San Francisco County Municipal Code § 660.4 Issuance of Certificate of Registration

(a) Upon the filing by a charitable organization of a Statement of Registration and the payment of the fee required by Section 660.7, including any fine or penalty assessed against the organization for violation of this Article that has been outstanding for more than 60 days, the Chief of Police or his or her designate shall issue to the organization a receipt that indicates that the organization has filed a Statement of Registration and authorizes the organization to solicit contributions for charitable purposes pending the issuance of the Certificate of Registration. (b) The Chief of Police or his or her designate shall, after a review of the Statement of Registration to determine its compliance with Section 660.3 above, and within 10 working days of the receipt of the Statement of Registration, either issue a Certificate of Registration or notify the person registering that the Statement of Registration does not comply with the requirements of Section 660.3 above and specifying what information has not been furnished. Upon receipt of that additional information, the Chief of Police or his or her designate shall, within five working days of the receipt of the revised Statement, issue a Certificate of Registration. Any charitable organization that has received a receipt authorizing the organization to solicit contributions in the City and County of San Francisco and that fails to provide the additional

information sought by the Chief shall be in violation of this Article. Certificates of Registration shall be valid for 180 days after issuance. (c) Any charitable organization that has obtained a Certificate of Registration prior to the most recent amendment of this Article shall obtain a Certificate of Registration under the amended provisions of this Article within 30 days of the effective date of the such amended provisions. (Amended by Ord. 106-87, App. 4/3/87; Ord. 289-90, App. 8/1/90)

(a) At the request of the Police Department, the Controller of the City and County of San Francisco shall audit for accuracy and completeness any identified financial statements submitted by a charitable organization under Section 660.3(e) of this Code, provided that charitable organizations whose financial statements indicate that the organization received less than $1,000.00 in contributions from solicitations and sales solicitations in the immediately preceding reporting period shall not be subject to such audits. When audits are performed, the Controller shall prepare reports which shall be sent to the San Francisco District Attorney and California Attorney General. The reports of the Controller shall be public documents and shall contain the Controller's findings with respect to the accuracy and completeness of each statement reviewed. The audit should be conducted with maximum efficiency in a cost-effective manner and should be as unobtrusive as possible consistent with the foregoing purposes of the audit. No employee or agent of the Controller shall divulge or make known any record or information received pursuant to this section except in furtherance of the purposes of this section. (b) It shall be the duty of each charitable organization to keep such detailed accounts and records as shall be reasonably necessary for the Controller to conduct the audits required by this section. (Added by Ord. 289-90, App. 8/1/90; Ord. 56-07, File No. 070090, App. 3/23/2007)

Prior to soliciting contributions on behalf of a charitable organization, a commercial fundraiser shall register with the Department by filing with the Department a copy of the commercial fundraiser's most recent registration form and annual financial report filed with the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts pursuant to California Government Code Sections 12599(b) and 12599(c). (Added by Ord. 289-90, App. 8/1/90)