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.