AB 2221: 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 Generals 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 electronic lists periodically published by the Internal Revenue Service, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Attorney Generals Registry of Charities and Fundraisers 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 agencys list is unavailable.

This bill would remove lists periodically published by the Internal Revenue Service from the electronic lists that a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity may rely upon to determine good standing of recipient charitable organizations or other charitable organizations.

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 donated funds that are not sent to a recipient charitable organization. The bill would provide that a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity that performs, permits, or otherwise enables specified acts of solicitation, when soliciting platform users at the time of checkout to make a donation of no more than $10, or higher if adjusted for inflation, may make certain disclosures through a conspicuous hyperlink, as prescribed, and is not required to comply with specified regulations. The bill would also 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 require a person or entity that is required to file registration, reporting, or other submissions with the registry to do so through the Attorney Generals 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.