MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Jackson (11th)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 79-11-507, 79-11-513, 79-11-515 AND 79-11-517, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE REPORTING PERIOD APPLYING TO THE FILING OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS BY CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS THAT SOLICIT DONATIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 79-11-507, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
79-11-507. (1) Every
charitable organization registered pursuant to Section 79-11-503 that * * * receives in any fiscal year
contributions in excess of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) and all
of whose fund-raising functions are carried on by persons who are unpaid for * * * their services, and every
charitable organization registered pursuant to Section 79-11-503 whose fund-raising
functions are not carried on solely by persons who are unpaid for * * * their services shall file a
financial statement on a four-year cycle for its most recently completed
fiscal years of the reporting period with the Secretary of State. The
financial statement shall be filed along with the registration statement
required by Section 79-11-503 and any renewals or final report thereafter. The
financial statement shall include a balance sheet and statement of income and
expense and shall be consistent with forms furnished by the Secretary of State
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; and total net
amount disbursed or dedicated for each major purpose, charitable or otherwise.
The statement shall be signed by the president or other authorized officer and
the chief fiscal officer of the organization, 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. The financial statement shall be accompanied by any and all forms
required to be filed by a charitable organization with the United States
Internal Revenue Service during the reporting period.
(2) Every organization
registered pursuant to Section 79-11-503 that shall receive in any fiscal year
contributions of at least Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) but
not more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) and all of whose fund-raising
functions are carried on by persons who are unpaid for their services shall
file a financial statement reviewed by an independent certified public
accountant along with the registration statement required by Section 79-11-503
and any renewals or final report thereafter with the Secretary of State upon
forms prescribed by him. The reviewed financial statement shall cover the * * * fiscal years of the
reporting period and include * * * information as required by the Secretary
of State by rule or otherwise, including, but not limited to, the gross
receipts from contributions and the use of the proceeds of * * * the contributions. The statement
shall be signed by the president or other authorized officer of the
organization who shall certify under penalties of perjury that the statements
therein are true and correct to the best of the signer's knowledge. The
reviewed financial statement shall be accompanied by any and all forms required
to be filed by a charitable organization with the United States Internal
Revenue Service during the reporting period.
(3) Every organization
registered pursuant to Section 79-11-503 that shall receive in any fiscal year
contributions not in excess of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00)
and all of whose fund-raising functions are carried on by persons who are
unpaid for their services shall file a financial report along with the
registration statement required by Section 79-11-503 and any renewals or final
report thereafter with the Secretary of State upon forms prescribed by him. * * * The financial report shall cover
the * * * fiscal years of the reporting period and include * * * information as required by the Secretary
of State by rule or otherwise, including, but not limited to, the gross
receipts from contributions and the use of the proceeds of * * * the contributions. The report
shall be signed by the president or other authorized officer of the organization
who shall certify under penalties of perjury that the statements therein are
true and correct to the best of the signer's knowledge. * * * The financial report shall be
accompanied by any and all forms required to be filed by a charitable organization
with the United States Internal Revenue Service during the reporting period.
(4) Any charitable organization receiving more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) but less than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) shall, at the request of the Secretary of State, submit additional financial information, including, but not limited to, an audited financial statement prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and 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.
(5) The Secretary of State
pursuant to Section 79-11-509 may promulgate rules to provide for extensions of
the due date for filing of the financial statements required by this chapter
and may impose an administrative penalty against any organization which fails
to comply with this section within the time prescribed, or fails to furnish * * * additional information as is requested by
the Secretary of State within the required time.
SECTION 2. Section 79-11-513, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
79-11-513. No person shall
act as a professional fund-raiser or fund-raising counsel for a charitable
organization before he has registered with the Secretary of State or after the
expiration or cancellation of * * * the registration or any renewal
thereof. Applications for registration and renewals shall be in writing sworn
to under penalties of perjury in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State
and accompanied by * * *
a filing * * *
fee of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00). The professional fund-raiser
applicant, at the time of making application, shall file with the State
Treasurer and have approved by the Secretary of State a bond in which the
applicant shall be the principal obligor in the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars
($10,000.00) with one or more corporate sureties licensed to do business in
this state whose liability in the aggregate will at least equal * * * the required dollar amount.
The bond shall run to the Secretary of State for the use of the state and to
any person who may have a cause of action against the obligor of the bond for
any malfeasance or misfeasance in the conduct of * * * the solicitation * * *. Although the
aggregate limit of liability of the surety to the state and to all * * * persons shall, in no event, exceed the * * * total amount of * * * the bond * * *, this limitation of liability * * * for
the surety * * *
shall not otherwise affect * * * the liability * * * of any charitable
organization, professional fund-raiser, professional solicitor or any other
person for a violation of this chapter to any person who may have a cause of
action against the obligor of the bond for any malfeasance or misfeasance in
the conduct of the solicitation. Registration when effected shall be for a
period of * * *
four (4) years, or * * *a part portion thereof of the initial registration
period, expiring on June 30 or on * * * another date as prescribed by
rule, and may be renewed for subsequent four-year periods upon
written application, under oath, in the form prescribed by the Secretary of
State and upon the remittance of the renewal fee of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars
($250.00) and the filing of the bond for additional * * * four-year periods. Every
professional fund-raiser and fund-raising counsel required to register pursuant
to Sections 79-11-501 through 79-11-529 shall file * * * a written report with the
Secretary of State containing * * * the information and documentation as
he may require by rule as a part of the renewal process.
SECTION 3. Section 79-11-515, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
79-11-515. (1) All
contracts entered into between professional fund-raisers or fund-raising
counsel and charitable organizations shall be in writing and a true and correct
copy of * * *
the contract shall be filed by the professional fund-raiser or fund-raising
counsel who is a party thereto with the Secretary of State at least ten (10)
days * * *
before the performance by the professional fund-raiser or fund-raising
counsel of any service. The contract must be signed by two (2) authorized
officials of the charitable organization, one (1) of whom must be a member of
the organization's governing body, and the authorized contracting officer for
the professional fund-raiser or fund-raising counsel. True and correct copies
of * * * the
contracts shall be kept on file in the offices of the charitable organization
and the professional fund-raiser or fund-raising counsel during the term
thereof and until the expiration of a period of three (3) years subsequent to
the date the solicitation of contributions provided for therein actually
terminates. The contract shall contain all of the following provisions:
(a) The legal name and address of the charitable organization as registered with the Secretary of State, unless that charitable organization is exempt from registration;
(b) A statement of the charitable purpose for which the solicitation campaign is being conducted;
(c) A statement of the respective obligations of the professional fund-raiser or fund-raising counsel and the charitable organization;
(d) A clear statement of the fees or rate which will be paid to the professional fund-raiser or fund-raising counsel;
(e) The effective and termination dates of the contract and the date services will commence with respect to the solicitation in this state of contributions for a charitable organization;
(f) For fund-raising counsel, a statement that the fund-raising counsel will not at any time have custody or control of contributions;
(g) A statement that the charitable organization exercises control and approval over the content and volume of any solicitation; and
(h) Any other information required by the rules of the Secretary of State.
(2) * * * Before the commencement of any
solicitation, the professional fund-raiser shall file all of the following with
the Secretary of State and * * * other information that the Secretary of
State may, by rule, require in the form of a written report on forms
prescribed by the Secretary of State containing information about the
solicitation campaign, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) The fund-raising methods to be used;
(b) The projected dates when the solicitation campaign will commence and terminate;
(c) The location and telephone number from where the solicitation campaign will be conducted if it will be conducted by telephone;
(d) The name and residence address of each person responsible for directing and supervising the conduct of the solicitation campaign;
(e) A statement of whether the professional fund-raiser will at any time have custody of any contributions;
(f) The account number and location of each bank account where receipts from the campaign are to be deposited;
(g) A full and fair description of the charitable program for which the solicitation campaign is being carried out; and
(h) The written and signed consent of every charitable organization on whose behalf the professional fund-raiser will be soliciting contributions or whose name will be mentioned during the solicitation.
(3) Not later than ninety
(90) days after a solicitation campaign has been completed * * *,
or, in the case of a solicitation campaign lasting more than * * * four (4) years, on the next
reporting due date, the professional fund-raiser shall furnish an
accounting of all contributions collected and expenses paid to the charitable
organization with which the professional fund-raiser has contracted. The
accounting shall be in writing and shall be retained by the professional fund-raiser
and charitable organization for three (3) years following the filing due
date. The professional fund-raiser shall file a final report of the
accounting with the Secretary of State on forms prescribed by him and
containing * * *
the information he may, by rule, require not later than seven (7) days
after it is furnished to the charitable organization. This report shall be
signed by the contracting agent with the professional fund-raiser and also by
an authorized officer of the charitable organization.
(4) Not later than two (2) days after receipt of each contribution, the professional fund-raiser shall deposit the entire amount of the contribution in an account at a bank or other federally insured financial institution which shall be in the name of the charitable organization with which the professional fund-raiser has contracted. Each contribution collected by the professional fund-raiser shall be solely in the name of that charitable organization. The charitable organization shall have sole control of all withdrawals from the account and the professional fund-raiser shall not be given the authority to withdraw any deposited funds from the account.
(5) During each solicitation campaign and for not less than three (3) years after its completion, the professional fund-raiser shall maintain the following records that shall be made available to the Attorney General or the Secretary of State upon request:
(a) A record of each contribution that at any time is in the custody of the professional fund-raiser, including the name and address of each contributor and the date and amount of the contribution; and
(b) The location of each bank or financial institution in which the professional fund-raiser has deposited revenue from the solicitation campaign and the account number of each account into which the deposits were made.
(6) Any material change in
any information filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to this section
shall be reported in writing by the professional fund-raiser or fund-raising
counsel to the Secretary of State not more than seven (7) days after * * * the change occurs.
SECTION 4. Section 79-11-517, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
79-11-517. No person shall
act as a professional solicitor in the employ of a professional fund-raiser
required to register pursuant to Section 79-11-513 before he has registered
with the Secretary of State or after the expiration or cancellation of * * * the registration or any renewal
thereof. Application for registration or renewal shall be in writing sworn to
under penalties of perjury in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State. * * * The registration when effected
shall be for a period of * * *one (l) year four (4) years, or * * * portion thereof, expiring on June
30 or * * *
another date as prescribed by rule, and may be renewed upon written
application, sworn to under penalties of perjury, in the form prescribed by the
Secretary of State for additional * * * four-year periods.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.