SACRAMENTO – Today Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 556 by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) and sponsored by Attorney General Kamala D. Harris to maintain consumer confidence in charitable giving.
“I’m pleased that Governor Brown signed AB 556, a collaborative effort with Attorney General Kamala Harris to increase transparency in charitable donations,” said Assemblymember Irwin. “This bill will support consumer confidence for the more than 70,000 active nonprofit organizations doing great work in California.”
For-profit companies that raise money on behalf of charities are currently required to disclose that a portion of donations would be used to pay for the fundraising services. AB 556 closes a loophole by ensuring that companies that use deceiving tricks to evade registration and fundraising transparency requirements are required to disclose their activities to donors. AB 556 also expands the statute of limitations for charitable misconduct lawsuits to 10 years to ensure that the Attorney General can hold commercial fundraisers, fundraising counsel, and other third party entities that aid and abet charity fraud accountable.
“I applaud Governor Brown for signing AB 556, our legislation to increase transparency and accountability in charitable fundraising,” said Attorney General Harris. “This law empowers California consumers to donate wisely, with clear information about how their donations are used. I thank Assemblymember Irwin for introducing the legislation and for her leadership on this important issue.”
AB 556 was supported by CalNonprofits, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society and a number of other local and national nonprofit organizations. The bill received widespread bipartisan support in the legislature and will become law on January 1, 2016.
Assemblymember Irwin’s website: http://asmdc.org/irwin
View the Attorney General’s report on charitable solicitation campaigns conducted by commercial fundraisers here.