, consistent with forms furnished by the
25    Attorney General. Such report shall also include a
26    statement of any changes in the information required to be

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1annual financial report filed pursuant to this Section. If a
2proper and complete annual report is not timely filed, a late
3filing fee of an additional $100 is imposed and shall be paid
4as a condition of filing a late report. Reports submitted
5without the proper fee shall not be accepted for filing.
6Payment of the late filing fee and acceptance by the Attorney
7General shall both be conditions of filing a late report. All
8late filing fees shall be used to provide charitable trust
9enforcement and dissemination of charitable trust information
10to the public and shall be maintained in a separate fund for
11such purpose known as the Illinois Charity Bureau Fund.
12    (j) There is created hereby a separate special fund in the
13State Treasury to be known as the Illinois Charity Bureau
14Fund. That Fund shall be under the control of the Attorney
15General, and the funds, fees, and penalties deposited therein
16shall be used by the Attorney General to enforce the
17provisions of this Act and to gather and disseminate
18information about charitable trustees and organizations to the
19public.
20(Source: P.A. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)