§ 7:28-c — Registration, Contract and Disclosure Requirements for a Paid Solicitor

I. For the purposes of this section, the following words have, in addition to the meanings ascribed to them by RSA 7:21, the following special meanings:
(a) "Charitable program" means any program sponsored by a police, law enforcement or firefighters' association.
(b) "Charitable trust" means any police, law enforcement or firefighters' association.
(c) "Paid solicitor" means any person who for compensation performs for a police, law enforcement or firefighters' association any service which, if performed by such person for a charitable trust, would constitute such person a paid solicitor as defined by RSA 7:21, VI.
(d) "Solicit" and "solicitation" means any request made for or on behalf of a police, law enforcement or firefighters' association which, if made on behalf of a charitable trust, would constitute a solicitation as defined by RSA 7:21, VII.
II. A paid solicitor shall register with the attorney general prior to engaging in any solicitation. Applications for registration or re-registration shall be in writing, under oath, in the form prescribed by the attorney general, and shall be accompanied by a fee of $500. The application shall contain such information as the attorney general shall require. Each registration is valid for one year and may be renewed for additional one-year periods upon application and payment of the fee.
III. A paid solicitor shall, at the time of making application for registration and renewal of registration, file with and have approved by the attorney general a bond, in which the paid solicitor shall be the principal obligor in the sum of $20,000, with one or more responsible sureties whose liability in the aggregate as such sureties shall at least equal that sum. The paid solicitor shall maintain the bond in effect as long as the registration is in effect. The bond, which may be in the form of a rider to a larger blanket liability bond, shall be with a surety company authorized to do business in this state, and shall run to the state and to any person who may have a cause of action against the principal obligor of the bond for any liabilities resulting from the obligor's conduct of any activities subject to this subdivision or arising out of a violation of this subdivision or any rule adopted pursuant to this subdivision.
IV. Prior to the commencement of each solicitation campaign, the paid solicitor shall file with the attorney general a completed "solicitation notice" on forms prescribed by the attorney general. The solicitation notice shall include a copy of the contract described in paragraph IV of this section, the projected dates when soliciting shall commence and terminate, the location and telephone number from where the solicitation shall be conducted, the name and residence address of each person responsible for directing and supervising the conduct of the campaign, a statement as to whether the paid solicitor shall at any time have custody of contributions, and a full description of the charitable program for which the solicitation campaign is being carried out. The charitable trust on whose behalf the paid solicitor is acting shall certify that the solicitation notice and accompanying material are true and complete to the best of its knowledge. The solicitation notice shall be accompanied by a fee of $200.
V. (a) There shall be a written contract between a paid solicitor and a charitable trust which shall clearly state:
(1) The respective obligations of the paid solicitor and the charitable trust.
(2) The amount of the gross revenue from the solicitation campaign that the charitable trust shall receive. Said amount shall be expressed as a fixed percentage of the gross revenue or as a reasonable estimate of the gross revenue, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this paragraph.
(3) In addition, for charitable trusts defined under RSA 7:28-c, I(b) and any political subdivision of the state of New Hampshire: that the name and address of each person pledging to contribute, together with the date and amount of the pledge, shall be the sole exclusive property of the charitable trust with no rights to transfer, sell, rent, or otherwise cause to be used except by the originating charitable trust.
(b) If the compensation of the paid solicitor is contingent upon the number of contributions or the amount of revenue received from the solicitation campaign, the stated amount shall be expressed as a fixed percentage of the gross revenue.
(c) If the compensation of the paid solicitor is not contingent upon the number of contributions or the amount of revenue received, the stated amount shall be a reasonable estimate, expressed as a percentage of the gross revenue, and the contract shall clearly disclose the assumptions upon which the estimate is based. The stated assumptions shall be based upon all of the relevant facts known to the paid solicitor regarding the solicitation to be conducted as well as the past performance of solicitations conducted by the paid solicitor. If the stated amount is a reasonable estimate, rather than a fixed percentage of the gross revenue, the contract shall also provide that the charitable trust is guaranteed a percentage of the gross revenue which is no less than the reasonable estimate less 10 percent of the gross revenue.
(d) The stated percentages required by subparagraphs (b) and (c) shall exclude any amount which the charitable trust is to pay as expenses of the solicitation campaign, including the cost of merchandise or services sold or events staged.
(e) The paid solicitor shall provide the charitable trust with access to and use of the donor list data base both during and after the solicitation campaign.
VI. A paid solicitor shall be responsible for complying with, or for causing compliance with, each of the following requirements:
(a) Prior to orally requesting a contribution or contemporaneously with a written request for a contribution, the following shall be clearly and conspicuously disclosed at the point of solicitation:
(1) The name of the paid solicitor as on file with the attorney general and that the solicitation is being conducted by a paid solicitor.
(2) If requested by the contributor, the fixed percentage of the gross revenue or the reasonable estimate, expressed as a percentage of the gross revenue, as identified in paragraph V of this section.
(b) In the case of a solicitation campaign conducted orally, whether by telephone or otherwise, a written confirmation shall be sent to each person who has contributed or pledged to contribute, within 5 days after that person has been solicited, which shall include a clear and conspicuous disclosure of the information required by subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.
(c) No representation shall be made that any part of the contributions received shall be given or donated to any other charitable trust unless such organization has consented in writing to the use of its name, prior to the solicitation. The written consent shall be signed by any 2 authorized officers, directors, or trustees of the charitable trust.
(d) It shall not be represented that tickets to events shall be donated for use by another, unless the following requirements have been met:
(1) The paid solicitor shall have written commitments from charitable trusts stating that they shall accept donated tickets and specifying the number of tickets they are willing to accept; and
(2) No more contributions for donated tickets shall be solicited than the number of ticket commitments received from charitable trusts.
VII. Within 90 days after a solicitation campaign has been completed, and on the anniversary of the commencement of a solicitation campaign lasting more than one year, the paid solicitor and the charitable trust shall file with the attorney general a joint financial report for the campaign, including gross revenue and an itemization of all expenses incurred. The report shall be completed on a form prescribed by the attorney general. The report shall be signed by an authorized official of the paid solicitor and an authorized official from the charitable trust, and they shall certify, under oath, that it is true to the best of their knowledge. The director of charitable trusts shall prepare and make available in a searchable format on the state website the percentage of contributions retained by or paid to the solicitor and the percentage retained by the charitable trust for each solicitation campaign.
VIII. (a) The paid solicitor shall maintain during each solicitation campaign and for not less than 3 years after its completion, the following records:
(1) The name and the address of each person pledging to contribute, together with the date and amount of the pledge.
(2) The name and residence address of each employee, agent, or other person, however styled, involved in the solicitation.
(3) A record of all contributions at any time in the custody of the paid solicitor.
(4) A record of all expenses incurred by the paid solicitor of which the charitable trust is liable for payment.
(5) The location and account number of all bank or other financial institution accounts in which the paid solicitor has deposited revenue from the solicitation campaign.
(b) If the paid solicitor sells tickets to an event and represents that tickets shall be donated for use by another, the paid solicitor shall also maintain for the same period as specified in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph:
(1) The name and address of those contributors donating tickets and the number of tickets donated by each contributor; and
(2) The name and address of all organizations receiving donated tickets for use by others, including the number of tickets received by each organization.
(c) All records described in this paragraph shall be available for inspection by the attorney general upon request.
IX. Each contribution in the custody of the paid solicitor shall, in its entirety and within 5 days of its receipt, be deposited in an account at a bank or other federally insured financial institution. The account shall be in the name of the charitable trust with whom the paid solicitor has contracted, and the charitable trust shall have sole control of all withdrawals from the account.
X. Any material change in any information filed with the attorney general pursuant to this section shall be reported in writing to the attorney general within 7 days after the change occurs.
XI. The attorney general shall examine each paid solicitor registration application and solicitation notice to determine compliance with applicable requirements of this subdivision. The attorney general shall notify the paid solicitor within 10 business days of receipt of a registration notice or solicitation notice of any deficiencies in it; otherwise it shall be deemed approved as filed.
XII. Any person who has been convicted within the prior 5 years of any violation of this chapter, any rule adopted under this chapter, or a felony in this or any other state is prohibited from acting as a paid solicitor.

Legislative History

1987, 260:3. 1992, 239:1. 1999, 247:1. 2002, 57:1. 2003, 135:2, 3, eff. July 1, 2003. 2013, 55:1, eff. Aug. 3, 2013.