Senate Bill S1559

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

                                  1559

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 9, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sens. LAVALLE, DeFRANCISCO, LARKIN, MAZIARZ -- read twice
  and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
  on Higher Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in  relation  to  the  disclosure  of
  gifts made to institutions of higher education by foreign governments,
  persons and entities

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

  Section 1. Section 207-a of the education law, as added by chapter 215
of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
  S 207-a. Disclosure of gifts made to institutions of higher  education
by  foreign  governments,  persons  and  entities.  1.  As  used in this
section:  a. The term "foreign government"  shall  mean  any  government
other  than the United States government or the government of a state or
a political subdivision thereof and  shall  include  an  agent  of  such
government;
  b.  The  term  "foreign  legal entity" shall mean (i) any legal entity
created under the laws of a foreign government or (ii) any legal  entity
created  under the laws of the United States or of any state hereof if a
majority of the ownership of the stock of such legal entity is  directly
or  indirectly  owned  legally  or  beneficially  by one or more foreign
governments or one or more foreign persons or one or more legal entities
created under the laws of a foreign government or if a majority  of  the
membership  of  any  such entity is composed of foreign persons or legal
entities created under the  laws  of  a  foreign  government  and  shall
include an agent of such legal entity;
  c.  The  term  "foreign person" shall mean any individual who is not a
citizen or national of the United States or a trust territory or protec-
torate thereof and shall include an agent of such individual; and
  d. The term "gift" shall mean any endowment,  gift,  grant,  contract,
award or property of any kind.
  2.  Every  institution authorized by the legislature or by the regents
of the university of the state of New York to confer academic degrees in
              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06166-01-3

S. 1559                             2

this state AND ANY FOUNDATION THAT IS  ASSOCIATED  WITH  AN  INSTITUTION
AUTHORIZED BY THE LEGISLATURE OR BY THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE
STATE  OF  NEW  YORK  shall disclose the amount, terms, restrictions and
requirements attached to or made a part of any gift of a value in excess
of  one  hundred  thousand dollars made to such institution by a foreign
government, foreign legal entity or foreign person in any fiscal year of
the institution. If the foreign  government,  foreign  legal  entity  or
foreign  person makes more than one gift to an institution in any fiscal
year of such institution, and the total value of  those  gifts  in  such
fiscal year of the institution exceeds one hundred thousand dollars, the
institution shall report all of such gifts received.
  3. Such information shall be forwarded to the department no later than
thirty  days  after the final day of the fiscal year of the institution.
The information shall include:
  a. the amount and the date of the making of the gift;
  b. when the gift is conditional, matching or designated for a  partic-
ular  purpose,  full  details  of the conditions, matching provisions or
designation, INCLUDING WHETHER SUCH GIFT WAS  RECEIVED  FROM  A  FOREIGN
GOVERNMENT, ENTITY OR INDIVIDUAL;
  c.  the  name  of  the  foreign  government in the case of a gift by a
foreign government; the name of the foreign country in which  a  foreign
entity  or  foreign person is principally located or resides in the case
of a gift by a foreign entity or foreign person.
  The name of the foreign entity shall be disclosed in the  event  of  a
gift which (i) contains conditions or restrictions regarding the control
of  curricula,  employment  or  termination  of  faculty,  admission  of
students, student fees or (ii) is contingent upon the agreement  of  the
institution  to  take  specific  public positions or actions or to award
honorary degrees; and
  d. the purpose or purposes for which the gift will be used.
  4. Such information shall be a matter of public record  and  shall  be
made  available  by  the department to the general public for review and
copying during normal business hours.  FURTHER, SUCH  INFORMATION  SHALL
BE  PROVIDED TO THE DEPARTMENT IN A FORMAT DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
THE DEPARTMENT SHALL MAINTAIN SUCH INFORMATION IN  ELECTRONIC  FORM  FOR
ITS OWN INTERNAL RECORD KEEPING PURPOSES ONLY.
  5.  IF  IT  IS  DETERMINED, BY AN AUDIT OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER, CITY
COMPTROLLER, OR BY ANY OTHER  PRIVATE  OR  INDEPENDENT  AUDIT,  THAT  AN
INSTITUTION  SUBJECT  TO  THE  PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, HAS FAILED TO
COMPLY WITH ANY OR ALL OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS  SECTION,  THE  COMMIS-
SIONER SHALL IMPOSE A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS AND NOT
MORE  THAN FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS, FOR EACH OCCURRENCE.  SUCH INSTITUTION
SHALL BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAL  THE  IMPOSITION  OF  SUCH  FINE
PURSUANT  TO  PROCEDURES  ESTABLISHED  BY  RULES  OR  REGULATIONS OF THE
COMMISSIONER. IF A SUBSEQUENT AUDIT OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER, CITY COMP-
TROLLER, OR BY ANY OTHER PRIVATE OR INDEPENDENT AUDIT, FINDS  THAT  SUCH
INSTITUTION  HAS  FAILED  TO COMPLY WITH ANY OR ALL OF THE PROVISIONS OF
THIS SECTION, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL IMPOSE A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN  TWO
THOUSAND  DOLLARS,  AND  SUCH INSTITUTION SHALL COMPLY WITH SECTIONS ONE
HUNDRED   SEVENTY-TWO,   ONE   HUNDRED   SEVENTY-TWO-A,   ONE    HUNDRED
SEVENTY-TWO-B,  ONE  HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO-C AND ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO-D
OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of August next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.