NY State Assembly Bill 2009-A10601

Assembly Bill A10601

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Relates to prohibiting funding of terrorist activities through donations to not-for-profit organizations

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 18, 2010	held for consideration in codes
Apr 08, 2010	referred to codes

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2009-A10601 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §490.15, Pen L; amd §115, N-PC L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: A1279

2009-A10601 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to prohibiting funding of terrorist activities through donations to not-for-profit organizations.

2009-A10601 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:A10601

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An act to amend the penal law and the not-for-profit
corporation law, in relation  to  prohibiting  funding  and  support  of
terrorist activities and organizations

PURPOSE  OR  GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill would specifically prohibit
not-for-profit corporations, and their officers, directors and employees
from soliciting contributions for, or transferring monies  to  organiza-
tions that support terrorism.

SUMMARY  OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Specifically, this bill would add a new
subdivision two to section 115 of the not-for-profit corporation law, to
provide that:

1. Not-for-profit corporations shall not solicit contributions  for,  or
transfer  any monies to, any person or organization which assists, funds
or supports terrorism or terrorist activities;

2. Terrorism and terrorist activities would be defined  to  include  any
act,  or  threat  of  an  act,  of  violence directed against the United
States, any state, or local government, or against any person or proper-
ty within the United States, if such  act,  or  threat  of  an  act,  of
violence is motivated by religious, cultural or political ideology;

3.  Assistance,  funding  or  support  of  terrorism would be defined to

include any activity which could assist the advancement, planning, oper-
ation, conduct or advocacy of terrorism or terrorist activities, includ-
ing the assistance, funding or supporting or any educational, religious,
cultural or political organization, or person officially affiliated with
such organization, which advocates the advancement, planning, operation,
conduct or advocacy of terrorism or terrorist activities;

4. The attorney general and/or the comptroller, upon probable cause, may
audit  and  Investigate  any  not-for-corporation  suspected  soliciting
contributions  for, or transferring monies to any person or organization
which assists, funds or supports terrorism or terrorist activities,  and
upon  the  conduct-of  such audit or investigation, the attorney general
and comptroller shall be permitted full and unrestricted access  to  all
records,  papers  and  accounts  of  such corporation, and shall also be
empowered to depose under oath, any officer,  director  or  employee  of
such corporation;

5. The attorney general would also have the power, as shall the district
attorney  of  the county in which the corporation maintains its offices,
to prosecute any violation of this section; and

6. Any not-for-profit corporation found guilty  of  soliciting  contrib-
utions  for,  transferring  monies  to  any person or organization which
assists, funds or supports terrorism or terrorist activities, and/or any
not-for-corporation which has an officer or  director  found  guilty  of
section  490.15 of the penal law, shall be deemed immediately dissolved,

with its assets immediately transferred to the state of  New  York,  and
the  comptroller  upon  depositing such assets into a segregated account
shall thereupon disburse such assets to other  charitable  organizations
which  do not assist, fund or support terrorism or terrorist activities,
unless such corporation can demonstrate  by  compelling  evidence  to  a
supreme  court that its corporate existence should be continued and that
any person so involved with the violation will no longer be employed  or
associated with the corporation.

This  bill  would also amend section 490.15 of the penal law, to provide
that any officer of director of a not-for-profit corporation  who  know-
ingly  permits  such  corporation  to  assist, fund or support terrorism
would be guilty of the crime of soliciting or providing support  for  an
act of terrorism in the first degree, which is a class C felony.

JUSTIFICATION:  One  of  the  greatest weapons our society has to effec-
tively fight the war against terrorism is to stop the flow of monies  to
those  who would advocate, advance or commit acts of terrorism. Money is
the life's blood of terrorism. Ills the resource that makes  it  operate
and  helps  to  sustain its viability to inflict such great damage. Stop
the financing of those who advocate, advance or commit acts  of  terror-
ism,  and  the real threat and viability that terrorist can pose becomes
dramatically diminished.

Since September 11, 2001, it has become evident that a great deal of the
terrorist's funding has come from the  United  States,  being  channeled
through  charitable  organizations. Project Green Quest, was established
by the federal government with the sole intent of tracking these  monies
funneled  to  terrorists, and then seeking to try to stop them. But even
with such effort,  both  the  federal  department  of  justice  and  our
nation's  intelligence services, have all said that the only real way to
prevent this funding is to have the  not-for-profit  corporations  them-
selves stop raising and distributing these monies. These federal author-
ities,  responsible  for fighting the war against terrorism, have called
upon the states to take real and meaningful action to combat this  prob-
lem.  This  bill would lake such action, and would provide the incentive
for not-for-profit charities to insure they are not providing monies  to
any person or organization which assists, funds or supports terrorism or
terrorist activities, as well as institute the personal criminal liabil-
ity and corporate dissolution for those who continue to do so.

PRIOR  LEGISLATIVE  HISTORY:  A11350A/S3587A  (passed Senate in 2007 and
2008).

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None Noted.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act would take effect on January 1, 2011.

2009-A10601 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10601

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              April 8, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. CASTELLI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law and the not-for-profit corporation law, in
  relation  to  prohibiting  funding and support of terrorist activities
  and organizations

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.   Section 490.15 of the penal law, as added by chapter 300
of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
S 490.15 Soliciting or providing support for an act of terrorism in  the
           first degree.
  A person commits soliciting or providing support for an act of terror-
ism in the first degree when:
  1.  he or she commits the crime of soliciting or providing support for
an act of terrorism in the second degree and the total value of material
support or resources exceeds one thousand dollars; OR
  2. HE OR SHE, AS AN OFFICER OR DIRECTOR  OF  A  NOT-FOR-PROFIT  CORPO-
RATION,  KNOWINGLY  PERMITS  SUCH CORPORATION TO ASSIST, FUND OR SUPPORT
TERRORISM.
  Soliciting or providing support for an act of terrorism in  the  first
degree is a class C felony.
  S  2.  Section  115 of the not-for-profit corporation law, as added by
chapter 669 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
S 115. Power to solicit contributions for charitable purposes.
  (A) SOLICITATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES.  No  corpo-
ration having the power to solicit contributions for charitable purposes
may  solicit  contributions  for  any purpose for which approval of such
solicitation is required under the provisions of  section  four  hundred
four of this chapter unless the certificate specifically makes provision
for  such  solicitation and the required written approval is endorsed on
or annexed to such certificate or unless the corporation is among  those
referred  to  in section one hundred seventy-two-a of the executive law.
If such approval is not obtained and the corporation continues to solic-
it or to receive contributions for such purpose or  advertises  that  it

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD03545-03-0

A. 10601                            2

has  obtained such approval, the attorney general, at the request of the
officer or body authorized to grant such  approval,  shall  maintain  an
action  or  proceeding pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph one of
paragraph  (a)  of section one hundred twelve of this [chapter] ARTICLE.
Such an action may also be maintained in relation to a corporation here-
inafter incorporated if the name, purposes, objects or the activities of
such corporation may, in any manner, lead to the belief that the  corpo-
ration possesses or may exercise any of such purposes.
  (B) CONTRIBUTIONS SOLICITED FOR, OR TRANSFERRED TO, ORGANIZATIONS THAT
SUPPORT  TERRORISM  PROHIBITED. NO CORPORATION FORMED UNDER THIS CHAPTER
SHALL SOLICIT CONTRIBUTIONS FOR, OR TRANSFER ANY MONIES TO,  ANY  PERSON
OR  ORGANIZATION WHICH ASSISTS, FUNDS OR SUPPORTS TERRORISM OR TERRORIST
ACTIVITIES. TERRORISM AND TERRORIST ACTIVITIES FOR THE PURPOSES OF  THIS
SECTION,  SHALL  INCLUDE  ANY  ACT,  OR  THREAT  OF  AN ACT, OF VIOLENCE
DIRECTED AGAINST THE UNITED STATES, ANY STATE, OR LOCAL  GOVERNMENT,  OR
AGAINST ANY PERSON OR PROPERTY WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, IF SUCH ACT, OR
THREAT  OF  AN  ACT,  OF VIOLENCE IS MOTIVATED BY RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL OR
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS  SECTION,  THE  ASSISTANCE,
FUNDING  OR  SUPPORT OF TERRORISM SHALL INCLUDE ANY ACTIVITY WHICH COULD
ASSIST THE ADVANCEMENT, PLANNING,  OPERATION,  CONDUCT  OR  ADVOCACY  OF
TERRORISM  OR TERRORIST ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING THE ASSISTANCE, FUNDING OR
SUPPORTING OF ANY EDUCATIONAL, RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL OR  POLITICAL  ORGAN-
IZATION,  OR  PERSON OFFICIALLY AFFILIATED WITH SUCH ORGANIZATION, WHICH
ADVOCATES THE ADVANCEMENT, PLANNING, OPERATION, CONDUCT OR  ADVOCACY  OF
TERRORISM OR TERRORIST ACTIVITIES. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND/OR THE STATE
COMPTROLLER,  UPON  PROBABLE CAUSE, MAY AUDIT AND INVESTIGATE ANY CORPO-
RATION FORMED UNDER THIS CHAPTER, SUSPECTED OF VIOLATING THE  PROVISIONS
OF  THIS SECTION.   UPON THE CONDUCT OF SUCH AUDIT OR INVESTIGATION, THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND STATE COMPTROLLER SHALL BE PERMITTED FULL AND UNRE-
STRICTED ACCESS TO ALL RECORDS, PAPERS AND ACCOUNTS OF SUCH CORPORATION,
AND SHALL ALSO BE EMPOWERED TO DEPOSE UNDER OATH, ANY OFFICER,  DIRECTOR
OR  EMPLOYEE  OF  SUCH CORPORATION. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL ALSO HAVE
THE POWER, AS SHALL THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF THE  COUNTY  IN  WHICH  THE
CORPORATION  MAINTAINS  ITS  OFFICES, TO PROSECUTE ANY VIOLATION OF THIS
SECTION.  ANY CORPORATION FOUND TO HAVE VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF  THIS
SECTION,  AND/OR  ANY CORPORATION WHICH HAS AN OFFICER OR DIRECTOR FOUND
GUILTY OF SECTION 490.15 OF  THE  PENAL  LAW  UPON  APPLICATION  TO  THE
SUPREME  COURT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY SHALL BE
DEEMED IMMEDIATELY DISSOLVED, WITH ITS ASSETS IMMEDIATELY TRANSFERRED TO
THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND THE STATE COMPTROLLER  UPON  DEPOSITING  SUCH
ASSETS INTO A SEGREGATED ACCOUNT SHALL THEREUPON DISBURSE SUCH ASSETS TO
OTHER  CHARITABLE  ORGANIZATIONS  WHICH  DO  NOT ASSIST, FUND OR SUPPORT
TERRORISM OR  TERRORIST  ACTIVITIES,  UNLESS  THE  SUPREME  COURT  FINDS
COMPELLING  EVIDENCE  THAT  THE  CORPORATION'S EXISTENCE SHOULD BE MAIN-
TAINED AND THE CORPORATION HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT ALL PERSONS INVOLVED IN
THE ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION HAVE BEEN PERMA-
NENTLY BARRED FROM EMPLOYMENT, ASSOCIATION, AND/OR ANY INVOLVEMENT  WITH
THE CORPORATION.
  S 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.

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Assembly Bill A10601

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Sponsored By

CASTELLI

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

co-Sponsors

Nancy Calhoun

Daniel Burling

Michael Montesano

Joseph Saladino