Georgia § 38-4-14 - Creation of Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc.; purpose; operation; reporting.

§ 38-4-14. Creation of Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc.; purpose; operation; reporting.

The Veterans Service Board shall have the power and authority to establish a nonprofit corporation to be designated as the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., to qualify as a public foundation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code for the purposes described in this Code section. The nonprofit corporation created pursuant to this Code section shall be created pursuant to Chapter 3 of Title 14, the "Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code," and the Secretary of State shall be authorized to accept such filing. The purpose of the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., shall be to actively seek supplemental funds and in-kind goods, services, and property to promote Georgia's state war veterans' homes and veterans' cemeteries and for any other purpose of the Veterans Service Board. Funds received by the foundation may be conveyed to the Department of Veterans Service or awarded through a competitive grant process administered by the Veterans Service Board. The Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., shall be governed by a board of directors composed of seven persons, who shall not be the same individuals as the currently serving members of the Veterans Service Board, who shall be appointed by the commissioner of veterans service, subject to the approval of the Veterans Service Board. Persons appointed to the board of directors shall have honorably served not less than three months in the armed forces of the United States or two years in a reserve or National Guard component of the armed forces of the United States. The members of the board of directors shall serve for seven-year terms that shall be staggered such that one member completes a term each year. The members may succeed themselves on the board of directors one time and thereafter may be reappointed to additional terms following a three-year interval after completion of any second consecutive term. The board of directors shall meet at least one time each year to conduct the business of the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc. The board of directors shall annually elect from its membership a chairperson, a vice chairperson, a secretary, and a treasurer. The board of directors shall appoint a chief executive officer, a chief operating officer, and a chief financial officer of the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., from individuals who are employees of the Department of Veterans Service, excluding the commissioner of veterans service, who shall serve in these capacities without compensation but who shall be entitled to reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred from the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., for performing their duties under this Code section. The nonprofit corporation created pursuant to this Code section shall be subject to the following provisions: In accordance with the Constitution of Georgia, no governmental functions or regulatory powers shall be conducted by such nonprofit corporation; Upon dissolution of such nonprofit corporation incorporated by the Veterans Service Board, any assets shall revert to the Veterans Service Board or to any successor to the Veterans Service Board or, failing such succession, to the State of Georgia; To avoid the appearance of undue influence on regulatory functions by donors, no donations to such nonprofit corporation from private sources shall be used for salaries, benefits, or travel expenses of the Veterans Service Board; Such nonprofit corporation shall be subject to all laws relating to open meetings and the inspection of public records; The Veterans Service Board shall not be liable for the action or omission to act of such nonprofit corporation; provided, however, that as an administrative cost, such nonprofit corporation shall obtain and maintain errors and omissions liability coverage insurance in the amount of not less than $1 million; and No debts, bonds, notes, or other obligations incurred by such nonprofit corporation shall constitute an indebtedness or obligation of the State of Georgia nor shall any act of such nonprofit corporation constitute or result in the creation of an indebtedness of the state; provided, however, that such nonprofit corporation shall not have the power to incur long-term or short-term indebtedness in connection with its authority under this Code section but may incur short-term credit obligations. No holder or holders of such bonds, notes, or other obligations shall ever have the right to compel any exercise of the taxing power of the state nor to enforce the payment thereof against the state. The Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., shall prepare and make public an annual report identifying all donors to the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., and the amount or property each donor donated, as well as all expenditures or other expenditures of money or property donated. Such report shall be provided to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairpersons of the House Committee on Defense and Veterans Affairs and the Senate Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee, or their successors. The Georgia Veterans Service Foundation, Inc., shall also provide such persons with a copy of all filings with the federal Internal Revenue Service. (Code 1981, § 38-4-14 , enacted by Ga. L. 2018, p. 186, § 1/HB 422; Ga. L. 2019, p. 1056, § 38/SB 52.) The 2019 amendment, effective May 12, 2019, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised language and punctuation in subsection (b), paragraphs (c)(5) and (c)(6), and in subsection (d). Cross references. - Cemeteries for veterans, § 38-4-70 et seq.