Sample Communication – State Employee Charitable Campaign Charity Designations

• TO:           Agency Employees Impacted by Senate Bill 22
• DATE:       Feb. ___, 2020
• SUBJECT:  State Employee Charitable Campaign Charity Designations

The Attorney General for the State of Texas recently issued an opinion that impacts the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC). Texas Attorney General Opinion KP-0282 discusses a new law, Senate Bill 22, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, that prohibits certain transactions with abortion providers and their affiliates, and finds that the law applies to the SECC. Any participating charities that are abortion providers or affiliates of abortion providers as described in the opinion are now ineligible charities and any payroll deductions currently in effect to these entities must be cancelled.

Employees who selected a now ineligible charity during the 2019 SECC Campaign, effective for payrolls paid beginning January 2020 through December 2020, will have that charity deduction removed as of the February 2020 payroll, paid on March 2.

Beginning February 2020, agency payroll offices will perform payroll maintenance on the affected employees, which will result in the deletion of any deduction to the ineligible charities. No action is required on the employee’s part. Deductions occurring prior to February 2020 are not affected as those amounts have already been distributed to the local campaign managers and statewide federations.

Because the 2019 SECC Campaign is now closed, employees may not re-designate the cancelled payroll deduction to a new eligible charity. However, an employee may choose to increase the amount authorized to another existing charity designation, if applicable. A state employee may authorize a change only by submitting a written authorization or electronic deduction authorization change to the employee's employer.

For questions regarding this matter or assistance in reallocating your existing charity deductions, please contact your payroll office.