HB 20: Relating to measures to prevent and reduce fraudulent charitable solicitations and theft during declared disasters, including establishing a designation program for disaster relief nonprofit organizations and financial institutions; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty.
HB 20 status: Introduced — Effective on (updated Sep 17, 2025).
What this bill does
Overall score
Bill summary
OfficialRelating to measures to prevent and reduce fraudulent charitable solicitations and theft during declared disasters, including establishing a designation program for disaster relief nonprofit organizations and financial institutions; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty.. Currently in House....
Key analysis
Impact analysis
Environment
Benefits
- No direct impact on environmental policy identified.
Risks
- No direct impact on environmental policy identified.
Economy
Benefits
- Reduces economic loss from disaster-related fraud.
- Increases consumer trust in disaster relief donations.
Risks
- Increases compliance costs for non-profits and financial institutions.
- Potential administrative burden of new designation program.
Society
Benefits
- Protects vulnerable disaster victims from predatory solicitation.
- Deters fraudulent entities from operating in disaster zones.
Risks
- Risk of over-criminalization if definitions of fraud are overly broad.
- Potential chilling effect on legitimate, non-designated charitable activity.
How trustworthy & consequential it is
Source
OpenStates
Confidence
lowlow
Analysis status
OpenStates summary
Increased criminal penalties may disproportionately affect small nonprofits struggling with technical compliance.
Analysis based on bill summary; lacks specific statutory language regarding penalty thresholds.
Where it stands
Introduced
CurrentEffective on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Committee
UpcomingFloor
UpcomingGovernor
UpcomingEnacted
UpcomingHow it affects your district
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