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Does the Brown Act Apply to Charitable Organizations Created by a Government Agency

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  • 01-12-2016, 04:22 PM
    WhoDonnit
    Does the Brown Act Apply to Charitable Organizations Created by a Government Agency
    Our local Sheriff's Office here in California created a 501(C)(3) non-profit for fundraising about six years ago. It seems to be managed and operated by department personnel on Sheriff's Office property. A request for copies of their documents was made under the Brown act but County Counsel responded that the non-profit was exempt from the Brown Act. I wondering if their articles of incorporation or their bylaws are available from the IRS or the California Department of State. There is some funny-business going on here.
  • 01-12-2016, 04:31 PM
    adjusterjack
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    Quote:

    Quoting WhoDonnit
    View Post
    A request for copies of their documents was made under the Brown act

    The Brown Act has to do with open meetings for local legislative bodies. What does it have to do with documents from a fund raising organization?

    http://ag.ca.gov/publications/2003_Intro_BrownAct.pdf

    Quote:

    Quoting WhoDonnit
    View Post
    I wondering if their articles of incorporation are available from the IRS or the California Department of State.

    Try it:

    http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/

    https://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-...s-Select-Check

    Quote:

    Quoting WhoDonnit
    View Post
    There is some funny-business going on here.

    Why is this your business?
  • 01-12-2016, 04:56 PM
    WhoDonnit
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    It is my business because I was a significant donor. Thanks for your response. Their meetings are closed even though it is mostly funded by the Sheriff's Department (County) funds so I believe that someone suggested it should be subject to the Brown Act. That is all I know, I did not make the request that was denied.

    Thank you for the two links but they don't answer my question.
  • 01-12-2016, 05:29 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    The following link will provide you information about what documents the IRS makes available and that the tax law requires tax exempt organizations to make available to the public:
    Exempt Organization Public Disclosure Requirements
  • 01-16-2016, 02:19 PM
    WhoDonnit
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    Thanks for the link to the IRS documents and we were able to locate the tax filings for the 501c3. Regarding the Brown Act, I don't believe that I have an answer or understand and it is probably a convoluted subject. According to the tax filings, their income (incoming donations - fee of company soliciting the donations) is less than the amount that they report as "The value of services or facilities furnished by a governmental unit to the organization without charge". The books, office, computer and network, as well as 3 of the 5 BOD members and the person that is managing the 501c3 are employees of the Sheriff. The meetings are all held at the Sheriff's Department offices. That is why we were questioning if the meetings were subject to the Brown Act. It seems to me that the 501c3 is run by a "legislative body".
  • 01-16-2016, 06:16 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    Quote:

    Quoting WhoDonnit
    View Post
    The meetings are all held at the Sheriff's Department offices. That is why we were questioning if the meetings were subject to the Brown Act. It seems to me that the 501c3 is run by a "legislative body".

    Under the Brown Act a legislative body is group of persons that governs a local agency. While a Sheriff’s office is a local agency under the Act it is not governed by a group of persons, i.e. it is not run by a board, council, commission, etc. It is instead run by a single person, the elected sheriff. It therefore has no legislative body governing it and the Brown Act would not apply to it. Since there is no legislative body for the Sheriff’s office, there is evidently no one from a local legislative body on the board of the tax exempt organization and thus the meetings of the tax exempt organization board would not be subject to the Act either.
  • 01-17-2016, 07:21 AM
    budwad
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    I disagree with you.

    Quote:

    PRIVATE OR NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS OR ENTITIES:
    Covered only if:
    a. A legislative body delegates some of its 54952(c)(1)(A) Ch. II functions to a private corporation or entity; or

    b. If a legislative body provides some funding to a 54952(c)(1)(B) private corporation or entity and appoints one of its members to serve as a voting member of entity’s board of directors.
    vi
    If the 501 C3 is being operated out of the Sheriff's office with sheriff employees, then the legislative body is proving funding.

    Public monies are being spent on the offices and time spent by public employees running the non-profit.

    The request should be made to the county legislature for the budgets attributed to the running of the non-profit.
  • 01-17-2016, 07:26 AM
    free9man
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    Quote:

    Quoting budwad
    View Post
    I disagree with you.

    PRIVATE OR NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS OR ENTITIES:
    Covered only if:
    a. A legislative body delegates some of its 54952(c)(1)(A) Ch. II functions to a private corporation or entity; or

    b. If a legislative body provides some funding to a 54952(c)(1)(B) private corporation or entity and appoints one of its members to serve as a voting member of entity’s board of directors.


    If the 501 C3 is being operated out of the Sheriff's office with sheriff employees, then the legislative body is proving funding.

    Did you miss the AND provision in there? They have to meet both for that to apply.
  • 01-17-2016, 07:50 AM
    cdwjava
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    Some important questions: While Sheriff's employees may serve on the BoD, are they being paid by the county for that service? Are other organizations permitted to use Sheriff's facilities for their purposes? Even if not, is the purpose of this 501(c)(3) in some way related to some function of the Sheriff's Department?

    I would think that unless the BoD has a quorum of members of the Board of Supervisors on it, then no Brown Act violation has occurred. Their books and minutes may otherwise be subject to scrutiny or public review, however, but it would not appear to be a Brown Act issue. And, in all honesty as someone who has been on both sides of Brown Act fights, unless you have a lot of money to sue the county in an effort to break that puppy open, this is an issue that will be resolved politically and not in court. Keep in mind that even IF it is a Brown Act issue, the most common resolution is a "cure and correct" which involves going back and doing whatever the issue is over again in a manner that complies with the Brown Act. Few of these matters ever get to court, and when they do it's because there is big bucks behind it.

    Perhaps we need to ask another question: What information is it you are seeking? Perhaps there is another way to obtain that information rather than through some perceived provision of the Brown Act? What does this Sheriff's board do?
  • 01-17-2016, 08:14 AM
    budwad
    Re: Non-Profit Corporation 501(C)(3) Documents Availble to the Public
    How do you know that someone from the county legislature doesn't serve on the board?

    What the Act is saying is that the meetings, minutes, and other documents of a nonprofit is not subject to the Act. What I am saying at this point, is that there is a private corporation that is operating using public funds. That is a problem and is an open door to find out what is really going on.

    Quote:

    It continues to be the law that the mere receipt of public funds by a nonprofit corporation or other entity does not subject it to the requirements of the Act.
    But there has to be a record in the budget of the county of how much has been spent on supporting this nonprofit. If such record does exist.
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