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By Mr. Casey of Winchester, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2863) of Paul C. Casey relative to the auditing of certain non profit organiztions. Revenue. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
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By Mr. Casey of Winchester, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2863) of Paul C. Casey relative to the auditing of certain non profit organiztions. Revenue. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.
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An Act relative to the auditing of certain non profit organiztions. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 21C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 8A, the following section:―
Section 8B. The trustee or trustees or the governing board of every charitable organization shall annually, at a time to be determined by the commissioner, file with the department a written report for its last preceding fiscal year. Such report shall be filed on forms prescribed by the commissioner and shall contain such financial and other information as the commissioner may require.
A charitable organization which received more than one $100,000 in gross support and revenue, including any gains or losses from the sale of a capital asset, during the fiscal year covered by its report must submit a complete audited financial statement together with its annual report. The audited financial statement shall be prepared in accordance with such generally accepted accounting principles and reporting practices as may from time to time be prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or its successor organization, and shall be examined by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards for the purpose of expressing an opinion thereon. A charitable organization which received not more than $250,000 in gross support and revenue during the fiscal year covered by its report may in lieu of an audited financial statement submit a financial statement accompanied by an independent certified public accountant's review report as such report is defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The commissioner may, by regulation, exempt certain types or classes of organizations from the audit or review report requirement or from completing any portions of the annual report if the commissioner determines that such exemption would be in the public interest.
The annual reports and any other documents prescribed by the commissioner shall be signed by an authorized officer of the charitable organization and shall be verified under oath. For each report, a filing fee shall be paid to the department at the time of the filing in the following amount, based on the gross support and revenue received during the fiscal year covered by the report, as follows: (a) $35, if not more than $100.000; (b) $70, if more than $100,000 but not more than $250,000; (c) $175, if more than $250,000 but not more than $500,000; (d) $250, if more than $500,000. In the event that any charitable organization shall fail to file a report required hereunder, the department may bring an action to restrain the organization from transacting any business in the commonwealth or may take such other action as may be appropriate to compel compliance with the provisions of this section.
If any organization fails to file an annual report required by this section of this chapter, any justice of the supreme judicial or the superior court, on petition of the commissioner or of any 10 taxable inhabitants of the commonwealth, shall issue a writ of mandamus requiring such person to file such report. The order of notice on the petition shall be returnable not later than 10 days after the filing thereof. The petition shall be heard and determined on the return day or on such day thereafter as the court shall fix, having regard to the speediest possible determination of the cause consistent with the rights of the parties. The judgment shall include costs in favor of the prevailing party. All writs and processes may be issued from the clerk's office in any county, and, except as aforesaid, shall be returnable as the court orders.
Any charitable organization, or the responsible officer or agent of a charitable organization, who willfully fails to file a written report for any year shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $500. Any charitable organization, or any officer or agent of a charitable organization, who willfully makes, executes or files a report false in any material representation shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or both such fine and imprisonment.