The state is on the verge of creating a registration requirement for charities that solicit money from Hawai'i donors, a move that will close a huge regulatory gap and ensure the public has access to key information about the nonprofits, registration proponents say.

State legislators are scheduled to vote today on SB 3171, which will require charities that seek donations in Hawai'i to register with the state beginning Jan. 1, 2009, and file annual financial reports. House and Senate negotiators came to terms late Friday night on a compromise version of the bill that now goes before both chambers for a vote.

The legislation was introduced after an Advertiser series last year showed that Hawai'i has one of the weakest charity oversight systems in the country.

"The registration requirement is essential to ensure basic operational and financial data remains available to the public," said Hugh Jones, a deputy attorney general whose job includes charity oversight.

Critics questioned whether registration was needed in light of changes being made to the 990 tax form that most nonprofits file with the federal government and that generally is available online.

But Jones noted that because of the planned changes, as many as 4,000 of Hawai'i's 5,500 nonprofits may have to file only a postcard-type form with the Internal Revenue Service beginning in 2010, providing only bare-bones financial information that will be available to the public.

The bill appropriates $285,000 to create positions for two attorneys, an auditor and a legal assistant to conduct charity oversight. Hawai'i is one of 11 states that does not have charity registration requirements.