Solicitation of Funds from the Public

Notice regarding Solicitation of Funds from the Public
(Chapter 467B, Hawaii Revised Statutes)

Section 2 of Act 174, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, provides that, effective January 1, 2009, every public benefit corporation domiciled in Hawaii and every charitable organization not exempted by section 467B-11.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall register with the Department of the Attorney General prior to conducting any solicitation or prior to having any solicitation conducted on its behalf by others.

Act 174 provides that the Department of the Attorney General may require that registration forms be filed electronically. Effective March 1, 2009, the Department of the Attorney General will require that registration forms be filed electronically at www.efile.form990.org.

The electronic filing system will help the Department of the Attorney General to make information regarding registered charities available to the public on the Internet in searchable form.

To facilitate the implementation of the electronic filing system, the Department of the Attorney General requests that public benefit corporations and charitable organizations subject to section 2 of Act 174 register after the electronic filing system becomes available. The electronic filing system is expected to be available by mid-January 2009 and no later than March 1, 2009.

Public benefit corporations and charitable organizations that wish to register before March 1, 2009 may contact the Tax Division of the Department of the Attorney General to request paper registration forms.

For more information, contact Supervising Deputy Attorney General Hugh Jones of the Tax Division at (808) 586-1470 or hugh.r.jones@hawaii.gov.