TITLE 34.PUBLIC FINANCE

Part 12. STATE EMPLOYEE CHARITABLE CAMPAIGN

Chapter 329. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR STATEWIDE FEDERATIONS/FUNDS AND AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS

34 TAC §329.3

The State Employee Charitable Campaign adopts amendments to rule §329.3, concerning 25% administrative cost cap, without changes to the rule amendments as proposed in the December 24, 2004, issue of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 11936).

The amendments clarify and specify the type of information that must be included in an application by a charitable organization whose administrative expenses exceed 25% of the organization's annual revenue. This rule provides for consistent and concise reports that address the issues that the SPC will consider when deciding whether to allow an organization a temporary exemption from the 25% cap on administrative expenses.

No public comments were received regarding this rule as proposed.

The section is adopted under Government Code, §659.139, which provides that the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) must be managed fairly and equitably in accordance with the SECC law and the policies and procedures established by the state policy committee. The SPC interprets this statute to authorize the adoption of rules to the extent that the policies and procedures adopted are of general applicability and affect the rights of third parties, namely charitable organizations, local campaign managers, local employee committees, the state advisory committee, the state campaign manager, and state employees. In addition, the SPC is directed by Government Code §659.140(e)(3) to determine the eligibility of organizations to participate in the statewide campaign. The SPC also adopts this rule under Government Code §659.146(b) which authorizes the SPC to grant temporary exemptions from the caps the statute places on administrative expenses. The SPC is required to adopt rules to inform organizations about what information they must provide to meet the requirements of the statute.

The other statute, article, or section affected by the proposed rules is Government Code, §659.146, regarding eligibility criteria for charitable organizations to participate in the state employee charitable campaign.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 18, 2005.

TRD-200500783

Jock Davis

Chair, Policy Committee

State Employee Charitable Campaign

Effective date: March 10, 2005

Proposal publication date: December 24, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 475-0387


Chapter 330. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR LOCAL FEDERATIONS/FUNDS, AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS, AND LOCAL CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS

34 TAC §330.3

The State Employee Charitable Campaign adopts amendments to §330.3, concerning 25% administrative cost cap, without changes to the proposed text as published in the December 24, 2004, issue of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 11937).

The section is amended to clarify and specify the type of information that must be included in an application by a charitable organization whose administrative expenses exceed 25% of the organization's annual revenue. A new subsection (g) was added.

No public comments were received in response to the proposed rule.

These amendments are adopted under Government Code, §659.139, which provides that the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) must be managed fairly and equitably in accordance with the SECC law and the policies and procedures established by the state policy committee. The SPC interprets this statute to authorize the adoption of rules to the extent that the policies and procedures adopted are of general applicability and affect the rights of third parties, namely charitable organizations, local campaign managers, local employee committees, the state advisory committee, the state campaign manager, and state employees. In addition, the SPC is authorized under Government Code §659.146 (b) to grant temporary exemptions from the caps the statute places on administrative expenses. The SPC is required to adopt rules to inform organizations about what information they must provide to meet the requirements of the statute.

The other statute, article, or section affected by the adopted rules is Government Code, §659.146, regarding eligibility criteria for charitable organizations to participate in the state employee charitable campaign.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 18, 2005.

TRD-200500784

Jock Davis

Chair, Policy Committee

State Employee Charitable Campaign

Effective date: March 10, 2005

Proposal publication date: December 24, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 475-0387


Chapter 331. REVIEW AND APPEAL PROCEDURES FOR STATEWIDE FEDERATIONS/FUNDS AND AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS

34 TAC §331.1, §331.3

The State Employee Charitable Campaign adopts amendments to §331.1, concerning administrative review and a new §331.3, concerning eligibility review by the State Policy Committee, without changes to the proposed text as published in the December 24, 2004, issue of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 11939).

The amendment and new rule are adopted to notify applicant charitable organizations of the process by which applications will be reviewed to determine whether the applications contain the required documentation, the consequences of incomplete documentation, and to describe part of the process that the SPC will use to determine an organization's eligibility to participate in the SECC.

In previous years certain charitable organizations have submitted incomplete applications and have failed to correct those problems even after having been notified of the problem by the entity conducting the administrative review. The same organizations have then sought SPC approval of the application, sometimes without the missing documentation having been provided to the administrative reviewers by the necessary deadline and sometimes without the necessary documentation having been provided to the SPC by the date of the meeting at which the application is to be considered for approval. These same organizations then have also filed appeals from SPC denials in an attempt to receive another chance to submit the missing documentation. This process has resulted in delays in the processing of applications and in a potential appearance of unfair treatment to those organizations that have submitted timely applications and have complied timely with requests for documentation. The amendment to §331.1 would make the deadlines more meaningful, would avoid the necessity for the SPC to review incomplete applications, resulting in less time wasted in handling incomplete applications. The rules would subject all organizations to the same application deadline, would give all organizations the same amount of time within which to submit missing documentation, and would equally affect all organizations that fail to meet those requirements.

The new section §331.3 notifies applicants of the method that SPC will use in reviewing the 25-word description required in all applications and the consequence of an applicant failing to comply. The SPC has determined that denial of applications that contain descriptions of more than 25 words in length is appropriate because of space limitations in the materials; fairness to compliant organizations; efficient use of the time of the SPC and the SCM; and avoidance of inaccurately describing the work of an organization or describing the work differently than the organization intended. This rule will help ensure that the time and expense spent by state employees serving on the SPC in reviewing applications, conducting meetings and hearing appeals from decisions will be limited to legitimate applications and appeals. United Ways of Texas, 3724 Executive Center Drive, Suite 210, Austin, Texas 78731.

No public comments were received in response to the proposed rule.

These amendments are adopted under Government Code, §659.139, which provides that the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) must be managed fairly and equitably in accordance with the SECC law and the policies and procedures established by the state policy committee. The SPC interprets this statute to authorize the adoption of rules to the extent that the policies and procedures adopted are of general applicability and affect the rights of third parties, namely charitable organizations, local campaign managers, local employee committees, the state advisory committee, the state campaign manager, and state employees.

The other statute, article, or section affected by the adopted rules is Government Code, §659.146, regarding eligibility criteria for charitable organizations to participate in the state employee charitable campaign.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 18, 2005.

TRD-200500785

Jock Davis

Chair, Policy Committee

State Employee Charitable Campaign

Effective date: March 10, 2005

Proposal publication date: December 24, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 475-0387


Chapter 332. REVIEW AND APPEAL PROCEDURES FOR LOCAL FEDERATIONS/FUNDS, AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS, AND LOCAL CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS

34 TAC §332.1, §332.3

The State Employee Charitable Campaign adopts amendments to §332.1, concerning administrative review and a new rule §332.3, concerning eligibility review by the Local Employee Committee (LEC), without changes to the proposed text as published in the December 24, 2004, issue of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 11940).

These amendments and new rule are adopted to delete unnecessary language regarding the enforcement of rule §332.1 and to describe part of the process that the LEC will use to determine an organization's eligibility to participate in the SECC.

The amendment to §332.1 deletes the word "rigidly" as unnecessary. The deletion of the word is not intended to imply and should not be interpreted to imply that the level with which the LEC reviews application will be lessened from the current practice. Instead, the word "rigidly" is being deleted because it may imply a level of enforcement that is difficult to quantify; the use of that word, therefore, may be too vague in its current usage and is unnecessary.

The new rule §332.3 notifies applicants of the method that LEC will use in reviewing the 25-word description required in all applications and the consequence of an applicant failing to comply. The SPC has determined that denial of applications that contain descriptions of more than 25 words in length is appropriate because of space limitations in the materials; fairness to compliant organizations; efficient use of the time of the LEC and the LCM; and avoidance of inaccurately describing the work of an organization or describing the work differently than the organization intended.

No public comments were received in response to the proposed rule.

These amendments are adopted under Government Code, §659.139, which provides that the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) must be managed fairly and equitably in accordance with the SECC law and the policies and procedures established by the state policy committee. The SPC interprets this statute to authorize the adoption of rules to the extent that the policies and procedures adopted are of general applicability and affect the rights of third parties, namely charitable organizations, local campaign managers, local employee committees, the state advisory committee, the state campaign manager, and state employees.

The other statute, article, or section affected by the adopted rules is Government Code, §659.146, regarding eligibility criteria for charitable organizations to participate in the state employee charitable campaign.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 18, 2005.

TRD-200500786

Jock Davis

Chair, Policy Committee

State Employee Charitable Campaign

Effective date: March 10, 2005

Proposal publication date: December 24, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 475-0387


Chapter 333. CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

34 TAC §333.7

The State Employee Charitable Campaign adopts amendments to §333.7, concerning campaign materials guidelines, without changes to the proposed text as published in the December 24, 2004, issue of the Texas Register (29 TexReg 11940).

These amendments are adopted to conform the language of the rule to other SPC rules that address the 25-word description that is required in all applications; to make a grammatical correction; and to clarify that the requirements in subsection (d) apply to the mini-directory.

The SPC has determined that denying approval of materials that contain descriptions of more than 25-words for an organization is appropriate because of space limitations in the materials; fairness to compliant organizations; efficient use of the time of the SPC and the SCM; and avoidance of inaccurately describing the work of an organization or describing the work differently than the organization intended.

No public comments were received in response to the published rule.

These amendments are adopted under Government Code, §659.139, which provides that the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) must be managed fairly and equitably in accordance with the SECC law and the policies and procedures established by the state policy committee. The SPC interprets this statute to authorize the adoption of rules to the extent that the policies and procedures adopted are of general applicability and affect the rights of third parties, namely charitable organizations, local campaign managers, local employee committees, the state advisory committee, the state campaign manager, and state employees.

The other statute, article, or section affected by the proposed rules is Government Code, §659.140, regarding the duties of the SPC, including the duty to approve campaign materials.

This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 18, 2005.

TRD-200500787

Jock Davis

Chair, Policy Committee

State Employee Charitable Campaign

Effective date: March 10, 2005

Proposal publication date: December 24, 2004

For further information, please call: (512) 475-0387