Community Groups Registration Act

This Act may be cited as the Community Groups Registration Act.

Section 2 provides definitions of terms used in the Act, including meanings for "amalgamation", "Cabinet Secretary", "community group", "Director", "merger", "office bearer", "social development officer", and related terms.

Creates the office of Director of Social Development and assigns the Director the functions listed in subsection (2)(a)–(i).

The Director must appoint a county co-ordinator of social development for each county; the county co-ordinator must perform the Directors functions in the county, including establishing and supervising social development committees, nominating representatives of civil society organisations and partners, and performing other functions assigned by the Director.

Section 5 defines the membership of sub-county social development committees, requires the county co-ordinator of social development to appoint those members ensuring ethnic and regional balance and inclusion of persons with disabilities, and requires the sub-county department responsible for social development to provide the committee secretariat.

Social development committees act as a link between the national government, community groups, communities and other development partners.

Social development committees must conduct their business and affairs in accordance with the First Schedule; except as provided in that Schedule, they may regulate their own procedure.

The Cabinet Secretary must determine, on the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, the allowances payable to members of social development committees for out-of-pocket expenses incurred performing their functions.

Community groups may adopt the Model Community Group Constitution for their own purposes; if a community group amends its constitution it must submit the amended constitution to the Director within one month of the amendment.

The Director may declare a community group to be a special interest community group upon application and payment of fees prescribed by the Director.

Rejection of application: the applicants have not complied with the requirements of this Act;

The Director must, within fourteen days of receiving an application under section 9, either register or refuse to register a community group; if refusing, the Director must notify applicants in writing stating reasons; an aggrieved person may appeal to the Cabinet Secretary in writing.

Community groups may apply to the Director to renew registration after two years (and thereafter yearly), must apply at least two months before the renewal date, must include activity and financial reports and other reports the Director requires; the Director must decide within 14 days, notifying refusals in writing with reasons and approving when satisfied.

The registration of a community group may be cancelled where (a) the group fails to comply with this Act; (b) the members fail to comply with the group’s constitution; (c) the group fails to submit information required under this Act or requested by the Director; or (d) the group was fraudulently registered. Before cancellation, the office bearers must be given at least fourteen days’ notice of the intention to cancel and the office bearers and members must be given the opportunity to make representations to the Director.

Sets how a registered community group may voluntarily dissolve itself, what notice must contain, the Director’s role in confirming and effecting dissolution, and that failure to renew for four years results in deemed voluntary dissolution.

Community groups may merge by resolution under their constitution, but cannot merge unless at least three quarters of the members of each group agree; certain conditions (debts settled or arranged, exit claims met, information submitted to the Director, certificates surrendered) must be satisfied; merged groups cease to exist and their assets and liabilities transfer to the merged group; merged groups may change name or constitution by notice to the Director accompanied by the new constitution.

The Director must, except for just cause, approve mergers of community groups if they have complied with section 17.

Allows community groups to amalgamate by passing resolutions; groups that resolve to amalgamate must apply to the Director in the prescribed form; where the Director approves, the Director must issue a certificate of registration to the resulting organisation.

The Director may, after reasonable notice from a community group, change or correct any entry for that group in the register.

Groups of persons may apply in the prescribed form to the Director to register as a community group; members must be adults, share a common purpose, and meet minimum member counts (generally ten, five for special interest groups); the Director may require information or investigations and may prescribe application fees.

States as a general object: "invest and deal with funds of the community group not immediately required for its objects;"

Community groups must keep an official physical address accessible to members and must notify the Director and members within one month after changing that address.

A community group must ensure its office bearers assume office in accordance with this Act and the group's constitution.

Members of a community group are prohibited from being elected or appointed as the group's auditor.

A community group must notify the Director in writing of any changes in an office or title of an office within one month of the change.

Requires community groups to set dispute-resolution mechanisms in their constitutions; sets a referral chain from parties to sub-county, county, then Director; Director must decide within 14 days; refusing a Director's summons is an offence with fines or imprisonment.

Persons who are not duly appointed or elected as an office bearer, or who continue to act after their agreed period ends without notifying the Director, purport to act as an office bearer of a community group.

Registered community groups must keep a members register with each member's name, contact address and date of admission; update submissions are required on the Director's request and at least once every two years; entry of a member's cessation date must be made within 14 days; failures attract specified penalties.

A member of a community group has the right to inspect the register of members, subject to the group's constitution and on reasonable notice.

Members' details are addressed by subsection (1); subsection (1)(a) must be directly related to management or the group's purpose, subsection (1)(b) must not be prohibited by the group's constitution; a person who violates subsection (1) commits an offence.

A community group must retain its financial records for seven years after the transactions covered by those records are completed.

When an account has been rendered under subsection (2), a resigning or vacating treasurer must hand over monies and all bonds, securities, books, papers and property of the community group to the succeeding treasurer in accordance with the group constitution and written law.

Community groups must adopt the required report at their annual general meeting before sending it to the Director; if unable to comply they must notify the Director with reasons. The Director may levy a late-filing fee or suspend the group's certificate for failure to submit.

Inspection of accounts and documents may be carried out by any office bearer or member of the community group at places and times provided for in the constitution of the community group.

The Director may request specified information and financial records from a community group; the group must comply within a specified or extended period, and groups whose registration was cancelled for non-compliance (or their successors) cannot be re-registered unless the application includes financial records; false or materially incomplete information counts as non-compliance.

The Director may order an audit of a community group's financial records, at the community group's cost, when the audit is expedient and necessary to resolve a dispute between a member and another party.

Community groups may mobilize resources; diverting or misappropriating community-group resources is an offence punishable by a fine up to three million shillings or up to two years' imprisonment; the Cabinet Secretary may issue mobilisation guidelines and contravening those guidelines is an offence.

Any person who obstructs the Director in carrying out any functions under this Act commits an offence.

A person who commits an offence under this Act for which no penalty is prescribed is liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or to a community service order for a period not exceeding three months.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Previously registered community groups are treated as registered under this Act and must implement compliance measures within one year of commencement.