Committee advances bill to give charities more time to file annual reports

Representative Mark Lowry (chairman, House Insurance and Commerce Committee) told the Senate Insurance & Commerce committee he was presenting House Bill 1247 at the request of the Secretary of State to ease filing pressure on volunteer-run charitable organizations. "It simply does is it gives extra time to charitable organizations to file their final reports with secretary of state's office," Lowry said during the committee meeting.

The bill would change the filing requirement that currently sets a single calendar deadline (on or before Aug. 1) and instead allow charities to file no later than 180 days after the last day of the charity’s fiscal year. Lowry said the change is intended to give volunteer boards and unpaid treasurers adequate time to complete year-end financial work and make any necessary updates before filing.

Senator Johnson disclosed he performs consulting work for nonprofits and asked how the proposed timing would affect organizations with a June 30 fiscal year; he noted that under the old deadline such organizations effectively had about a month to prepare. Lowry replied the bill staggers deadlines to align with each charity’s fiscal year and argued a 180-day window is more practical for volunteer boards and accountants.

Senator Chesterfield moved a 'do pass' motion. The committee voice-voted in favor and the chair reported the bill as passed out of committee. The transcript records the voice 'aye' and the chair’s statement that the bill passed but does not include a roll-call tally.

The committee record indicates the bill was asked to move forward; next procedural steps (floor scheduling, amendments in other bodies) were not discussed in detail during the committee hearing.