STATE OF NEW YORK
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217
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
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Introduced by Sens. LAVALLE, LARKIN -- 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:
1 Section 1. Section 207-a of the education law, as added by chapter 215
2 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 207-a. Disclosure of gifts made to institutions of higher education
4 by foreign governments, persons and entities. 1. As used in this
5 section: a. The term "foreign government" shall mean any government
6 other than the United States government or the government of a state or
7 a political subdivision thereof and shall include an agent of such
8 government;
9 b. The term "foreign legal entity" shall mean (i) any legal entity
10 created under the laws of a foreign government or (ii) any legal entity
11 created under the laws of the United States or of any state hereof if a
12 majority of the ownership of the stock of such legal entity is directly
13 or indirectly owned legally or beneficially by one or more foreign
14 governments or one or more foreign persons or one or more legal entities
15 created under the laws of a foreign government or if a majority of the
16 membership of any such entity is composed of foreign persons or legal
17 entities created under the laws of a foreign government and shall
18 include an agent of such legal entity;
19 c. The term "foreign person" shall mean any individual who is not a
20 citizen or national of the United States or a trust territory or protec-
21 torate thereof and shall include an agent of such individual; and
22 d. The term "gift" shall mean any endowment, gift, grant, contract,
23 award or property of any kind.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00327-01-5
S. 217 2
1 2. Every institution authorized by the legislature or by the regents
2 of the university of the state of New York to confer academic degrees in
3 this state and any foundation that is associated with an institution
4 authorized by the legislature or by the regents of the university of the
5 state of New York shall disclose the amount, terms, restrictions and
6 requirements attached to or made a part of any gift of a value in excess
7 of one hundred thousand dollars made to such institution by a foreign
8 government, foreign legal entity or foreign person in any fiscal year of
9 the institution. If the foreign government, foreign legal entity or
10 foreign person makes more than one gift to an institution in any fiscal
11 year of such institution, and the total value of those gifts in such
12 fiscal year of the institution exceeds one hundred thousand dollars, the
13 institution shall report all of such gifts received.
14 3. Such information shall be forwarded to the department no later than
15 thirty days after the final day of the fiscal year of the institution.
16 The information shall include:
17 a. the amount and the date of the making of the gift;
18 b. when the gift is conditional, matching or designated for a partic-
19 ular purpose, full details of the conditions, matching provisions or
20 designation, including whether such gift was received from a foreign
21 government, entity or individual;
22 c. the name of the foreign government in the case of a gift by a
23 foreign government; the name of the foreign country in which a foreign
24 entity or foreign person is principally located or resides in the case
25 of a gift by a foreign entity or foreign person.
26 The name of the foreign entity shall be disclosed in the event of a
27 gift which (i) contains conditions or restrictions regarding the control
28 of curricula, employment or termination of faculty, admission of
29 students, student fees or (ii) is contingent upon the agreement of the
30 institution to take specific public positions or actions or to award
31 honorary degrees; and
32 d. the purpose or purposes for which the gift will be used.
33 4. Such information shall be a matter of public record and shall be
34 made available by the department to the general public for review and
35 copying during normal business hours. Further, such information shall
36 be provided to the department in a format determined by the department.
37 The department shall maintain such information in electronic form for
38 its own internal record keeping purposes only.
39 5. If it is determined, by an audit of the state comptroller, city
40 comptroller, or by any other private or independent audit, that an
41 institution subject to the provisions of this section, has failed to
42 comply with any or all of the provisions of this section, the commis-
43 sioner shall impose a fine of not less than one thousand dollars and not
44 more than five thousand dollars, for each occurrence. Such institution
45 shall be given an opportunity to appeal the imposition of such fine
46 pursuant to procedures established by rules or regulations of the
47 commissioner. If a subsequent audit of the state comptroller, city comp-
48 troller, or by any other private or independent audit, finds that such
49 institution has failed to comply with any or all of the provisions of
50 this section, the commissioner shall impose a fine of not less than two
51 thousand dollars, and such institution shall comply with sections one
52 hundred seventy-two, one hundred seventy-two-a, one hundred
53 seventy-two-b, one hundred seventy-two-c and one hundred seventy-two-d
54 of the executive law.
55 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of August next succeeding
56 the date on which it shall have become a law.
