§ 5-53.1-8 - Professional fund raisers and fund raising counsel.
SECTION 5-53.1-8
§ 5-53.1-8 Professional fund raisers andfund raising counsel. – (a) No person shall act, operate or transact business as a professional fundraiser or fund raising counsel in this state before he, she or it hasregistered with the director or after the expiration or cancellation of suchregistration. Applications for registration and re-registration shall be inwriting, under oath and penalty of perjury, in the form prescribed by thedirector and shall be accompanied by an annual fee in the sum of two hundredforty dollars ($240). A professional fund raiser who has access or the abilityto access or control funds that are being solicited shall at the time of makingapplication for registration or re-registration, file with, and have approvedby, the director a bond. In the bond, the filer shall be the principal obligor,in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), with one or more sureties whoseliability in the aggregate as sureties will at least equal that sum. The bondwhich may be in the form of a rider to a larger blanket liability bond shallrun to the director for the use of the state and to any person who may have acause of action against the obligor of the bond for any malfeasance ormisfeasance in the conduct of the solicitation. Registration or re-registrationwhen effected shall be for a period of one year, or a part thereof, expiring onthe thirtieth (30th) day of June. An application for re-registration shall befiled no more than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of theregistration. Applications for registration and re-registration and bonds whenfiled with the director, shall become public records in the office of thedirector. If there is any material change in the information provided in anyapplication for registration and re-registration, the applicant or registrantshall notify the director, in writing, within twenty (20) days of the change.
(b) A professional fund raiser and fund raising counsel shallmaintain accurate and current books and records of all activities whilerequired to be registered under subsection (a) of this section; and, until atleast three (3) years shall have elapsed after the end of the effective periodof the registration to which they relate, the books and records shall bemaintained in an office available for inspection and examination by thedirector; provided, that any books and records obtained by the director shallnot be available to the public for inspection. The professional fund raiser orfund raising counsel shall not be required to make available to the directorthe names and addresses of members and donors, except with their consent or theconsent of the organization or through legal process where good cause has beenshown by the director to question compliance with this chapter and access tothe information is necessary to determine compliance. Nothing contained in thissection shall be construed to limit an organization's ability to challenge theprocess on constitutional grounds.