[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2529 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2529

To improve disclosures for charitable giving, protect charities, inform 
                   consumers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 19, 2007

Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Bayh) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve disclosures for charitable giving, protect charities, inform 
                   consumers, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting the Spirit of Giving 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Charitable organization.--The term ``charitable 
        organization'' means any organization described in section 170 
        or 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            (2) Manufacturer; product; retailer.--The terms 
        ``manufacturer'', ``product'', and ``retailer'' have the 
        meanings given the terms ``manufacturer'', ``consumer 
        product'', and ``retailer'', respectively, in section 3(a) of 
        the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)).

SEC. 3. CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

    A retailer or manufacturer may not use the name of a charitable 
organization to solicit donations for that charitable organization, 
sell or market a product that is linked to the charitable organization 
or to which a portion of proceeds is dedicated to the charitable 
organization, or sell or market a product on behalf of a charitable 
organization, unless the retailer or manufacturer, for each such 
solicitation, sale, or promotion--
            (1) notifies the charitable organization--
                    (A) of the manner in which such retailer or 
                manufacturer intends to use the charitable 
                organization's name, emblem, or logo to solicit 
                donations or to sell or market a product; and
                    (B) the amount or percentage of the donation or 
                purchase price that the retailer or manufacturer 
                intends to remit to the charitable organization;
            (2) obtains written approval, in advance, from the 
        charitable organization to use the charitable organization's 
        name in the manner requested; and
            (3) limits the use of the charitable organization's name to 
        the scope approved in advance by the charitable organization.

SEC. 4. CONSUMER DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.

    A retailer or manufacturer that sells or markets a product with the 
intention of remitting a portion of the proceeds from the sale of such 
product to a charitable organization shall provide clear, written 
disclosure to the purchaser of such product of this intention, 
including--
            (1) the actual or anticipated portion of the purchase price 
        that will be remitted to the charitable organization;
            (2) the maximum amount that will be remitted to the 
        charitable organization, if applicable;
            (3) the time period during which donations for the 
        charitable organization will be collected, if known; and
            (4) the phone number or other contact information for the 
        charitable organization.

SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Unfair or Deceptive Act or Practice.--A violation of section 3 
or 4 shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 
deceptive act or practice described under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
    (b) Actions by the Federal Trade Commission.--The Federal Trade 
Commission shall enforce the provisions of this Act in the same manner, 
by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties 
as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made 
part of this Act.
                                 <all>