•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Committee Votes 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 
  •  
  •  LFIN 
  •  
  •  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A06943 Summary:

BILL NOA06943A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06992-A
 
SPONSORMamdani
 
COSPNSRShrestha, Forrest, Mitaynes, Gallagher, Sayegh
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §116, amd §§102 & 112, N-PC L
 
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.
Go to top

A06943 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6943A
 
SPONSOR: Mamdani
  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   PURPOSE: This bill adds a new section to the not-for-profit corporation law prohibiting not-for-profit corporations from aiding or abetting activity in support of illegal Israeli settlements in violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 or illegal pursuant to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal. Court.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 2 of this bill amends the not-for-profit corporation law by adding a new section 116 to make illegal support of Israeli settlement activity and Israeli war crimes by not-for-profits in New York State. This section elucidates the meaning of settlement activity as aiding and abetting activity by Israeli armed forces or the government of Israel that is illegal pursuant to the Rome Statute of the International Crimi- nal Court or under any of the international treaties signed at Geneva on August 12, 1949, or any protocols, and provides specific examples of such activity: * Unlawful transfer of Israeli civilians into occupied territory * Acts of violence committed by Israeli citizens against protected persons living in occupied territory * Forced transfer or eviction of protected persons within occupied territory, or eviction from occupied territory * Appropriation, expropriation, seizure, destruction, demolition, dismantlement, or confiscation, in whole or in part, of private Palesti- nian land or residential, business, social, or public structures or infrastructure, inhabited or uninhabited Parts C and D also assert 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 of this bill, which may be brought within 10 years. Section 3 amends subparagraph 3-b of paragraph (a) of section 102 of the not-for-profit corporation law to update the definition of "charitable purposes." Section 4 amends paragraph (a) of section 112 of the not-for-profit corporation by adding a new subparagraph 11 to grant the Attorney Gener- al the power to dissolve a non-profit corporation for violation of this bill, section 116. Section 5 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." Article 53 and 147 of the Convention penalize and prohibit the appropriation or destruction of property in the absence of military necessity. However, contrary to this well-established law, the State of Israel has engaged in a pattern of establishing illegal settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since its mili- tary 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 inter- national 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 international humanitarian law." (1) Indeed, the international consensus, since 1967, has been that these Israeli settlements are unlawful. As early as 1980, UN Security Council Resolution 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 condemns the "flagrant violation" of international law, and 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, including war crimes, and has been complicit in violent dislo- cations of Palestinian people. This bill clarifies that New York State not-for-profit corporations 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 and state violence against Palestinians.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: No prior legislative history.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately. (1) https://www.amnesty.ora/enilatest/campaigns/2019/01/ chapter-3-is- raeli-settlements-and-international-law/
Go to top

A06943 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6943--A
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       May 9, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. MAMDANI, SHRESTHA, FORREST, MITAYNES, GALLAGHER
          -- read once and referred to the Committee on  Corporations,  Authori-
          ties  and Commissions -- recommitted to the Committee on Corporations,
          Authorities and Commissions in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2
          -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
          and recommitted to said committee
 
        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:
 
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the  "Not  on  our  dime!:  Ending  New  York funding of Israeli settler
     3  violence act".
     4    § 2. The not-for-profit corporation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
     5  section 116 to read as follows:
     6  § 116. Unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.
     7    (a)  Definitions.  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law to the
     8  contrary, for the purposes of this section, the  following  terms  shall
     9  have the following meanings:
    10    (1) "Unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity" means aiding
    11  and  abetting  activity  by  the Israeli armed forces, the government of
    12  Israel, or citizen thereof, that is illegal pursuant to the Rome Statute
    13  of the International Criminal Court or under any  of  the  international
    14  treaties  signed at Geneva on the twelfth day of August, nineteen forty-
    15  nine, as amended, or any protocol to such convention to which the United
    16  States is a party, including:
    17    (i) the unlawful transfer of Israeli civilians into occupied  territo-
    18  ry;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10667-06-4

        A. 6943--A                          2
 
     1    (ii)  acts of violence committed by Israeli citizens against protected
     2  persons living in occupied territory, including but not limited to homi-
     3  cide, assault, and other acts of physical  violence;  use  of  firearms,
     4  explosives,  or  other  deadly force; the killing or harming of animals,
     5  livestock,  trees,  or  crops;  the destruction, damage, or vandalism of
     6  Palestinian property; or blocking access to Palestinian lands by fencing
     7  off land, erecting structures, or other means;
     8    (iii) the forced transfer or  eviction  of  protected  persons  within
     9  occupied  territory,  or the deportation of protected persons from occu-
    10  pied territory;
    11    (iv) the unilateral acquisition and annexation  of  land  in  occupied
    12  territory; and/or
    13    (v)  the  appropriation,  expropriation, seizure, destruction, demoli-
    14  tion, dismantlement, or confiscation, in whole or in  part,  of  private
    15  Palestinian  land or residential, business, social, or public structures
    16  or infrastructure, inhabited or uninhabited, including but  not  limited
    17  to  homes, apartment buildings, retail shops, food markets, animal shel-
    18  ters, walls, warehouses, water pipes, water storage  facilities,  sewage
    19  systems, electrical lines, roads, medical facilities, and network facil-
    20  ities.
    21    (2) "Occupied territory" means the Israeli-occupied West Bank, includ-
    22  ing East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
    23    (3)  "Protected  persons"  includes civilians in occupied territory in
    24  accordance with international humanitarian law.
    25    (b) Unauthorized support of Israeli  settlement  activity  prohibited.
    26  Unauthorized  support of Israeli settlement activity by a not-for-profit
    27  corporation shall be prohibited as against public policy and  inconsist-
    28  ent with any charitable purpose.
    29    (c) Recovery of civil penalty by attorney general. The attorney gener-
    30  al  may  bring  an action in the name and on behalf of the state against
    31  any trustee, director, manager, or other officer or agent of a  not-for-
    32  profit  corporation, or against a not-for-profit corporation, foreign or
    33  domestic, to recover a sum of not less  than  one  million  dollars  for
    34  knowingly  engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activ-
    35  ities in violation of paragraph (b) of this section.  Such action  shall
    36  be  brought no later than ten years after the commission of the act upon
    37  which such action is based.
    38    (d) Private right of action. An individual damaged by a  violation  of
    39  this  section  may  bring  a civil action against any trustee, director,
    40  manager, or other officer or agent of a not-for-profit  corporation,  or
    41  against  a  not-for-profit  corporation,  foreign or domestic, to enjoin
    42  unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activities by a  not-for-pro-
    43  fit  corporation  in  violation  of  paragraph  (b)  of this section and
    44  recover actual damages for knowingly engaging in such  violations.  Such
    45  action  shall be brought no later than ten years after the commission of
    46  the act upon which such action is based. A court may also  award  attor-
    47  neys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
    48    §  3. Subparagraph 3-b of paragraph (a) of section 102 of the not-for-
    49  profit corporation law, as amended by chapter 23 of the laws of 2014, is
    50  amended to read as follows:
    51    (3-b) "Charitable purposes" of a corporation means one or more of  the
    52  following  purposes:  charitable,  educational,  religious,  scientific,
    53  literary, cultural or for the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children  or
    54  animals.  The  term  "charitable  purposes"  shall  not include any acts
    55  committed in violation of section one hundred sixteen of this article.

        A. 6943--A                          3
 
     1    § 4. Paragraph (a) of section 112 of  the  not-for-profit  corporation
     2  law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 11 to read as follows:
     3    (11)  To  dissolve  a charitable corporation for violations of section
     4  one hundred sixteen of this article.
     5    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
Go to top