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

1. (1) The certified crime stoppers organizations that want to merge must have contiguous borders.
2. (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. (3) The merged organization must file the following documents with the director of the Texas Crime Stoppers Council (Council) requesting certification under a new name (if applicable) and with the expanded geographic territory or jurisdiction:

   1. (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;
   2. (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);
   3. (C) Texas Secretary of State compliance documents for 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations;
   4. (D) Application for Continuing Certification under the new name (if applicable) and with an expanded geographic territory or jurisdiction;
   5. (E) Copies of financial reviews of the restricted court fees accounts for all merging organizations as required in §414.010(b), Texas Government Code; these financial reviews must be conducted by a Certified Public Accountant;
   6. (F) Copy of board of directors membership list of the merged organization, to include contact information for board members, the law enforcement coordinator, and the executive director (if applicable);
   7. (G) Copies of letters from community supervision and corrections departments (CSCD) detailing the amount of court fees paid to the merging organizations during the previous two years, up to and including the date of the proposed merger, under the provisions of Articles 42.12, 37.073 and 42.152, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure;
   8. (H) Training certificates showing that at least one board member, the law enforcement coordinator, and an executive director (if applicable) received training as authorized by the Council within the 12-month period preceding the merger;
   9. (I) Copies of Probation Fee and Repayment Reports for the merging organizations for the previous two calendar years as specified by §414.010(a), Texas Government Code;
   10. (J) Copies of the minutes of the boards of directors meetings of both certified crime stoppers organizations in which the boards voted to merge their organizations; and
   11. (K) 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.
4. (4) If the director of the Council determines that the merged organization meets all requirements within paragraphs (1) - (3) of this section, the merged organization will be presented to the Council for certification at the Council's next regularly scheduled meeting.
5. (5) Once the Council grants certification, the merged organization may merge or consolidate the separate rewards accounts of both organizations. The merged organization will also be eligible to apply to the relevant CSCDs to receive court fees under the provisions of Articles 42.12, 37.073, and 42.152, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
6. (6) The merged organization's "Excess Funds Account," as defined 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 Account." Three years from the merged organization's certification date, the merged organization may establish an "Excess Funds Account" in accordance with §414.010(d) of the Texas Government Code.
7. (7) The certification is valid for a period of two years.

Source Note:The provisions of this §3.9017 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.