Religious and Charitable Matters; Cemeteries

Passed

P HB1858

Solicitation of contributions; terrorist organization. Requires that every registration statement to solicit contributions have the following statement: "No funds solicited by this charitable organization have been or will knowingly be used, directly or indirectly, to benefit or provide support, in cash or in kind, to terrorists, terrorist organizations, terrorist activities, or the family members of any terrorist." The bill prohibits the licensing or permitting of any such organization that has provided such support, and subjects any person who knowingly uses or permits the use of such funds to benefit or provide support for terrorists, terrorist organizations, terrorist activities or family members of any terrorist, to the fines and jail time currently established. Finally, the bill subjects the assets of any person who commits or attempts to commit an act of terrorism to forfeiture in accordance with § 18.2-46.9. This bill is identical to SB 954.
Patron - Cox

P HB2603

Religious and charitable matters; quantity of real property a church may hold. Repeals the limitation on the amount of real property that a church may hold. Under current law, churches are limited to holding up to 15 acres in a city or town and up to 250 acres in a county. Current law also provides for a city or town council to enact an ordinance authorizing up to 50 acres to be held if the property is devoted exclusively to certain specified uses. This bill incorporates HB 1584.
Patron - Bryant

P SB954

P SB1156

Solicitation of contributions; commercial co-venturers. Defines a commercial co-venturer as any person who (i) is organized for profit, (ii) is regularly and primarily engaged in trade or commerce, other than in connection with soliciting for charitable or civic organizations or charitable purposes, and (iii) conducts an advertised charitable sales promotion for a specified limited period of time. The bill makes commercial co-venturers subject to the solicitation of contributions law, although it does not require registration of these entities. The bill sets out recordkeeping and other requirements for commercial co-ventures involved in the conduct of any charitable sales promotion. The bill also defines charitable sales promotion as advertised sales that feature the names of both the commercial co-venturer and the charitable or civic organization and which state that the purchase or use of the goods, services, entertainment, or any other thing of value that the commercial co-venturer normally sells, will benefit the charitable or civic organization or its purposes. The bill provides that to qualify as a charitable sales promotion, the consumer must pay the same price for the thing of value as the commercial co-venturer usually charges without the charitable sales promotion and the consumer retains the thing of value.
Patron - Ticer

P SB1340

Solicitation of Contributions; federated fund-raising organizations. Requires federated fund-raising organizations to clearly disclose on any registration filed with the Office of Consumer Affairs the percentage that is withheld from a donation designated for a member agency.
Patron - Potts

Failed

F HB1584

F SB800

Access to private or family cemeteries. Allows members of a deceased's immediate family to enter upon the land of a private or family cemetery where such deceased is interred during the hours between sunrise and sunset if (i) reasonable notice is provided to the property owner and (ii) the property owner does not communicate and objection. "Immediate family" as used in this section includes such deceased's spouse, parent or stepparent, children or stepchildren and their spouses, siblings and their spouses, grandparents, and grandchildren and their spouses.
Patron - Martin

CONTENTS | < PREVIOUS | NEXT > | BILL INDEX

General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2003>Religious and Charitable Matters; Cemeteries

E-mail Webmaster