Torrance Municipal Code Art. 2 Fund Solicitations

(Amended by O-2970; O-2980)

a) Except as hereinafter provided, no person shall solicit funds for himself or on behalf of any other person without a certificate to do so and except in compliance with the provisions of this Article. When such certificate has been issued to any person, other than an individual, the individual agents and solicitors for such person shall not be required to obtain individual certificates, but shall be required to have and keep with them and available for inspection a true and legible copy of the original certificate issued to the person on behalf of whom or which the solicitation is being done.

b) The provisions of this Article shall apply to telephone solicitations where any portion of the process, including the making of telephone calls or the physical collection of monies solicited occurs in the City.

Funds shall mean money or property other than money and a subscription, pledge or promise to pay money, or property other than money.

No license tax shall be required as a condition of the issuance of a fund certificate nor shall any license tax be required of any person holding a fund certificate, or of those individual persons authorized to solicit funds thereunder, as a corollary of such person’s right to conduct such solicitation.

a) An application for a fund certificate shall be made to the License Supervisor on forms furnished by him. The License Supervisor shall require of the applicant such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the License Review Board to determine whether or not to issue the certificate.

b) Unless waived by the License Supervisor, the application shall be filed at least fifteen (15) days prior to the effective date of the certificate.

(Amended by O-2970; O-2980; O-3053; O-3055)

a) Immediately upon receipt of an application for a fund solicitation certificate, the Revenue Administrator shall review, or cause to be reviewed, the said application. The Revenue Administrator shall thereupon either accept the application as complete or he shall advise the applicant that additional information will be required to constitute a complete application. If the applicant has submitted the application in person, the applicant shall be told of the acceptance, or of the need for additional information at the time of submission. In the event the application is received by the Revenue Administrator in the mail, the Revenue Administrator shall dispatch or cause to be dispatched a written response to the applicant within twenty-four (24) hours of the fact of acceptance of the application, or of the need for additional information.

b) Within three (3) working days after receipt of a complete application, the Revenue Administrator shall commence, or cause to be commenced, an investigation of the applicant, in order to verify the information contained in the application and the supporting data as required by Section 34.2.6. All inquiries shall be initiated within five (5) working days thereafter, except as provided in this Section. The investigation shall be completed within three (3) working days after receipt of all responses to inquiries, but in no event later than twenty-one (21) working days after initiation of the said inquiries. In the event the Revenue Administrator receives any information, in answer to inquiries or otherwise, which tends to show that any of the criteria for issuance of a certificate cannot be met, he shall advise the applicant within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of such information, of the fact of such information; and shall allow applicant to file a response.

c) Upon request by the Revenue Administrator, the applicant shall make available for inspection by the Revenue Administrator, or any person designated by the Revenue Administrator, at the Revenue Administrators office, those books and other financial records which contain the information required for the application, and other supporting data required by Section 34.2.6. Applicant is not required to disclose, and the Revenue Administrator shall not seek, trade secrets or other legally privileged financial information. Any such inspection of the applicant’s books or other financial records shall be done during business hours, at the convenience of the applicant, shall be completed within twenty-one (21) working days after commencement of the investigation provided in (b) above, and shall not require access to applicant’s books and other financial records for more than four (4) working days, provided applicant makes such books and other financial records available in a timely manner to the Revenue Administrator.

d) Upon completion of the investigation, the Revenue Administrator shall set the application for hearing at the next regular meeting of the License Review Board which will permit not less than five (5) days’ notice to interested parties and the applicant. The Revenue Administrator shall submit to the applicant and the License Review Board the results of his investigation and any response to adverse information submitted by the applicant.

(Amended by O-2970; O-2980)

Together with its application, each applicant shall submit the following documents or evidence of having taken the required actions:

a) Applicant or applicant’s organization, its officers, employees and administrative staff have no record of conviction of any crime of moral turpitude involving fraud, theft, larceny or embezzlement or any violation of any federal or state statute in the course of operating a financing activity substantially similar in nature to the one proposed.

b) Applicant shall screen all of its canvassers and solicitors for the matters specified in subsection a) and, in addition, shall screen such canvassers and solicitors who may have personal contact with the public to exclude persons having been convicted of robbery, burglary, or any crime of violence against persons or property and shall so certify.

c) Applicant shall provide to the City a record of its income and expenses for the three (3) years preceding the application and said record shall have been audited pursuant to recognized accounting standards. The records shall disclose all income and expenses of the applicant for the period in question with specific indication of which expenses are program expenses and which are expenses of fund solicitation and financing.

d) Applicant shall provide a budget for the current fiscal year and a budget for the proposed fund solicitation showing the cost thereof.

e) Applicant shall provided a copy of any prepared text or material to be used in the proposed fund solicitation.

(Amended by O-2970; O-2980; O-3053; O-3055)

a) The License Review Board shall conduct a hearing at the time set by the Revenue Administrator as provided in Section 34.2.5 above, and no such hearing shall be continued without the agreement of the applicant.

b) The License Review Board shall issue a fund solicitation certificate to the applicant if it finds:

1. That all the statements made in the application and other supporting data are true.

2. That the purpose of the solicitation is to finance a charitable, benevolent, religious or political cause, as described in the application.

3. That the solicitation materials are not extortionate or otherwise in violation of the law, and they are not misleading or inaccurate when reviewed with the application and supporting data, and the facts established by the Revenue Administrator’s investigation.

4. That no other charitable solicitations are occurring during the same time period in the same geographic locations.

5. That the duration of the solicitation will not exceed four (4) weeks.

(Amended by O-1387; O-1725; O-2970; O-2980; O-3053; O-3055; O-3070)

a) Applicant, or any person engaging in solicitation on behalf of an applicant, shall fully identify themselves, the organization they represent, that they are soliciting funds on behalf of that organization, and the purpose for which the funds obtained will be used.

b) All persons engaging in solicitation shall present to each person solicited for examination an identity card stating their name, age, height, weight, skin, hair and eye color, picture, social security number, the name of their employer and of the organization represented if the two differ, and the dates for which the solicitation is authorized.

c) No solicitation shall be done after 9:00 p.m. in the evening of any day and before 9:00 a.m. in the morning of any day.

d) Prior to soliciting any funds, any person engaged in solicitation shall present to the person solicited, for examination, copies of the information specified in Section 34.2.6

e) During the course of the solicitation, the certificate holder shall make available to the Revenue Administrator, upon request, at the Revenue Administrator’s office, its books and other financial records dealing with the costs and revenues of the charitable fund solicitation which is the subject of the certificate issued pursuant to this Chapter. Said books and other financial records need be available only during business hours, and for no more than four (4) days, and for not more than one such review during the course of the fund solicitation.

f) At the conclusion of the fund solicitation, and within eight (8) months thereafter, the certificate holder shall make available to the Revenue Administrator upon request, at the Revenue Administrator’s office, its books and other financial records dealing with the costs and revenues of the charitable fund solicitation which is the subject of the certificate issued pursuant to this Chapter. Said books and other financial records need be made available only during business hours, and for no more than five (5) days, and for not more than one such review following the conclusion of the fund solicitation.

(Amended by O-2970; O-2980)

a) No person having a fund solicitation certificate, or required to have such certificate, shall permit children under the age of sixteen (16) years to solicit funds unless accompanied by an adult; provided, however, that not more than five (5) such children may solicit funds under the supervision of one (1) adult where such solicitation is conducted in a group, each member of which can be visually observed at all times by such adult.

b) In no event may any children under the age of sixteen (16) years be permitted to solicit funds after the hour of 6:00 P.M. during the months of May, June, July of August or after the hours of 5:00 P.M. during all other months.

c) No minor may work more than eight (8) hours in any day.

d) No person who is paid to engage in fund solicitation may receive less than the federal minimum wage. If payment on a commission basis, the average amount received, divided by the hours worked, may not be less than the federal minimum wage.

(Amended by O-2970; O-2980)

a) Upon the expiration of any certificate, and if requested in writing to do so, the Revenue Administrator may renew the certificate if no violation of this Article has occurred.

b) If a violation has occurred, he shall require a new application, which shall be processed in the same manner and by the same standards as the granting or withholding of the certificate in the case of an original application.

c) No new certificate or renewal of an original certificate shall be issued for more than four (4) weeks.

(Amended by O-2970; O-2980)

a) The License Review Board may waive or modify the requirements of this Article upon request of an applicant if it finds any of the following:

1. The requirement is unreasonable, burdensome and oppressive as applied to the proposed solicitation in question.

2. Strict enforcement of the requirement is not necessary to prevent fraud or other criminal activity.

3. Other means that are as effective and less burdensome exist to protect the interests or provide the information sought by this Article and such alternative means will be used.

4. The solicitation will support a project of overriding public interest which would not otherwise be able to obtain funding.

5. The applicant has conducted a solicitation in the same or a substantially similar purpose for a period of not less than five (5) years next preceding the dates applied for without any complaints as to its solicitation having been substantiated by the City, and without any violations of law involving fraud, moral turpitude or matters relevant to the policies of this Article.

b) The License Review Board may, in granting a waiver, impose reasonable conditions designed to carry out the policies of this Article.

a) Notwithstanding the above provisions of this Article, upon the receipt of an application for a fund certificate by a religious or political organization in the form prescribed in Section 34.2.1, the License Supervisor shall forthwith issue such certificate to the applicant;

b) Following the issuance of such certificate, the License Supervisor shall make the investigation required by Section 34.2.5., and submit the application to the License Review Board as soon as practicable thereafter;

c) If the License Review Board determines that the certificate ought to have been issued in conformance with the standards set forth in Section 34.2.4., no further action shall be taken. If the License Review Board determines that the applicant does not so qualify for a certificate, then it shall suspend the certificate and hold a hearing to determine whether or not to revoke the certificate in accordance with the procedure for revocation and suspension of licenses set forth in Article 9;

d) Except as provided in this Section, the provisions of this Article shall apply to all religious and political organizations.

The provisions of this Article shall not apply to any established person organized and operated exclusively for charitable, benevolent, religious or political purpose and not operated for the pecuniary benefit of any person if the solicitations by such established person are conducted only among the members thereof by other members or officers thereof, voluntarily and without remuneration for making such solicitations, or the solicitations are in the form of collections or contributions at the regular meetings, assemblies or services of any established person.

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1

Fees increased/decreased pursuant to Section 31.2.16.

2

Fees increased/decreased pursuant to Section 31.2.16.