CS/HB 875

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public employee charitable campaigns;
3	creating s. 110.182, F.S.; providing definitions; creating
4	the Florida Public Employees' Charitable Campaign;
5	providing organization of campaign; authorizing salary or
6	wage deductions for purposes of the campaign; providing
7	that campaign contributions must be voluntary; providing
8	criteria for the application and withdrawal from the
9	campaign; providing that participation must be limited to
10	certain nonprofit charitable federations and member
11	agencies; providing an exception; excluding certain
12	organizations from participation; providing for selection
13	of fiscal agent; providing an effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1.  Section 110.182, Florida Statutes, is created
18	to read:
19	110.182  Florida Public Employees' Charitable Campaign.--
20	(1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
21	(a)  "Federation" means a group of not-for-profit
22	charitable organizations that have voluntarily joined together
23	for purposes of raising and distributing contributions for and
24	among themselves.
25	(b)  "Member agency" means a not-for-profit charitable
26	organization belonging to a federation.
27	(c)  "Public employee" means an employee of a local
28	governmental agency or any of its departments, bureaus,
29	committees, or officers.
30	(d)  "Public employer" means a local governmental agency or
31	any of its departments, bureaus, committees, or officers.
32	(2)  CREATION AND ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES'
33	CHARITABLE CAMPAIGN.--
34	(a)  Any public employer that conducts or wishes to conduct
35	charitable workplace giving campaigns shall include charitable
36	organizations that meet the eligibility requirements for
37	participation in each local campaign. This annual Florida Public
38	Employees' Charitable Campaign is the only authorized charitable
39	fundraising drive directed toward public employees within work
40	areas during work hours and for which the public employer will
41	provide payroll deduction. This campaign may be held any time
42	during the year either in conjunction with or separately from
43	any current charitable workplace giving campaign.
44	(b)  Any public employer that conducts or wishes to conduct
45	charitable workplace giving campaigns, in coordination with the
46	payroll department of such employer, is authorized and permitted
47	to make deductions from the salary or wage of any public
48	employee in such amount as shall be authorized and requested by
49	that employee and for such purpose as shall be authorized and
50	requested by the public employee and shall pay such sums so
51	deducted as directed by such employee.
52	(c)  Public employee contributions toward the Florida
53	Public Employees' Charitable Campaign must be entirely
54	voluntary.
55	(d)  An applicable public employer shall authorize
56	deductions from the salaries or wages of its public employees of
57	an amount specified by each employee for payment to an eligible
58	charitable organization. The request for the deduction may be
59	withdrawn by the public employee at any time by filing a written
60	notification of withdrawal with the applicable treasurer or
61	responsible official in charge of the payroll system. If such
62	employer authorizes deductions from the salaries or wages of its
63	employees for payment to any eligible charitable organization,
64	such employer shall ensure that an employee shall be permitted
65	to authorize a deduction to any eligible charitable
66	organization.
67	(e)  Participation in the annual Florida Public Employees'
68	Charitable Campaign must be limited to any nonprofit charitable
69	federation or member agency that has as its principal mission:
70	1.  Public health and welfare;
71	2.  Education;
72	3.  Environmental restoration and conservation;
73	4.  Civil and human rights; or
74	5.  Relief of human suffering and poverty.
75	(f)  To qualify as a nonprofit charitable federation or
76	member agency:
77	1.  A federation or member agency must have had an office
78	open at least 20 hours per week employing full-time or part-time
79	employees in this state for the last 3 years.
80	2.  A federation must represent at least 10 health and
81	human services, social welfare, or environmental agencies that
82	also have an office open at least 20 hours per week employing
83	full-time or part-time employees.
84	3.  A member agency must document available services in the
85	local service area in which the campaign takes place in order to
86	participate in any local public employer campaign.
87	4.  A federation or member agency must be governed by an
88	active, voluntary board that exercises administrative control.
89	(g)  Any nonprofit charitable federation or member agency
90	participating in the Florida Public Employees' Charitable
91	Campaign must have its financial records audited annually by an
92	independent public accountant whose examination conforms to
93	generally accepted accounting principles.
94	(h)  Local unaffiliated eligible charitable organizations
95	may apply to a participating federation for inclusion in the
96	local public employer campaign, provided the charitable
97	organization meets the eligibility requirements of the
98	participating federation; thus, ensuring that all local eligible
99	charitable organizations can participate.
100	(i)  An independent charitable organization is exempt from
101	the federation or member agency membership requirement in
102	paragraph (e) if the organization currently participates in an
103	established public employer campaign and is in compliance with
104	the provisions of paragraphs (f) and (j).
105	(j)  Federations and member agencies ineligible to
106	participate in the Florida Public Employees' Charitable Campaign
107	include, but are not limited to, the following:
108	1.  A federation or member agency whose fundraising and
109	administrative expenses exceed 25 percent, unless extraordinary
110	circumstances can be demonstrated.
111	2.  A federation or member agency whose activities contain
112	an element that is more than incidentally political in nature or
113	whose activities are primarily political, religious,
114	professional, or fraternal in nature.
115	3.  A federation or member agency that discriminates
116	against any individual or group on account of race, color,
117	religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or political
118	affiliation.
119	4.  A federation or member agency that is not properly
120	registered as a charitable organization as required by the
121	Solicitation of Contributions Act, ss. 496.401-496.424.
122	5.  A federation or member agency that has not received
123	tax-exempt status under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
124	Code.
125	(3)  SELECTION OF FISCAL AGENTS; COST.--
126	(a)  Any public employer that conducts or wishes to conduct
127	charitable workplace giving campaigns is not required to select
128	a fiscal agent to act on its behalf for campaign fund
129	distribution but may select through the competitive procurement
130	process a fiscal agent or agents to receive, account for, and
131	distribute charitable contributions among participating
132	charitable organizations.
133	(b)  The fiscal agent shall withhold the reasonable costs
134	for conducting the campaign and for accounting and distribution
135	to the participating organizations, not to exceed 12 percent of
136	gross campaign pledges, and shall reimburse the public employer
137	the actual cost, not to exceed 1 percent of gross pledges, for
138	coordinating the campaign in accordance with the rules of the
139	public employer.
140	(c)  The fiscal agent shall furnish the public employer and
141	participating charitable federations and member agencies a
142	report of the accounting and distribution activities. Records
143	relating to these activities shall be open for inspection.
144	(d)  A local committee shall be established by each public
145	employer to assist in conducting the campaign.
146	(e)  Participating charitable federations and member
147	agencies shall receive the same percentage of undesignated funds
148	raised in any campaign as the percentage of designated funds
149	they receive.
150	(f)  All charitable organizations shall be represented
151	equally and fairly in each Florida Public Employees' Charitable
152	Campaign.
153	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.