BILL NUMBER: AB 918 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 11, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 8, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Adams
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Carter, Davis, and Jones)
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 150) to Division
1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to charitable
donations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 918, as amended, Adams. Salvageable personal property:
collection boxes.
Existing law makes it unlawful for any association of persons to
engage, directly or indirectly, in the soliciting of donations or in
selling salvageable personal property obtained by soliciting, except
qualified charitable organizations, as described, that meet specified
requirements.
Existing law authorizes counties and cities to impose additional
requirements for the privilege of soliciting and selling salvageable
personal property within their jurisdictions.
This bill would impose requirements for the placement of
statements specifying prescribed information on collection boxes, as
defined. The bill would also require the owner of a
collection box to obtain written consent from the owner or lessee of
the property, or their authorized agent, for placement of the
collection boxes, and to provide this consent upon request.
The bill specifies that its provisions shall not be deemed to
supersede the authority of the Department of Justice or to limit a
city, county, or city and county from regulating, monitoring, or
prohibiting collection boxes. The bill would also allow the city,
county, or city and county to declare a collection box that is in
violation of these provisions to be a public nuisance and to impose
additional requirements on the solicitation and sale of salvageable
personal property within its jurisdiction.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 150) is added to
Division 1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 2. UNATTENDED COLLECTION BOXES
150. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Collection box" means an unattended cannister, box,
receptacle, or similar device, used for soliciting and collecting
donations of salvageable personal property.
(b) "Commercial fundraiser" shall have the same meaning as in
subdivision (a) of Section 12599 of the Government Code.
(c) "Nonprofit organization" means an organization that is exempt
from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the
United States Internal Revenue Code.
(d) "Salvageable personal property" has the same meaning as in
subdivision (b) of Section 148.
151. (a) The front of every collection box shall conspicuously
display both of the following:
(1) The name, address, telephone number, and, if available, the
Internet Web address of the owner and operator of the collection box.
(2) A statement, in at least two-inch typeface, that either reads,
"this collection box is owned and operated by a for-profit
organization" or "this collection box is owned and operated by a
nonprofit organization." For purposes of this chapter, a commercial
fundraiser shall be classified as a for-profit organization.
(b) If the collection box is owned by a nonprofit organization,
the front of the collection box shall also conspicuously display a
statement describing the charitable cause that will benefit from the
donations.
(c) If the collection box is owned by a for-profit entity, the
front of the collection box shall also conspicuously display a
statement that reads "this donation is not tax deductible." If the
collection box is owned and operated by a commercial fundraiser, the
commercial fundraiser may post notice of donations to a charitable
cause only on the sides of the box. This notice shall always be
smaller in size than the for-profit entity's name and address and
shall constitute only 25 percent of the notice space of the box.
152. The owner of a collection box shall obtain written consent
from the owner or lessee of the property where the collection box is
located, or the owner or lessee's authorized agent, stating that the
owner of the collection box has received permission to place the box
on the property. In the event that the property owner or lessee, or
the owner or lessee's authorized agent, chooses not to provide
written consent, the property owner or lessee, or the owner or lessee'
s authorized agent, may give verbal consent as long as documentation
of that consent includes appropriate contact information. Upon
request of the city, county, city and county, or an interested
person, this written or verbal consent shall be made available by the
owner of the collection box.
153. 152. A city, county, or city
and county shall have the authority to declare a box that is in
violation of this chapter to be a public nuisance and to abate that
nuisance accordingly.
154. 153. Nothing in this chapter
shall be construed to do either of the following:
(a) Supersede or in any way limit existing authority of the
Department of Justice over fundraising for charitable purposes.
(b) Limit or infringe upon the powers of a city, county, or city
and county to impose additional requirements upon the solicitation
and sale of salvageable personal property within its jurisdiction.