3. Legislative Update

The 2016 General Assembly passed HB 16-1129, Measures for Enhanced Enforcement against Acts of Charitable Fraud, and the governor signed the bill into law. This bill increased civil penalties that the Attorney General’s Office may assess under the Consumer Protection Act for charitable fraud and spelled out how the Attorney General will apply the cy pres doctrine to re-direct civil penalties resulting from charitable fraud cases to other charities.

The bill also requires paid solicitors to disclose whether any officer, director, or employee serves on the board of directors of a charity, directs the operations of a charity, or otherwise has a financial interest in charity for which the paid solicitor solicits contributions. In addition, the bill requires paid solicitors to secure a $15,000 surety bond and include evidence of such when it submits a registration application to the Secretary of State. Finally, the Act prohibits paid solicitors from misrepresenting the extent of membership of a certain type in membership organizations for which they solicit, including active police, sheriff, patrol, firefighters, and first responders.

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