General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 320
February Session, 2016 *_____SB00320VA____030916____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 320
February Session, 2016
*_____SB00320VA____030916____*
AN ACT CONCERNING CHARITIES SOLICITING ON BEHALF OF VETERANS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 27-100f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(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) (1) 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] may place upon such list for a period of three years any organization that (A) 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 (B) has been (i) a nonstock corporation, incorporated pursuant to chapter 602 or any predecessor statutes thereto, for three or more years, or (ii) 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. Such list shall be cross-referenced with the registry of charitable organizations maintained by the Department of Consumer Protection pursuant to section 21a-190b.
[Organizations] (2) Any such organization may apply and reapply to the commissioner for inclusion on [the] such 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.] In making such determination, the commissioner shall consider the following, including, but not limited to: (A) Charity accountability standards; (B) the ratio of charitable activity expenditures to fundraising and administrative expenditures; (C) violations of chapter 419d and regulations established pursuant to said chapter; and (D) any information provided to the Department of Veterans' Affairs by such organization. If the commissioner approves such organization's application, the commissioner shall include such organization on such list as a qualified veterans' charitable organization.
(3) The list of qualified veterans' charitable organizations, a link to [such] each qualified veterans' charitable organization's Internet web site, [and the qualifications for inclusion on such list set forth in subdivisions (1) and] the qualifications set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection and the commissioner's considerations for inclusion on such list set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection, shall be published on the informational Internet web site established in subsection (a) of 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.".
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2016 27-100f
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2016
27-100f
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(b)(1)(B)(i), "more than three years" was changed to "three or more years", "organized under" was changed to "incorporated pursuant to" and "statutes" was inserted after "predecessor" for accuracy and consistency; and in Section 1(b)(3), "link to such organization's" was changed to "link to each qualified veterans' charitable organization's" for clarity and "subsection (a) of" was inserted after "web site established in" for clarity.
VA Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
VA
Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO