Charitable Solicitations

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify new rules for registration or record-keeping requirements for charitable employees. These details are inferred from the existing law but not explicitly stated in the bill summary.

Clarifying Rules for Charitable Solicitors

This bill changes Tennessee's laws to clarify that employees of charitable organizations who solicit donations are considered professional solicitors and must follow specific rules.

What This Bill Does

• Removes certain language from the law about what makes someone a professional solicitor.
• Clarifies that employees of charities who collect donations are now considered professional solicitors.

Who It Names or Affects

• People working for charities who ask others for money
• Charitable organizations that hire people to collect donations

Terms To Know

Professional solicitor

A person or organization that collects money from the public on behalf of a charity and must follow specific rules set by Tennessee law.

Registration requirements

Rules that require people to sign up with the state before they can collect donations for charities, including paying fees and providing information about their work.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not change how volunteer groups or small charities without much public funding are treated.
• It is unclear if this will affect how many people choose to work as professional solicitors for charities.

Official Summary Text

Present law regulates professional solicitors
who, for a financial or other consideration, solicit contributions for, or on behalf of, a charitable
organization, whether
performed personally or through such person's agents
, servants
,
or employees
. Generally, professional solicitors are subject to all of the following requirements:



No person
may
act as a professional solicitor for any charitable organization, whether exempt or not, unless such person has first registered with the secretary of state. Registration must include the filing of a complete application, bond and filing fee. A bond
of
$25,000
must
be filed with the registration application and be approved by the secretary of state. The annual registration
fee

is
$250.
Such r
egistrations expire on December 31 of the year for which they are issued.



No person who has been convicted within the past five years for a violation of any
law pertaining to the solicitation of charitable funds
, and no person convicted of a felony in this or any other state,
may
serve as an employee, member, officer or agent of any professional solicitor until such person's civil rights have been restored.



A professional solicitor
must
file a financial report for a solicitation campaign with the secretary of state within 90 days after a solicitation campaign has been completed or within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year of any campaign which lasts for more than one year.



A
professional solicitor
must
keep
t
rue and accurate fiscal records, including, but not limited to, all income and expenses
.
The professional solicitor
must
maintain during each solicitation campaign and for three years after its completion the name and address of each employee, agent, or other person involved in the solicitation campaign.



A solicitor is required to have and produce or display, on demand, identification indicating that the solicitor has been duly authorized by the organization for which the solicitor is soliciting.



The secretary of state must review registrations and enforce registration requirements for professional solicitors.

Present law exempts several persons and entities from registration requirements. However, such persons and entities exempt from registration requirements are not exempt from other provisions for professional solicitors. Such exempt persons and entities
i
nclude all of the following:



Bona fide religious institutions, educational institutions, or cooperative scholarship corporations
.



A charitable organization that does not raise or receive contributions from the public
over
$50,000 during a fiscal year
. However, a
charitable organization
must
file registration statements with the secretary of state if a portion of their fundraising activities are conducted by professional solicitors, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial coventurers
.



Volunteer fire departments, rescue squads or local civil defense organizations
.



Community fairs, county fairs, district fairs and division fairs

that have been qualified by the commissioner of agriculture to receive state aid grants
.



Political parties, candidates for federal or state office, and political action committees required to file financial information with federal or state election commissions
.



Hospitals and nursing homes that are subject to regulation by the department of health
.



Any corporation established by an act of congress that is required by federal law to submit annual reports of its activities to congress containing itemized accounts of all receipts and expenditures after being fully audited by the department of defense.

This bill clarifie
s that agents, servants, or employees specially employed by or for a charitable organization who are engaged in the solicitation of contributions under the direction of
the professional solicitor
are also considered professional solicitors and are regulate
d by present law as outlined
above
.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 379
By Stinnett

SENATE BILL 454
By Hatcher

SB0454
000678
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 48,
Chapter 101, relative to the solicitation of
charitable funds.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 48-101-501(b)(15), is amended by
deleting the comma immediately after the language "for a charitable organization" in the first
sentence of the subdivision.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 48-101-501(b)(15), is amended by
deleting the language ", or a person who plans, conducts, manages, carries on or advises a
charitable organization in connection with the solicitation of contributions".
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.