(a) Any person who solicits or attempts to solicit or receives money or property of any kind for a charitable, religious or eleemosynary purpose and who, directly or indirectly, makes, utters, or delivers, either orally or in writing, an unqualified statement of fact concerning the purpose or organization for which the money or property is solicited or received, or concerning the cost and expense of solicitation or the manner in which the money or property or any part thereof is to be used, which statement is in fact false and was made, uttered, or delivered by that person either willfully and with knowledge of its falsity or negligently without due consideration of those facts which by the use of ordinary care he or she should have known, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(b) An offense charged in violation of this section shall be proven by the testimony of one witness and corroborating circumstances.
(c) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit the right of any city, county, or city and county to adopt regulations for charitable solicitations which are not in conflict with this section.
(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 166, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1999.)