202.17 Administration and investigations.

(1) Public records. Except as provided in ss. 202.13 (5) and 202.14 (10), applications, reports, contracts, and agreements of charitable organizations, fund-raising counsel, professional fund-raisers, and unpaid solicitors and all other documents and information retained by or filed with the department under this subchapter are available for inspection or copying under s. 19.35 (1).

(2) Fiscal records; inspection; retention. All charitable organizations, fund-raising counsels, professional fund-raisers, and unpaid solicitors shall keep true records concerning activities regulated by this subchapter in a form that will enable them accurately to provide the information required by this subchapter. Upon demand, those records shall be made available to the department for inspection and copying. The records shall be retained by the charitable organization, fund-raising counsel, professional fund-raiser, or unpaid solicitor for at least 3 years after the end of the fiscal year to which they relate.

(3) Exchange of information. The department may exchange with the appropriate authority of any other state or of the United States information with respect to charitable organizations, fund-raising counsel, professional fund-raisers, unpaid solicitors, and commercial coventurers.

(4) Examination of documents and witnesses.

(a) If the department of justice has reason to believe a person has violated or is violating this subchapter or the rules promulgated under this subchapter, it may conduct an investigation to determine whether the person has violated or is violating those provisions. The department of justice may subpoena persons and require the production of books and other documents to aid in its investigations of alleged violations of this subchapter.

(b) A person upon whom a notice of the taking of testimony or examination of documents is served under this subsection shall comply with the terms of the notice unless otherwise provided by the order of a court of this state.

(c) The department of justice may file in the circuit court for the county in which a person resides or in which the person's principal place of business is located, or in the circuit court for Dane County if the person is a nonresident or has no principal place of business in this state, and serve upon the person, a petition for an order of the court for the enforcement of this subsection. Disobedience of a final order entered under this paragraph by a court is punishable as a contempt of court under ch. 785.

(5) Substitute service upon department. A charitable organization, fund-raising counsel, professional fund-raiser, or commercial coventurer that has its principal place of business outside of this state or is organized under laws other than the laws of this state and that is subject to this subchapter shall be considered to have irrevocably appointed the department as its agent for the service of process or notice directed to the charitable organization, fund-raising counsel, professional fund-raiser, or commercial coventurer or to any of its partners, principal officers, or directors in an action or proceeding brought under this subchapter. Service of process or notice upon the department shall be made by personally delivering to and leaving with the department a copy of the process or notice. That service shall be sufficient service if the department immediately sends notice of the service and a copy of the process or notice to the charitable organization, fund-raising counsel, professional fund-raiser, commercial coventurer, or other person to whom it is directed by registered mail, with return receipt requested, at the last address known to the department.

History: 1991 a. 278; 1995 a. 27; 2013 a. 20 s. 2215; Stats. 2013 s. 202.17; 2015 a. 163.