Legislative History

General information

Our Promise: California State Employees Giving at Work is rooted in the legislature and California Statute. It is mandated by law to be administered in accordance with the Department of General Services (DGS) and the State Controllers Office (SCO). DGS is the governing body for Our Promise and their statutes combined with the two below are what make up this wonderful campaign. To visit the official California Legislative Information page, click here.

CHAPTER 31, STATUTES OF 2016, established Government Code § 14659.09

The department may approve plans for payroll deduction from the salaries or wages of state officers and employees under subdivision (f) of Section 1151 for charitable contributions to the agency handling the principal combined fund drive in any area. The department shall establish necessary rules and regulations, including the following:

(a) Standards for establishing what constitutes the principal combined fund drive in an area.

(b) A requirement that the agency to receive these contributions shall pay, for deposit in the General Fund, the additional cost to the state of making these deductions and remitting the proceeds, as determined by the Controller.

(c) A requirement that the agency to receive these contributions shall pay, for deposit in the Service Revolving Fund, the department’s cost to administer the annual charitable campaign fund drive. This amount shall be determined by the department and shall only be available for the support of the department upon appropriation by the Legislature.

(d) Provisions for standard amounts of deductions from which each state officer or employee may select the contribution that he or she desires to make, if any.

(e) A prohibition upon state officers or employees authorizing more than one payroll deduction for charitable purposes to be in effect at the same time.

(f) A provision authorizing the Controller to combine in his or her records deductions for employee association dues, if authorized, and charitable deductions, if authorized.

The department, in addition, may approve requests of any charitable organization qualified as an exempt organization under Section 23701d of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and paragraph (3) of subsection © of Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, which is not an affiliated member beneficiary of the principal combined fund drive to receive designated deductions from the principal fund drive.

The principal combined fund drive agency, any charitable organization which is an affiliated member beneficiary of the principal combined fund drive, and any charitable organization approved by the department to receive designated deductions on the payroll authorization form of the principal fund drive, shall certify under penalty of perjury to the department that it is in compliance with the Fair Employment and Housing Act, Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900), as a condition of receiving these designated deductions.

The principal combined fund drive shall obtain from the department the list of approved nonaffiliated beneficiaries, eligible for designated deductions in its approved drive area, and shall provide this information to each employee at the time of the principal fund drive. The principal combined drive agency shall provide a designation form for the employee to indicate those amounts to be contributed to affiliated and nonaffiliated beneficiaries. The designation form shall consist of a copy for each of the following: (1) the employee, (2) the employee’s designated beneficiary agency, and (3) the principal combined fund drive agency. The principal combined fund drive agency shall pay the amount collected for the employee designated beneficiary agency less the amount necessary to reimburse the principal combined fund drive agency for fundraising and administrative expenses. The fee charged for fundraising and administrative cost reimbursement shall be determined by the department, published in campaign literature and made available to the employee during the solicitation process.

Nothing contained in this section shall preclude a principal fund drive agency from giving a percentage of the undesignated funds to charities which are not members of the agency handling the principal drive, or honoring an employee’s designated deduction to any charitable organization.

(Added by renumbering Section 13923 by Stats. 2016, Ch. 31, Sec. 108. Effective June 27, 2016.)