Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 604
       
       
        
       By Senator Ring
       
       
       
       
       
       29-00595-14                                            2014604__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida State Employees’
    3         Charitable Campaign; amending s. 110.181, F.S.;
    4         providing an exception to the requirement that state
    5         officers and employees designate a charitable
    6         organization to receive contributions from the Florida
    7         State Employees’ Charitable Campaign; providing for
    8         the distribution of undesignated funds by the fiscal
    9         agent; removing the requirement that a local steering
   10         committee be established in each fiscal agent area;
   11         providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 110.181,
   16  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   17         110.181 Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign.—
   18         (1) CREATION AND ORGANIZATION OF CAMPAIGN.—
   19         (a) The Department of Management Services shall establish
   20  and maintain, in coordination with the payroll system of the
   21  Department of Financial Services, an annual Florida State
   22  Employees’ Charitable Campaign. Except as provided in subsection
   23  (5), this annual fundraising drive is the only authorized
   24  charitable fundraising drive directed toward state employees
   25  within work areas during work hours, and for which the state
   26  will provide payroll deduction.
   27         (b) State officers’ and employees’ contributions toward the
   28  Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign must be entirely
   29  voluntary. State officers and employees making contributions
   30  shall must designate a charitable organization to receive their
   31  such contributions, unless such contributions are collected as
   32  part of a campaign event.
   33         (c) Participation in the annual Florida State Employees’
   34  Charitable Campaign is must be limited to any nonprofit
   35  charitable organization that which has as its principal mission:
   36         1. Public health and welfare;
   37         2. Education;
   38         3. Environmental restoration and conservation;
   39         4. Civil and human rights; or
   40         5. Any nonprofit charitable organization engaged in The
   41  relief of human suffering and poverty.
   42         (d) An independent, unaffiliated agency must be a statewide
   43  entity whose programs provide year-round substantial, direct,
   44  hands-on services that meet basic human or environmental needs
   45  and extend throughout the year and throughout the state.
   46         (e) An international service agency must have well-defined
   47  programs that meet basic human or environmental needs outside
   48  the United States with no duplication of existing programs.
   49         (f) A national agency must demonstrate, through a well
   50  defined program, the provision of direct services that meet
   51  meeting basic human or environmental needs and which are readily
   52  available, being administered, or providing a substantial,
   53  direct benefit to the residents of this state.
   54         (g) The financial records of a Any nonprofit charitable
   55  organization participating in the Florida State Employees’
   56  Charitable Campaign shall be must have its financial records
   57  audited annually by an independent public accountant whose
   58  examination conforms to generally accepted accounting
   59  principles.
   60         (h) Organizations ineligible to participate in the Florida
   61  State Employees’ Charitable Campaign include, but are not
   62  limited to, the following:
   63         1. Organizations whose fundraising and administrative
   64  expenses exceed 25 percent, unless extraordinary circumstances
   65  can be demonstrated.
   66         2. Organizations whose activities contain an element that
   67  is more than incidentally political in nature or whose
   68  activities are primarily political, religious, professional, or
   69  fraternal in nature.
   70         3. Organizations that which discriminate against any
   71  individual or group on account of race, color, religion, sex,
   72  national origin, age, handicap, or political affiliation.
   73         4. Organizations not properly registered as a charitable
   74  organization as required by the Solicitation of Contributions
   75  Act, ss. 496.401-496.424.
   76         5. Organizations that which have not received tax-exempt
   77  status under s. 501(c)(3) of the, Internal Revenue Code.
   78         (2) SELECTION OF FISCAL AGENTS; COST.—
   79         (a) The Department of Management Services shall select
   80  through the competitive procurement process a fiscal agent or
   81  agents to receive, account for, and distribute charitable
   82  contributions among participating charitable organizations.
   83         (b) The fiscal agent shall withhold the reasonable costs
   84  for conducting the campaign and for accounting and distribution
   85  to the participating organizations and shall reimburse the
   86  department the actual cost for coordinating the campaign in
   87  accordance with the rules of the department. In any fiscal year
   88  that in which the Legislature specifically appropriates to the
   89  department its total costs for coordinating the campaign from
   90  the General Revenue Fund, the fiscal agent is not required to
   91  reimburse such costs to the department under this subsection.
   92  Otherwise, reimbursement will be the difference between actual
   93  costs and the amount appropriated.
   94         (c) The fiscal agent shall furnish to the department and
   95  participating charitable organizations a report on of the
   96  accounting and distribution activities. Records relating to
   97  these activities must shall be open for inspection upon
   98  reasonable notice and request.
   99         (d) The fiscal agent shall distribute undesignated funds to
  100  each participating charitable organization in direct proportion
  101  to the percentage of designated funds or pledges received by the
  102  organization A local steering committee shall be established in
  103  each fiscal agent area to assist in conducting the campaign. The
  104  committee shall be composed of state employees selected by the
  105  fiscal agent from among recommendations provided by interested
  106  participating organizations, if any, and approved by the
  107  Statewide Steering Committee.
  108         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.