Official Summary Text
AB 2221, as amended, Irwin.
Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act.
Existing law, the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act, requires the Attorney General to, among other things, establish and maintain a register of charitable corporations, unincorporated associations, and trustees subject to the act and of the particular trust or other relationship under which they hold property for charitable purposes. Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish rules and regulations necessary for the administration of these provisions.
Existing law requires a charitable fundraising platform, as defined, before soliciting, permitting, or otherwise enabling charitable solicitations, to register with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, under oath, on a form provided by the Attorney General. Existing law requires a platform charity to have good standing, as
defined, in order to facilitate acts of solicitation on a charitable fundraising platform. Existing law permits a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity to solicit, permit, or otherwise enable solicitations, or to receive, control, or distribute funds from donations, only for recipient charitable organizations or other charitable organizations in good standing. Existing law authorizes a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity to rely upon specified electronic lists to determine good standing of recipient charitable organizations or other charitable organizations, however, if those lists are not published, then a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity is not required to comply with this provision for that applicable agency for the length of time that agency’s list is unavailable.
This bill would remove the provisions described above that authorize a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity to rely upon specified
electronic lists to determine good standing of recipient charitable organizations, or other charitable organizations and excuse compliance if the list is not published.
Instead, the bill would specify that the directive that charitable fundraising platforms or platform charities only solicit, permit, or otherwise enable solicitations, or receive, control, or distribute funds from donations for recipient charitable organizations or other charitable organizations in good standing does not apply to charitable organizations that are not subject to the registration requirements of the act.
Existing law requires a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity that performs, permits, or otherwise enables acts of solicitation to, before a person can complete a donation or select or change a recipient charitable organization, provide conspicuous disclosures, including, among other
things, a statement that a recipient charitable organization may not receive donations or grants or recommended donations, with an explanation identifying the most pertinent reasons why a recipient charitable organization may not receive the funds.
This bill would also require the statement described above to include an explanation of what alternative disposition will occur for the funds, as specified, and would make other conforming changes.
Existing law requires that the rules and regulations established by the Attorney General for the administration of the registry include, among other things, provisions that specify the contents of the form and other information to be provided by a charitable fundraising platform for registration and in annual reports filed with the registry.
This bill would make clarifying and technical changes to those provisions, including updating a reference to the name of the registry.
This bill would
provide that if the registry does not process a filing submitted by a person or entity who is not registered or whose registration is expired or delinquent within 10 days from the date of filing, the registration would be deemed in good standing. The bill would require a written notice to be sent to the registrant if the filing is found deficient, indicating the reasons for deficiency. The bill would establish related procedures and timelines for registration filings, notices, and responses. The bill would also require the Attorney General to modernize the online registry to support comprehensive electronic administration, as prescribed.
This bill would require a person or entity that is required to file registration, reporting, or other submissions with the registry to do so through the Attorney General’s online filing service in accordance with rules and regulations
of the Attorney General. The bill would require the online filing service, by January 1, 2028, to support comprehensive electronic administration, as prescribed. The bill would make various other clarifying and technical changes to the act.