Bill Text: NJ A4813 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Increases percent of public employees' charitable contributions that may be spent on administrative costs.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-18 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A4813 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4813-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Increases percent of public employees' charitable contributions that may be spent on administrative costs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act increasing the amount of charitable contributions by public employees that may be expended on administrative costs, and amending P.L.1985, c.140.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 12 of P.L.1985, c.140 (C.52:14-15.9c12) is amended to read as follows:
12. a. The campaign manager shall be entitled to deduct and expend prior to final distribution not more than [10%] 15 percent of the total amount of contributions for the administrative costs of the charitable fund-raising campaign as approved by the campaign steering committee. The campaign manager shall maintain all funds in an interest bearing account until their distribution. Interest earned on the funds shall be distributed in such manner as the campaign steering committee shall determine.
b. Undesignated contributions received in a State campaign shall be distributed by the campaign manager to the charitable fund-raising organizations participating in the campaign in the same proportion as designated contributions to participating fund-raising organizations, including contributions to affiliated charitable agencies, are distributed to the organizations.
c. Undesignated contributions received in a local governmental unit campaign shall be distributed by the campaign manager to participating or non-participating charitable fund-raising organizations or charitable agencies in such amounts as the campaign steering committee shall determine.
(cf: P.L.1985, c.140, s.12)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would increase the percent of public employees' charitable contributions that organizations may use on administrative expenses from 10 percent to 15 percent.
The New Jersey Employees Charitable Campaign is the only approved charitable payroll deduction solicitation of State and local employees. Each year, thousands of State employees support their local communities by making tax-deductible charitable contributions directly through a payroll deduction. These contributions go toward qualifying community institutions like environmental organizations, senior citizen support groups, and afterschool tutoring, among many others. When the Legislature initially passed the "Public Employee Charitable Fund-Raising Act" in 1985, the amount that a charitable organization could use toward administrative costs was capped at 10 percent, which ensures that overhead does not outpace actual charitable spending. In raising the cap on administrative costs to 15 percent, the vast majority of donations would still go directly toward the underlying projects while permitting charities in New Jersey to use more funds to grow their organizations and support their broader missions.
