SB 1528 Summary

• Charitable organizations must register with the Michigan Attorney General before soliciting contributions, unless exempt, and provide registration information including names of officers, purposes, fiscal year, solicitation methods, and financial statements based on contribution amounts.

• Financial statement requirements increase over time: organizations receiving $250,000-$500,000 in contributions must provide reviewed or audited statements, and those receiving $500,000+ must provide audited statements, with dollar thresholds increasing by $25,000 every 5 years beginning in 2020.

• Professional fund raisers must be licensed and professional solicitors must be registered; the Attorney General may suspend or revoke licenses/registrations for violations and can impose emergency suspensions without a hearing if public safety is threatened.

• Prohibits deceptive practices including misrepresenting charitable status, falsifying donation purposes, confusing organization names, using law enforcement uniforms during solicitations, and failing to comply with requests to remove personal information from solicitation lists.

• Creates misdemeanor penalties for violators (up to 6 months imprisonment or $5,000 fine) and felony penalties for fraudulent schemes exceeding $1,000 (up to 5 years imprisonment or $20,000 fine); allows county prosecutors to prosecute violations alongside the Attorney General.