Substitute House Bill No. 5298
Public Act No. 12-195
AN ACT CONCERNING FUNDRAISING BY VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 27-100f of the 2012 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) On or before July 1, 2012, the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall publish on the department's Internet web site an informational page listing any benefits, services or programs offered to veterans or their families by any state or federal agency, department or institution. The department shall maintain the informational page after said date and shall update the informational page annually. The department shall publish on the informational page any information concerning the eligibility requirements and application process for such benefits, services or programs, the name and contact information of any entity offering such benefits, services or programs, and a link to the Internet web site for such entity.
(b) On and after July 1, 2013, the Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs, or the commissioner's designee, shall, within available appropriations, publish a list of qualified veterans' charitable organizations. The commissioner shall place any qualified veterans' charitable organization on such list for a period of three years. Organizations may apply and reapply to the commissioner for inclusion on the list by submitting information regarding such organization's status to the commissioner, on a form prescribed by the commissioner, and any additional information the commissioner deems necessary to determine whether such organization constitutes a qualified veterans' charitable organization. A qualified veterans' charitable organization is one which: (1) Holds itself out to be established for any benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane, scientific, patriotic, social welfare or advocacy purpose relating to or on behalf of veterans; and (2) has been (A) a nonstock corporation, organized under chapter 602, or any predecessor thereto, for three or more years, or (B) a tax exempt organization under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended from time to time, for three or more consecutive years. The list of qualified veterans' charitable organizations, a link to such organization's Internet web site, and the qualifications for inclusion on such list set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, shall be published on the informational Internet web site established in this section and shall bear a disclaimer as follows: "This list is prepared for the public solely for the purpose of information. The state of Connecticut provides no warranty about the content or accuracy of the content herein.".
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) (a) No person, firm or corporation that holds itself out as a representative of a veterans' charitable organization shall, with intent to defraud, solicit a contribution for such veterans' charitable organization that inures or is intended to inure to the benefit of any person, firm or corporation other than such veterans' charitable organization. For the purposes of this section, "veterans' charitable organization" means any person, firm or corporation that is or purports to be established for any benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane, scientific, patriotic, social welfare or advocacy purpose relating to or on behalf of veterans, and "veteran" has the same meaning as provided in subsection (a) of section 27-103 of the general statutes.
(b) Any person, firm or corporation that violates any provision of subsection (a) of this section shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.