SECTION 3.9019. Mergers of Non-certified Organizations to Certified Organizations

If a certified crime stoppers organization agrees with a non-certified crime stoppers organization to merge and form a multi-county or multi-jurisdictional (e.g., county and city) organization, the merged organization must apply for continuing certification, and the following procedures must be followed:

(1) The certified crime stoppers organization that wants to merge with a non-certified 501(c)(3) crime stoppers organization must have contiguous borders.

(2) The merging organizations must choose a name for the merged organization unless both organizations agree to operate under the name of one of the existing organizations.

(3) The merged organization must file the following documents with the director of the Council requesting certification under a new name (if applicable) and with the expanded geographic territory or jurisdiction:

(A) All required Texas Secretary of State, Texas Comptroller, and United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) required forms and documentation for mergers and dissolutions, as applicable, or as specified by the director of the Council;

(B) IRS compliance documents for dissolution of a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a 501(c)(3) letter authorizing the organization to operate under the new name (if applicable);

(C) Texas Secretary of State compliance documents for 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations, as applicable, or as specified by the director of the Council;

(D) Application for Continuing Certification under the new name (if applicable) and with an expanded geographic territory or jurisdiction;

(E) Copies of financial reviews of all bank accounts held by the non-certified 501(c)(3) crime stoppers organization;

(F) If the financial review establishes that at any time the non-certified 501(c)(3) crime stoppers organization was certified by the Council and received court fees under Articles 37.073 and 42.152 and Chapter 42A, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, and failed to return all court fees to the state comptroller within 60 days following the loss of certification, as required by §414.010(c), Texas Government Code, a copy of the check for the outstanding court fees, made payable to the Office of the Comptroller, or other satisfactory proof, must be submitted with the application for certification;

(G) Copy of board of directors membership list of the merged organization, to include contact information for board members, the law enforcement coordinator, and executive director (if applicable);

(H) The dates and locations that at least one board member (if applicable), the law enforcement coordinator, and an executive director (if applicable) received training as authorized by the Council within the 24-month period preceding the merger;

(I) Copies of the minutes of the boards of directors meetings of the certified crime stoppers organization and the non-certified 501(c)(3) crime stoppers organization in which the boards voted to merge their organizations;

(J) Copy of a cooperative agreement or memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the merged organizations regarding the merger and a copy of each organization's minutes of the board of directors for the meeting where the agreement or MOU is approved; and

(K) Additional information specified by a vote of the Council for inclusion in the application for continuing certification that is necessary for the Council to make the determination for certification required by §414.011(a) of the Texas Government Code or to fulfill its duties under §414.005 of the Texas Government Code. The director of the Council may request further information needed to clarify a question raised in the examination of the materials submitted as part of the application.

(4) If the director of the Council determines that the merged organization meets all requirements of this section, the merged organization will be presented to the Council for determination as to whether the merged organization meets the requirements for certification at the Council's next regularly scheduled meeting.

(5) Once the Council grants certification, the merged organization may merge or consolidate the separate rewards accounts of the merged organizations. The merged organization also will be eligible to apply to the relevant CSCDs to receive court fees under the provisions of Articles 37.073 and 42.152 and Chapter 42A, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

(6) The merged organization's "Excess Funds Accounts," as described in §414.010(d) of the Texas Government Code, may only be comprised of those funds that were previously in each individual organization's "Excess Funds Accounts."

(7) The certification is valid for a period of two years.

Source Note: The provisions of this §3.9019 adopted to be effective June 21, 2009, 34 TexReg 3929; amended to be effective July 11, 2010, 35 TexReg 5803; amended to be effective June 12, 2011, 36 TexReg 3407; amended to be effective July 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 4851; amended to be effective March 26, 2020, 45 TexReg 1975