S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9983
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 6, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SEAWRIGHT, BLANKENBUSH, CRESPO, CROUCH --
   read  once  and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
   and Commissions
 
 AN ACT to amend the religious corporations law, in relation to the sale,
   mortgage and lease of real property of a religious corporation
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivisions 1 and 9 of section 12 of the religious corpo-
 rations law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 2015
 and subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 962 of the  laws  of  1969,  are
 amended to read as follows:
   1. (A) A religious corporation shall not sell, mortgage or lease for a
 term  exceeding five years any of its real property without applying for
 and obtaining leave of the court or the attorney general therefor pursu-
 ant to section five hundred eleven of the not-for-profit corporation law
 as that section is modified by paragraph (d-1)  of  subdivision  one  of
 section  two-b  of  this chapter or section five hundred eleven-a of the
 not-for-profit corporation law, except that a religious corporation  may
 execute a purchase money mortgage or a purchase money security agreement
 creating  a security interest in personal property purchased by it with-
 out obtaining leave of the court therefor.
   (B) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
 SION, ANY SOLVENT RELIGIOUS CORPORATION MAY SELL ANY OF ITS REAL PROPER-
 TY WITHOUT A COURT ORDER IN THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES:
   (I)  THE  RELIGIOUS CORPORATION SHALL HAVE AND MAINTAIN IN ITS RECORDS
 AN APPRAISAL REPORT PREPARED BY A PROFESSIONAL APPRAISER  AND  DATED  OR
 UPDATED  WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF THE SALE SHOWING THE FAIR MARKET VALUE TO
 BE LESS THAN TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS;
   (II) THE SALE SHALL BE AN ARM'S LENGTH TRANSACTION FOR A CASH  CONSID-
 ERATION  AT  THE FAIR MARKET VALUE OF THE PROPERTY WHICH SHALL BE WITHIN
 TEN PERCENT OF THE APPRAISED VALUE;
   (III) THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE RELIGIOUS CORPORATION SHALL HAVE GIVEN
 NOTICE FOR NOT LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE  CONGREGATION
 SERVED  BY  THE RELIGIOUS CORPORATION IN A MANNER LIKELY TO BE SEEN BY A
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00367-01-7

 A. 9983                             2
 
 MAJORITY OF SUCH MEMBERS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PUBLICATION IN ANY
 BULLETIN, NEWSLETTER, OR SIMILAR DOCUMENT NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED  TO  SUCH
 MEMBERS; AND
   (IV)  A  CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS PARA-
 GRAPH EXECUTED BY THE PERSON OR PERSONS EXECUTING THE DEED ON BEHALF  OF
 THE  RELIGIOUS  CORPORATION  UNDER  THE  PENALTIES  OF  PERJURY SHALL BE
 ATTACHED TO AND RECORDED WITH THE DEED; AND WITH  RESPECT  TO  RELIGIOUS
 CORPORATIONS  SUBJECT  TO  SUBDIVISION  TWO,  THREE, FOUR, FIVE, FIVE-A,
 FIVE-B, OR FIVE-C OF THIS SECTION, SUCH CERTIFICATE SHALL HAVE  ENDORSED
 THEREON THE CONSENT OF THE CHURCH AUTHORITY OR AUTHORITIES WHOSE CONSENT
 WOULD  BE  REQUIRED  UNDER  SUCH SUBDIVISIONS OF THIS SECTION BEFORE THE
 FILING OF AN APPLICATION TO THE COURT.
   (C) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
 SION,  ANY  SOLVENT  RELIGIOUS  CORPORATION MAY MORTGAGE ANY OF ITS REAL
 PROPERTY WITHOUT A COURT ORDER IN THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES:
   (I) THE RELIGIOUS CORPORATION SHALL HAVE AND MAINTAIN IN  ITS  RECORDS
 AN  APPRAISAL  REPORT  PREPARED BY A PROFESSIONAL APPRAISER AND DATED OR
 UPDATED WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF THE MORTGAGE SHOWING THE FAIR MARKET VALUE
 TO BE LESS THAN TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS;
   (II) THE MORTGAGE SHALL BE AN ARM'S LENGTH TRANSACTION WITH A  MORTGA-
 GEE  LICENSED TO MAKE MORTGAGE LOANS IN THE STATE FOR AN ADVANCE OF CASH
 IN A PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS;
   (III) THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE RELIGIOUS CORPORATION SHALL HAVE GIVEN
 NOTICE FOR NOT LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE  CONGREGATION
 SERVED  BY  THE RELIGIOUS CORPORATION IN A MANNER LIKELY TO BE SEEN BY A
 MAJORITY OF SUCH MEMBERS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PUBLICATION IN ANY
 BULLETIN, NEWSLETTER, OR SIMILAR DOCUMENT NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED  TO  SUCH
 MEMBERS; AND
   (IV)  A  CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS PARA-
 GRAPH EXECUTED BY THE PERSON OR PERSONS EXECUTING THE DEED ON BEHALF  OF
 THE  RELIGIOUS  CORPORATION  UNDER  THE  PENALTIES  OF  PERJURY SHALL BE
 ATTACHED TO AND RECORDED WITH THE MORTGAGE; AND WITH  RESPECT  TO  RELI-
 GIOUS  CORPORATIONS  SUBJECT  TO  SUBDIVISION  TWO,  THREE,  FOUR, FIVE,
 FIVE-A, FIVE-B, OR FIVE-C OF THIS SECTION, SUCH CERTIFICATE  SHALL  HAVE
 ENDORSED  THEREON  THE  CONSENT  OF  THE CHURCH AUTHORITY OR AUTHORITIES
 WHOSE CONSENT WOULD BE REQUIRED UNDER SUCH SUBDIVISIONS OF THIS  SECTION
 BEFORE THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION TO THE COURT.
   9. If a sale, mortgage or lease for a term exceeding five years of any
 real  property of any such religious corporation WITH RESPECT TO WHICH A
 COURT ORDER WAS REQUIRED UNDER SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION has  been
 heretofore  or  shall  be  hereafter  made  and a conveyance or mortgage
 executed and delivered without the authority of  a  court  of  competent
 jurisdiction, obtained as required by law, or not in accordance with its
 directions,  the  court  may,  thereafter,  upon  the application of the
 corporation, or of the grantee or mortgagee in any  such  conveyance  or
 mortgage  or of any person claiming through or under any such grantee or
 mortgagee upon such notice to such corporation, or  its  successor,  and
 such  other  person or persons as may be interested in such property, as
 the court may prescribe, confirm said previously executed conveyance  or
 mortgage, and order and direct the execution and delivery of a confirma-
 tory  deed  or  mortgage, or the recording of such confirmatory order in
 the office where deeds and mortgages are recorded in the county in which
 the property is located; and upon compliance with the  said  order  such
 original  conveyance or mortgage shall be as valid and of the same force
 and  effect  as  if  it  had  been  executed  and  delivered  after  due
 proceedings  had in accordance with the statute and the direction of the

 A. 9983                             3
 
 court.  But no confirmatory order may be  granted  unless  the  consents
 required  in  the first part of this section for a Protestant Episcopal,
 Roman Catholic, Presbyterian church or an incorporated African Methodist
 Episcopal  Zion  church  or an incorporated United Methodist church have
 first been given by the prescribed authority thereof,  either  upon  the
 original application or upon the application for the confirmatory order.
   §  2.  This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to sales
 and mortgages of real property occurring on or after the effective  date
 of this act.