Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 79 - CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS (§§ 79-1-1 — 79-37-604) › Chapter 11 - NONPROFIT, NONSHARE CORPORATIONS AND RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES (§§ 79-11-1 — 79-11-NEW) › REGULATION OF CHARITABLE SOLICITATIONS (§§ 79-11-501 — 79-11-529) › Section 79-11-509 - Effective date of registration; denial, suspension or revocation of registration or exemption; grounds for denial, suspension or revocation; procedure; violations and penalties; appeal

(1)
The Secretary of State shall deny, suspend or revoke a registration or an exemption for the following reasons:
(a)
The application for registration or renewal is incomplete.
(b)
The application or renewal fee (where applicable) has not been paid.
(c)
A document filed with the Secretary of State contains one or more false or misleading statements or omits material facts.
(d)
The charitable contributions have not been or are not being applied for the purpose or purposes stated in the documents filed with the Secretary of State.
(e)
The applicant or registrant has violated or failed to comply with any provisions of this chapter or any rule or order thereunder.
(f)
Any applicant, registrant, officer, director, or partner of the applicant or registrant, or any agent or employee thereof who has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving misrepresentation, misapplication or misuse of the money or property of another maintains a position where he or she has access to or control over the funds of the charitable organization.
(g)
The applicant or registrant has engaged in the use or employment of dishonesty, fraud, deception, misrepresentation, false promise or false pretense.
(h)
The applicant or registrant has had the authority to engage in charitable or fund-raising activities denied, revoked or suspended by the Secretary of State or any other state or jurisdiction.
(i)
The applicant or registrant has been convicted of any criminal offense committed in connection with the performance of activities regulated under Sections
79-11-501
through
79-11-529
or any criminal offense involving untruthfulness or dishonesty or any criminal offense relating adversely to the registrant's or applicant's fitness to perform activities regulated by Sections
79-11-501
through
79-11-529
. For the purposes of this paragraph, a plea of guilty, non vult, nolo contendere or any other similar disposition of alleged criminal activity shall be deemed a conviction.
(j)
Any applicant, registrant, officer, director, or partner of the applicant or registrant, or any agent, volunteer or employee thereof, who has been convicted under federal or state law of any criminal offense involving acts against children maintains a position where he or she is in close contact with children.
(k)
Any officer, director, partner, employee, agent or volunteer has accrued three (3) or more unremediated citations issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to this section.
(l)
The applicant or registrant has engaged in other forms of misconduct as may be determined by the rules adopted by the Secretary of State.
(2)
The Secretary of State shall notify the applicant or licensee of his intent to deny, suspend or revoke a license. The notification shall contain the reasons for the action and shall inform him of his right to request an administrative hearing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notification. The denial, suspension or revocation shall become effective thirty (30) days after receipt of the notification unless a request for an administrative hearing is received by the Secretary of State before the expiration of the thirty (30) days. If a hearing is requested and the denial, suspension or revocation is upheld, the denial, suspension or revocation shall become effective upon the service of the final administrative decision on the applicant or licensee.
(3)
Registration shall become effective no later than noon of the thirtieth day after a completed application is filed, if no denial order is in effect and no proceeding is pending under this chapter. The Secretary of State may, by rule or order, specify an earlier effective date, and the Secretary of State may, by order, defer the effective date until noon of the thirtieth day after the filing of any amendment.
(4)
Whenever it appears to the Secretary of State that any person has engaged in or is about to engage in any act or practice constituting a violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule or order hereunder, he may, in his discretion, seek one or more of the following remedies in addition to other remedies authorized by law:
(a)
Issue a cease and desist order, with or without a prior hearing against the person or persons engaged in the prohibited activities, directing them to cease and desist from further illegal activity;
(b)
Administratively dissolve or seek the judicial dissolution of a domestic corporation that is a charitable organization, or revoke the certificate of authority of a foreign corporation that is a charitable organization; or
(c)
Issue an order imposing an administrative penalty up to a maximum of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for each offense, each violation to be considered as a separate offense in a single proceeding or a series of related proceedings;
(d)
For the purpose of determining the amount or extent of a sanction, if any, to be imposed under paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection, the Secretary of State shall consider, among other factors, the frequency, persistence and willfulness of the conduct constituting a violation of this chapter or a rule promulgated thereunder or an order of the Secretary of State, the number of persons adversely affected by the conduct, and the resources of the person committing the violation.
(5)
In addition to the above remedies, the Secretary of State may issue a citation to any person engaging in any act or practice constituting a violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule or order hereunder. The Secretary of State shall establish rules providing remediation of certain citations, and the decision whether to allow such remediation will be within the Secretary of State's discretion.
(6)
Whenever it appears to the Secretary of State or Attorney General that any person has engaged in or is about to engage in any act or practice constituting a violation of any provision of Sections
79-11-501
through
79-11-529
or any rule or order thereunder, either official may, in his discretion, take any or all of the following actions: bring an action in chancery court to obtain a temporary restraining order or injunction to enjoin the acts or practices and enforce compliance with Sections
79-11-501
through
79-11-529
or any rule or order thereunder; collect administrative penalties imposed under this section; or obtain on behalf of a charitable organization the return or repayment of any property or consideration received as private inurement or an excess benefit in violation of Section
79-11-519(3)(j)
. Upon a proper showing a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order or writ of mandamus shall be granted and a receiver or conservator may be appointed for the defendant or the defendant's assets. In addition, upon a proper showing, the court may enter an order of rescission, restitution or disgorgement directed to any person who has engaged in any act constituting a violation of any provision of Sections
79-11-501
through
79-11-529
or any rule or order thereunder. In addition the court may impose a civil penalty up to a maximum of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for each offense, and each violation shall be considered as a separate offense in a single proceeding or a series of related proceedings. The court may not require the Secretary of State or Attorney General to post a bond.
(7)
Any person aggrieved by a final order of the Secretary of State may obtain a review of the order in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, by filing in the court, within thirty (30) days after the entry of the order, a written petition praying that the order be modified or set aside, in whole or in part. A copy of the petition shall be forthwith served upon the Secretary of State and thereupon the Secretary of State shall certify and file in court a copy of the filing and evidence upon which the order was entered. When these have been filed, the court has exclusive jurisdiction to affirm, modify, enforce or set aside the order, in whole or in part.
Laws, 1991, ch. 515, § 5; reenacted and amended, Laws, 1992, ch. 446, § 5; Laws, 1997, ch. 444, § 6; Laws, 2009, ch. 547, § 8, eff. 7/1/2009.
Amended by Laws, 2016, ch. 447, SB 2649, 4, eff. 7/1/2016.