N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 335.4

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 25, June 18, 2024

Section 335.4 - Statewide sefa council

The commissioner shall establish five or more geographic regions of the State. Beginning in 2006, the statewide SEFA council shall consist of two representatives from each region who shall be selected by a majority vote of the chairpersons of the local SEFA committees within each region. Selection of the representatives shall be made annually and recorded with the statewide SEFA council by December 1st of each year.

(a) The statewide SEFA council shall:

(1) be comprised of at least 10 local SEFA committee chairpersons, or their designees. All members of the statewide SEFA council shall be employee participants, as defined in section 335.2(j) of this Part;

(2) adopt a written conflict of interest policy and by-laws for conducting business and meetings. The by-laws shall include, at a minimum, the term of office for statewide SEFA council members; required member training; provisions for the election of a chairperson, public notice of its meetings, meetings being open to the public, and a procedure for the public access to records; and allow for proxy voting;

(3) conduct eligibility screenings and make decisions regarding the eligibility of all organizations that have timely applied for participation in SEFA pursuant to section 335.6 of this Part. An appeal from an eligibility decision made by the statewide SEFA council may be made in accordance with article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. The commissioner is a necessary party to an appeal made in accordance with article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules;

(4) oversee and provide centralized services to the annual solicitation campaign, the local SEFA committees and the federated community campaigns including, but not limited to, statewide marketing materials, pledge cards, training and training materials, campaign reporting systems, database systems, internet services, website development and website maintenance;

(5) beginning in 2008 maintain a uniform naming and numbering system in consultation with the Office of the State Comptroller to identify participants that shall be used by all local SEFA committees in campaign materials, distributions, and accounting; and maintain a list of each participant by name, number, campaign, the percentage of total support and revenue spent on administration and fundraising, as described in section 335.6(b)(2)(ii) of this Part, and the statement described in section 335.6(b)(2)(iv) of this Part. Beginning in 2008 and every year thereafter, the list is to be used in the preparation of the local SEFA committees' campaign brochures.

(b) The statewide SEFA council shall annually adopt a budget and may annually retain one of the federated community campaigns, or other charitable organization, to support the annual solicitation campaign, the statewide SEFA council and the statewide SEFA cabinet.

(1) The budget of the statewide SEFA council may include funds to reimburse a federated community campaign, or charitable organization, that it retains, and funds to reimburse statewide council and statewide cabinet members for reasonable travel expenses. The amount budgeted by the statewide SEFA council shall be included as an expense in each federated community campaign budget prescribed by section 335.7(c)(4) of this Part. The expense to be included in the budget of each of the federated community campaigns is to be computed on a basis that is proportionate to the designations received during the prior accounting year in the campaign area, divided by the total designations of the prior year's annual solicitation campaign. Payment is to be made at least quarterly.

(2) The federated community campaign, or charitable organization, retained by the statewide SEFA council shall:

(i) prepare a plan for performing or supporting the statewide SEFA cabinet and statewide SEFA council over the next annual solicitation campaign term;

(ii) respond in a timely and appropriate manner to reasonable inquiries from participating organizations;

(iii) maintain statewide council records and bank accounts separate from the federated community campaign's internal organizational records and bank accounts;

(iv) prepare and file a financial report of the statewide SEFA council in the same manner as the financial report described in section 335.7(c)(5) of this Part.

(c) The decisions of the statewide SEFA council, with respect to admission, shall be final and binding and appealable only as provided by paragraph (a)(3) of this section in recognition of the belief and conviction that the distribution of voluntary contributions of State employees should be solely the decisions of such employees or their authorized representatives.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 335.4