§467B-5.5 Commercial co-venturer's charitable sales promotions. (a) All charitable sales promotions by a commercial co-venturer shall disclose the name of the commercial co-venturer.

(b) Prior to the commencement of any charitable sales promotion in this State conducted by a commercial co-venturer using the name of a charitable organization, the commercial co-venturer shall obtain the written consent of the charitable organization whose name will be used during the charitable sales promotion. The commercial co-venturer shall file a copy of the written consent with the department not less than ten days prior to the commencement of the charitable sales promotion within this State. An authorized representative of the charitable organization and the commercial co-venturer shall sign the written consent, and the terms of the written consent shall include the following:

(1) The goods or services to be offered to the public;

(2) The geographic area where, and the starting and final date when, the offering is to be made;

(3) The manner in which the name of the charitable organization is to be used, including any representation to be made to the public as to the amount or per cent per unit of goods or services purchased or used that is to benefit the charitable organization;

(4) A provision for an accounting on a per unit basis, which shall be prepared by the commercial co-venturer and given to the charitable organization, and the date when it is to be made, which date shall be no more than ninety days after the end of the charitable sales promotion and, for promotions lasting more than one year, shall be within ninety days after each anniversary of the commencement of the charitable sales promotion and within ninety days after the end of the charitable sales promotion; and

(5) The date when and the manner in which the benefit is to be conferred on the charitable organization, which date shall be within ninety days after the end of the charitable sales promotion and, for charitable sales promotions lasting more than one year, shall be within ninety days after each anniversary of the commencement of the promotion and within ninety days after the end of the charitable sales promotion.

(c) A copy of an accounting shall be provided to the attorney general not more than twenty days after the copy is requested by the attorney general. An accounting shall be kept by the commercial co-venturer for a period of three years, unless the commercial co-venturer and the charitable organization mutually agree that the accounting should be kept by the charitable organization instead of the commercial co-venturer.

(d) A late filing fee of $20 shall be imposed on a commercial co-venturer who fails to file a written consent as required by subsection (b), unless it is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause, for each day during which the violation continues; provided that the total amount imposed under this subsection shall not exceed $1,000.

(e) The written consent required under subsection (b) shall be signed by the authorized representative of the commercial co-venturer and the charitable organization certifying that the statements made therein are true and correct to the best of their knowledge subject to penalties imposed by section 710-1063. The attorney general may require the written consent to be submitted electronically and may require the use of electronic signatures.

(f) The attorney general may issue a cease and desist order whenever the attorney general finds that a commercial co-venturer has engaged in an act or practice that violates this chapter.

(g) When the attorney general finds that a commercial co-venturer has violated or is operating in violation of this chapter, the attorney general may impose an administrative fine not to exceed $1,000 for each act that constitutes a violation of this chapter and an additional penalty, not to exceed $100 per day, for each day during which the violation continues. Any person aggrieved by an action of the attorney general under this section may request a hearing to review that action in accordance with chapter 91 and rules adopted by the attorney general. Any request for hearing shall be made within ten days after the attorney general has served the person with notice of the action, which notice shall be deemed effective upon mailing. [L 1993, c 206, pt of §1; am L 2004, c 93, §6; am L 2008, c 174, §5; am L 2013, c 61, §5; am L 2016, c 163, §5; am L 2019, c 66, §2]