NY State Senate Bill 2023-S6992

Senate Bill S6992

2023-2024 Legislative Session

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions 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
Jan 03, 2024	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
May 16, 2023	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions

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2023-S6992 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6943
Current Committee:: Senate Corporations, Authorities And Commissions
Law Section:: Not-for-Profit Corporation Law
Laws Affected:: Add §116, amd §§102 & 112, N-PC L

2023-S6992 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the "Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli settler violence act" to prohibit not-for-profit corporations from engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity; allows for recovery of a civil penalty by the state attorney general; creates a private right of action for violations.

2023-S6992 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6992

SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to
establishing the "Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli
settler violence act" to prohibit not-for-profit corporations from
engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill adds a new section to the not-for-profit corporation law
prohibiting not-for-profit corporations from aiding or abetting activity
in violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Section 1 of this bill amends the not-for-profit corporation law by
adding a new section 116 regarding support of illegal settlement activ-
ity by not-forprofits in New York State. This section provides
restrictions regarding aiding and abetting activity that is illegal
under any of the international treaties signed at Geneva on August 12,
1949, or any protocols, and provides specific examples of such activity
to include:

*Unlawful transfer of civilians into occupied territory

*Acts of violence committed by citizens against protected persons living
in occupied territory

*Forced transfer or eviction of protected persons within occupied terri-
tory, or eviction from occupied territory

*Appropriation, expropriation, seizure, destruction, demolition, disman-
tlement, or confiscation, in whole or in part, of private Palestinian
land or residential, business, social, or public structures or infras-
tructure, inhabited or uninhabited

Parts C and D also provide for civil recovery rights by the Attorney
General or private individuals against not-for-profit corporations or
their agents, officers or directors for knowingly engaging in
violations, which may be brought within ten years.

Section 2 amends subparagraph 3-b of paragraph (a) of section 102 of the
not-for-profit corporation law to update the definition of "charitable
purposes," with respect to purposes that would be violations of the new
section of law created by this bill.

Section 3 amends paragraph (a) of section 112 of the not-for-profit
corporation law by adding a new subparagraph 11 to grant the Attorney
General the power to dissolve a non-profit corporation for a violation
of this bill.

Section 4 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides that an "Occupying
Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population
into the territory it occupies." It also prohibits the "individual or
mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons
from occupied territory." However, contrary to this well-established
law, the State of Israel has engaged in a pattern of establighilig ille-
gal settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, partithafar-
ly since its militaryò occupation of the region in 1967. The European
Union (EU) has explicitly recognized that "settlement building anywhere
in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, is
illegal under international law," and "constitutes an obstacle to
peace."  Nonetheless, in the words of Amnesty International, "Israel's
policy of settling its civilians in occupied Palestinian territory and
displacing the local population contravenes fundamental rules of inter-
national humanitarian law."

Indeed, the international consensus since 1967 has been that these
settlements are unlawful. As early as 1980, UN Security Council Resol-
ution 465 called on the State of Israel "to dismantle the existing
settlements and, in particular, to cease, on an urgent basis, the estab-
lishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territo-
ries occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem." The International
Committee of the Red Cross and the Conference of High Contracting
Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention have reaffirmed that settlements
violate international humanitarian law. The illegality of the settle-
ments was similarly reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334,
passed in December 2016, which reiterates the Security Council's call on
the State of Israel to cease all settlement activities in the occupied
territories.

Despite the clear illegality of this pattern of conduct, which has led
to the expulsion and dispossession of Palestinians from their land
(often in a violent manner), this practice has continued. Moreover,
these illegal settlement activities have been funded by organizations
here in New York State. In fact, between 2017 and 2019 alone, organiza-
tions that are known to primarily fund illegal settler activities
fundraised over $144 million in New York State. This funding stream is
known to sustain illegal settler activity, and has enabled settlements
to significantly expand in recent years. Although they are in direct
violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, these
organizations masquerade as charities, and funnel hundreds of millions
of dollars to illegal settlement activities, while enjoying tax-exempt
status in New York. In short, New York State is effectively subsidizing
illegal activity abroad, and has been complicit in violent dislocations
of Palestinian people.

This bill clarifies that New York State charities cannot subsidize such
illegal activity, and prevents non-profit corporations from abusing
their tax-exempt status to reinforce and further the State of Israel's
illegal settlement expansion.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S6992 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6992
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BRISPORT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
   and Commissions
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  not-for-profit  corporation law, in relation to
   establishing the "Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli
   settler violence act" to  prohibit  not-for-profit  corporations  from
   engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the  "Not  on  our  dime!:  Ending  New  York funding of Israeli settler
 violence act".
   § 2. The not-for-profit corporation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 116 to read as follows:
 § 116. UNAUTHORIZED SUPPORT OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY.
   (A)  DEFINITIONS.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE
 CONTRARY, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE  FOLLOWING  TERMS  SHALL
 HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (1) "UNAUTHORIZED SUPPORT OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY" MEANS AIDING
 AND  ABETTING  ACTIVITY BY THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL, OR CITIZEN THEREOF,
 THAT IS ILLEGAL UNDER ANY OF THE INTERNATIONAL TREATIES SIGNED AT GENEVA
 ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF AUGUST, NINETEEN FORTY-NINE, AS  AMENDED,  OR  ANY
 PROTOCOL  TO  SUCH  CONVENTION  TO  WHICH  THE UNITED STATES IS A PARTY,
 INCLUDING:
   (I) THE UNLAWFUL TRANSFER OF ISRAELI CIVILIANS INTO OCCUPIED  TERRITO-
 RY;
   (II)  ACTS OF VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY ISRAELI CITIZENS AGAINST PROTECTED
 PERSONS LIVING IN OCCUPIED TERRITORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO HOMI-
 CIDE, ASSAULT, AND OTHER ACTS OF PHYSICAL  VIOLENCE;  USE  OF  FIREARMS,
 EXPLOSIVES,  OR  OTHER  DEADLY FORCE; THE KILLING OR HARMING OF ANIMALS,
 LIVESTOCK, TREES, OR CROPS; THE DESTRUCTION,  DAMAGE,  OR  VANDALISM  OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10667-04-3

 S. 6992                             2
 
 PALESTINIAN PROPERTY; OR BLOCKING ACCESS TO PALESTINIAN LANDS BY FENCING
 OFF LAND, ERECTING STRUCTURES, OR OTHER MEANS;
   (III)  THE  FORCED  TRANSFER  OR  EVICTION OF PROTECTED PERSONS WITHIN
 OCCUPIED TERRITORY, OR THE DEPORTATION OF PROTECTED PERSONS  FROM  OCCU-
 PIED TERRITORY;
   (IV)  THE  UNILATERAL  ACQUISITION  AND ANNEXATION OF LAND IN OCCUPIED
 TERRITORY; AND/OR
   (V) THE APPROPRIATION, EXPROPRIATION,  SEIZURE,  DESTRUCTION,  DEMOLI-
 TION,  DISMANTLEMENT,  OR  CONFISCATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, OF PRIVATE
 PALESTINIAN LAND OR RESIDENTIAL, BUSINESS, SOCIAL, OR PUBLIC  STRUCTURES
 OR  INFRASTRUCTURE,  INHABITED OR UNINHABITED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
 TO HOMES, APARTMENT BUILDINGS, RETAIL SHOPS, FOOD MARKETS, ANIMAL  SHEL-
 TERS,  WALLS,  WAREHOUSES, WATER PIPES, WATER STORAGE FACILITIES, SEWAGE
 SYSTEMS, ELECTRICAL LINES, ROADS, MEDICAL FACILITIES, AND NETWORK FACIL-
 ITIES.
   (2) "OCCUPIED TERRITORY" MEANS THE ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK, INCLUD-
 ING EAST JERUSALEM.
   (3) "PROTECTED PERSONS" INCLUDES CIVILIANS IN  OCCUPIED  TERRITORY  IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW.
   (B)  UNAUTHORIZED  SUPPORT  OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY PROHIBITED.
 UNAUTHORIZED SUPPORT OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY BY A  NOT-FOR-PROFIT
 CORPORATION  SHALL BE PROHIBITED AS AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY AND INCONSIST-
 ENT WITH ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSE.
   (C) RECOVERY OF CIVIL PENALTY BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. THE ATTORNEY GENER-
 AL MAY BRING AN ACTION IN THE NAME AND ON BEHALF OF  THE  STATE  AGAINST
 ANY  TRUSTEE, DIRECTOR, MANAGER, OR OTHER OFFICER OR AGENT OF A NOT-FOR-
 PROFIT CORPORATION, OR AGAINST A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION, FOREIGN  OR
 DOMESTIC,  TO  RECOVER  A  SUM  OF NOT LESS THAN ONE MILLION DOLLARS FOR
 KNOWINGLY ENGAGING IN UNAUTHORIZED SUPPORT OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT  ACTIV-
 ITIES  IN VIOLATION OF PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SECTION.  SUCH ACTION SHALL
 BE BROUGHT NO LATER THAN TEN YEARS AFTER THE COMMISSION OF THE ACT  UPON
 WHICH SUCH ACTION IS BASED.
   (D)  PRIVATE  RIGHT OF ACTION. AN INDIVIDUAL DAMAGED BY A VIOLATION OF
 THIS SECTION MAY BRING A CIVIL ACTION  AGAINST  ANY  TRUSTEE,  DIRECTOR,
 MANAGER,  OR  OTHER OFFICER OR AGENT OF A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION, OR
 AGAINST A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION, FOREIGN  OR  DOMESTIC,  TO  ENJOIN
 UNAUTHORIZED  SUPPORT OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT ACTIVITIES BY A NOT-FOR-PRO-
 FIT CORPORATION IN VIOLATION  OF  PARAGRAPH  (B)  OF  THIS  SECTION  AND
 RECOVER  ACTUAL  DAMAGES FOR KNOWINGLY ENGAGING IN SUCH VIOLATIONS. SUCH
 ACTION SHALL BE BROUGHT NO LATER THAN TEN YEARS AFTER THE COMMISSION  OF
 THE  ACT  UPON WHICH SUCH ACTION IS BASED. A COURT MAY ALSO AWARD ATTOR-
 NEYS' FEES TO A PREVAILING PLAINTIFF.
   § 3. Subparagraph 3-b of paragraph (a) of section 102 of the  not-for-
 profit corporation law, as amended by chapter 23 of the laws of 2014, is
 amended to read as follows:
   (3-b)  "Charitable purposes" of a corporation means one or more of the
 following  purposes:  charitable,  educational,  religious,  scientific,
 literary,  cultural  or  for  the  prevention  of cruelty to children or
 animals. THE TERM "CHARITABLE  PURPOSES"  SHALL  NOT  INCLUDE  ANY  ACTS
 COMMITTED IN VIOLATION OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   §  4.  Paragraph  (a) of section 112 of the not-for-profit corporation
 law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 11 to read as follows:
   (11) TO DISSOLVE A CHARITABLE CORPORATION FOR  VIOLATIONS  OF  SECTION
 ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Anonymous

7 months ago

Antisemitic trash bill. Stop policing where Jews donate their money and start making it safer for Jews in your districts which are exploding with anti Jewish violence. I realize you don’t think you’re antisemtic writing bills like this but that’s exactly how unconscious bias works. Have any of you even thought to see if you’re writing legislation that mirrors what took place in the early early years of nazi germany before the holocaust (hint: you are.)

Anonymous

5 months ago

The bill is not anti-Semitic. Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic. Furthermore, the bill is very specific about what limitations it would place on non-profits who that give money to aid and abet Israel’s illegal occupation of West Bank. No one should be above the law, including international law. New York should stop sending money overseas anyway and focus on fixing problems here at home.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S6992

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