Effective as of January 1, 2016, new regulations related to administrative enforcement of violations of the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act go into effect. We wrote about the regulations when they were first proposed (see our post explaining our opposition to the regulations here). Also...
CALIFORNIA LAW
California Governor Signs Administrative Dissolution Bill Into Law
On September 30, 2015, Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill No. 557, making amendments to the laws governing dissolution of California nonprofits. The amendments, which will become effective on January 1, 2016, essentially create two new sets of dissolution procedures for California nonprofits: an automatic dissolution process...
California Social Purpose Corporation: An Overview
The social purpose corporation is one of two “hybrid” corporate forms in California that provide alternative business entity options to entrepreneurs who want to combine profitability with broader social and environmental objectives (the other is the benefit corporation). Formerly known as the flexible purpose corporation, the social purpose corporation...
Executive Compensation – The Legal Issues
Determining the appropriate amount of compensation to pay an executive is one of the most important decisions a board is asked to make. Board members must balance budgetary concerns with the need to find a qualified candidate. Traditionally, it was not uncommon for nonprofits to expect executives to work...
Proposed Regulations Threaten California Nonprofits – Comments due July 13
UPDATE (10/31/15): UNFORTUNATELY, THESE REGULATIONS WERE PROMULGATED AND WILL BE EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2016. WE WILL BE FOLLOWING UP WITH A POST ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING NONPROFITS AWARE OF THE NEW RULES AND OF INCORPORATING AN ANNUAL CHECKLIST AS PART OF EVERY BOARD CALENDAR. In a...
California Charity Registration: Form 990 Schedule B Disclosure
California requires a charity subject to its registration requirements to submit its IRS Form 990 including Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) with its annual registrations to the Registry of Charitable Trusts. The list of major contributors, which remains confidential pursuant to current policy and proposed regulations*, may not be redacted from the filing. While the...
Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics – CEB / CLE
On February 26, 2015, Erin and I recorded a webinar for Continuing Education of the Bar – California on Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics. It’s an intermediate-level one-hour CLE program available here. Providing counsel to nonprofits requires knowledge and understanding of corporate and tax laws that are often not intuitive or...
CEB: Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics – Livecast on Thu, 2/26, at noon
Erin and I will be presenting a program on Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics for Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) – State Bar of California livecast on Thursday, February 26 from noon to 1 p.m. The following description of our program is on the CEB website. Providing counsel to nonprofits...
Emergency Powers for California Nonprofit Corporations
Under California law, specifically after the approval of Assembly Bill 491 in 2013, corporations including nonprofit public benefit, mutual benefit, and religious corporations are permitted to conduct certain corporate activities during an emergency. Types of emergencies include a natural catastrophe, an enemy attack, an act of terrorism, or a...
Simplified California Exemption Process for Non-Charitable Nonprofits
Effective January 1, 2014, Assembly Bill 1173 simplified the process for applying for California tax exemption by certain organizations that have a federal exemption determination letter. Non-charitable nonprofits, specifically those recognized by the IRS as exempt under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(4), (5), (6), and (7), are now...