STAND. COM. REP. NO. 388-04
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2004
RE: H.B. No. 2364
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2004
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2364 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SOLICITATION OF FUNDS FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to provide greater protection to Hawaii's charitable organizations from abusive practices of professional solicitors and professional fundraising counsel by:
(1) Transferring the responsibility for the oversight of professional solicitors and professional fundraising counsel from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to the Department of the Attorney General (AG);
(2) Providing the AG with better enforcement tools, including:
(A) Required contract terms and disclosures and mandatory contract filing with the AG;
(B) An increase in the bonding requirement;
(C) Financial reporting and other record keeping requirements; and
(D) The authority to impose a fine, and to refuse to register, or suspend or revoke the registration of a professional fundraiser;
and
(3) Providing a regulatory funding mechanism by increasing registration fees to present norms in other states, and establishing the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Special Fund to be expended by the AG.
The AG supported the bill. A professional fundraiser testified in support of the bill and suggested amendments.
Your Committees find that the AG currently has general oversight over charitable trusts and charitable organizations but not professional solicitors and professional fundraising counsel, so the transfer will improve efficiency and increase the level of oversight.
Your Committees further find that the current draft reflects language that resulted from a dialogue between the AG and a professional fundraiser. Your Committees thank them for the time and effort that they devoted to fine-tuning this legislation.
Your Committees have amended this bill to more clearly specify the kind of information concerning compensation of the professional solicitor and fundraising counsel that must be included in the contract. Technical, nonsubstantive amendments have also been made for consistency and style.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2364, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2364, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary,
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____________________________ ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair |
____________________________ KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair |
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