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Lawmakers consider bill to give donors a path to enforce written endowment agreements
Summary
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing, sponsors and witnesses debated Senate Bill 134, which would let private donors sue to enforce written endowment agreements and limit remedies to court-ordered compliance or transfer of funds to like-purpose charities while barring return of donated funds.
Senators and witnesses told the House Judiciary Committee that Senate Bill 134, the Safeguarding Endowment Gifts Act, would create a legal pathway for donors to enforce written endowment agreements if a charity violates donor-imposed restrictions.
Senator Greg Hertz, sponsor of the bill, told the committee, “This is an act creating the Safeguarding Endowment Gifts Act.” Hertz said Montana currently lacks clear legal protections when a donor’s intent for an endowment is ignored and that the bill would let courts order remedies that keep funds devoted to their intended charitable purpose.
Megan Schmidt, senior director of government affairs for Philanthropy Roundtable, testified in support and…
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