Public Act 096-0488
 
SB1970 Enrolled LRB096 11022 ASK 21311 b

    AN ACT concerning charitable organizations.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Solicitation for Charity Act is amended by
changing Section 4 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 460/4)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5104)
    Sec. 4. (a) Every charitable organization registered
pursuant to Section 2 of this Act which shall receive in any 12
month period ending upon its established fiscal or calendar
year contributions in excess of $300,000 $150,000 and every
charitable organization whose fund raising functions are not
carried on solely by staff employees or persons who are unpaid
for such services, if the organization shall receive in any 12
month period ending upon its established fiscal or calendar
year contributions in excess of $25,000, shall file a written
report with the Attorney General upon forms prescribed by him,
on or before June 30 of each year if its books are kept on a
calendar basis, or within 6 months after the close of its
fiscal year if its books are kept on a fiscal year basis, which
written report shall include a financial statement covering the
immediately preceding 12 month period of operation. Such
financial statement shall include a balance sheet and statement
of income and expense, and shall be consistent with forms
furnished by the Attorney General clearly setting forth the
following: gross receipts and gross income from all sources,
broken down into total receipts and income from each separate
solicitation project or source; cost of administration; cost of
solicitation; cost of programs designed to inform or educate
the public; funds or properties transferred out of this State,
with explanation as to recipient and purpose; cost of
fundraising; compensation paid to trustees; and total net
amount disbursed or dedicated for each major purpose,
charitable or otherwise. Such report shall also include a
statement of any changes in the information required to be
contained in the registration form filed on behalf of such
organization. The report shall be signed by the president or
other authorized officer and the chief fiscal officer of the
organization who shall certify that the statements therein are
true and correct to the best of their knowledge, and shall be
accompanied by an opinion signed by an independent certified
public accountant that the financial statement therein fairly
represents the financial operations of the organization in
sufficient detail to permit public evaluation of its
operations. Said opinion may be relied upon by the Attorney
General.
    (b) Every organization registered pursuant to Section 2 of
this Act which shall receive in any 12 month period ending upon
its established fiscal or calendar year of any year
contributions:
        (1) in excess of $15,000, but not in excess of $25,000,
    during a fiscal year shall file only a simplified summary
    financial statement disclosing only the gross receipts,
    total disbursements, and assets on hand at the end of the
    year on forms prescribed by the Attorney General; or
        (2) in excess of $25,000, but not in excess of $300,000
    $150,000, if it is not required to submit a report under
    subsection (a) of this Section, shall file a written report
    with the Attorney General upon forms prescribed by him, on
    or before June 30 of each year if its books are kept on a
    calendar basis, or within 6 months after the close of its
    fiscal year if its books are kept on a fiscal year basis,
    which shall include a financial statement covering the
    immediately preceding 12-month period of operation limited
    to a statement of such organization's gross receipts from
    contributions, the gross amount expended for charitable
    educational programs, other charitable programs,
    management expense, and fund raising expenses including a
    separate statement of the cost of any goods, services or
    admissions supplied as part of its solicitations, and the
    disposition of the net proceeds from contributions,
    including compensation paid to trustees, consistent with
    forms furnished by the Attorney General. Such report shall
    also include a statement of any changes in the information
    required to be contained in the registration form filed on
    behalf of such organization. The report shall be signed by
    the president or other authorized officer and the chief
    fiscal officer of the organization who shall certify that
    the statements therein are true and correct to the best of
    their knowledge.
    (c) For any fiscal or calendar year of any organization
registered pursuant to Section 2 of this Act in which such
organization would have been exempt from registration pursuant
to Section 3 of this Act if it had not been so registered, or in
which it did not solicit or receive contributions, such
organization shall file, on or before June 30 of each year if
its books are kept on a calendar basis, or within 6 months
after the close of its fiscal year if its books are kept on a
fiscal year basis, instead of the reports required by
subdivisions (a) or (b) of this Section, a statement certified
under penalty of perjury by its president and chief fiscal
officer stating the exemption and the facts upon which it is
based or that such organization did not solicit or receive
contributions in such fiscal year. The statement shall also
include a statement of any changes in the information required
to be contained in the registration form filed on behalf of
such organization.
    (d) As an alternative means of satisfying the duties and
obligations otherwise imposed by this Section, any veterans
organization chartered or incorporated under federal law and
any veterans organization which is affiliated with, and
recognized in the bylaws of, a congressionally chartered or
incorporated organization may, at its option, annually file
with the Attorney General the following documents:
        (1) A copy of its Form 990, as filed with the Internal
    Revenue Service.
        (2) Copies of any reports required to be filed by the
    affiliate with the congressionally chartered or
    incorporated veterans organization, as well as copies of
    any reports filed by the congressionally chartered or
    incorporated veterans organization with the government of
    the United States pursuant to federal law.
        (3) Copies of all contracts entered into by the
    congressionally chartered or incorporated veterans
    organization or its affiliate for purposes of raising funds
    in this State, such copies to be filed with the Attorney
    General no more than 30 days after execution of the
    contracts.
    (e) As an alternative means of satisfying all of the duties
and obligations otherwise imposed by this Section, any person,
pursuant to a contract with a charitable organization, a
veterans organization or an affiliate described or referred to
in subsection (d), who receives, collects, holds or transports
as the agent of the organization or affiliate for purposes of
resale any used or second hand personal property, including but
not limited to household goods, furniture or clothing donated
to the organization or affiliate may, at its option, annually
file with the Attorney General the following documents,
accompanied by an annual filing fee of $15:
        (1) A notarized report including the number of
    donations of personal property it has received on behalf of
    the charitable organization, veterans organization or
    affiliate during the proceeding year. For purposes of this
    report, the number of donations of personal property shall
    refer to the number of stops or pickups made regardless of
    the number of items received at each stop or pickup. The
    report may cover the person's fiscal year, in which case it
    shall be filed with the Attorney General no later than 90
    days after the close of that fiscal year.
        (2) All contracts with the charitable organization,
    veterans organization or affiliate under which the person
    has acted as an agent for the purposes listed above.
        (3) All contracts by which the person agreed to pay the
    charitable organization, veterans organization or
    affiliate a fixed amount for, or a fixed percentage of the
    value of, each donation of used or second hand personal
    property. Copies of all such contracts shall be filed no
    later than 30 days after they are executed.
    (f) The Attorney General may seek appropriate equitable
relief from a court or, in his discretion, cancel the
registration of any organization which fails to comply with
subdivision (a), (b) or (c) of this Section within the time
therein prescribed, or fails to furnish such additional
information as is requested by the Attorney General within the
required time; except that the time may be extended by the
Attorney General for a period not to exceed 60 days upon a
timely written request and for good cause stated. Unless
otherwise stated herein, the Attorney General shall, by rule,
set forth the standards used to determine whether a
registration shall be cancelled as authorized by this
subsection. Such standards shall be stated as precisely and
clearly as practicable, to inform fully those persons affected.
Notice of such cancellation shall be mailed to the registrant
at least 15 days before the effective date thereof.
    (g) The Attorney General in his discretion may, pursuant to
rule, accept executed copies of federal Internal Revenue
returns and reports as a portion of the foregoing annual
reporting in the interest of minimizing paperwork, except there
shall be no substitute for the independent certified public
accountant audit opinion required by this Act.
    (h) The Attorney General after canceling the registration
of any trust or organization which fails to comply with this
Section within the time therein prescribed may by court
proceedings, in addition to all other relief, seek to collect
the assets and distribute such under court supervision to other
charitable purposes.
    (i) Every trustee, person, and organization required to
file an annual report shall pay a filing fee of $15 with each
annual financial report filed pursuant to this Section. If a
proper and complete annual report is not timely filed, a late
filing fee of an additional $100 is imposed and shall be paid
as a condition of filing a late report. Reports submitted
without the proper fee shall not be accepted for filing.
Payment of the late filing fee and acceptance by the Attorney
General shall both be conditions of filing a late report. All
late filing fees shall be used to provide charitable trust
enforcement and dissemination of charitable trust information
to the public and shall be maintained in a separate fund for
such purpose known as the Illinois Charity Bureau Fund.
    (j) There is created hereby a separate special fund in the
State Treasury to be known as the Illinois Charity Bureau Fund.
That Fund shall be under the control of the Attorney General,
and the funds, fees, and penalties deposited therein shall be
used by the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of this
Act and to gather and disseminate information about charitable
trustees and organizations to the public.
(Source: P.A. 90-469, eff. 8-17-97; 91-444, eff. 8-6-99.)