BILL NUMBER:S3452

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to authorize the state comptroller to transfer
custody of funds to the natural heritage trust to be administered as a
permanent endowment for the Rockefeller state park preserve

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To authorize the transfer of an existing endowment, created in 1983
through the donation of private funds, for the care and maintenance of
the Rockefeller State Park Preserve from the Office of the State
Comptroller to the Natural Heritage Trust in order to increase
investment revenue.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill is the legislative intent.

Section 2 authorizes and directs the state comptroller to transfer
three million dollars from the non-expendable trust fund of the
fiduciary fund of the state, together with accrued interest at the
time of transfer, to the natural heritage trust for investment as
directed by this act.

Section 3 provides that upon transfer from the office of state
comptroller, the funds shall be deposited into a dedicated account, to
              

be administered as a permanent endowment and the Natural Heritage
Trust shall invest such funds in accordance with its investment
guidelines.

Section 3 further provides that the natural heritage trust shall
transfer income and earnings from the endowment account to the office
of parks, recreation and historic preservation to be used solely for
the care and maintenance of the Rockefeller state park preserve, in
accordance with the directions and restrictions established by the
John D. Rockefeller III fund. In furtherance of such directions, no
part of the endowment may be used for new capital construction, the
principal shall not be invaded for any purpose, and any income and
earnings in excess of that disbursed for the care and maintenance of
the Rockefeller state park preserve shall accrue to the endowment
account.

Section 4 is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Rockefeller State Park Preserve (the "Preserve"), located in
Westchester County, was created through gifts of land by members of
the Rockefeller family. The Preserve is under the jurisdiction of the
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

In 1983, the John D. Rockefeller III Fund made a gift of three million
dollars to New York State, to create a permanent endowment (the
"Endowment") to be used for the care and maintenance of the Preserve.

Under the terms of the donation, the Endowment is under the custody
and management of the State Comptroller's office. By law, the State


Comptroller is required to invest the Endowment in a very conservative
manner. As a result of the decline in interest rates on bonds and
investment securities over the past decade, the income generated from
the Endowment has decreased over the years from a high of $161,139 in
2006-07, to $4,555 in 2013-14.

The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) was established in 1968 as a public
benefit corporation pursuant to Article 55 of the Arts and Cultural
Affairs Law. The NHT is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of
the Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental
Conservation, the Secretary of State and the Chair of the State
Council of Parks, a statewide parks, recreation and historic
preservation advisory board. The NHT's mission is to receive and
administer gifts, grants and contributions in support of parks,
conservation, outdoor recreation and historic preservation purposes.
The NHT manages more than $25 million of assets, including a number of
endowments that benefit state parks.

Funds held in trust by the NHT are invested in a traditional approach
commonly used by universities, hospitals, community foundations and
nonprofit organizations, generating significantly higher returns than
experienced by the Endowment. Based on the NHT's endowment investment
policy it is expected that the Endowment for the Preserve will
generate approximately 5 percent annually, or $150,000 in the first
year (in comparison to the $4,555 generated in 2013-14 under the State
Comptroller's conservative investment requirements).

Transferring the Endowment to the NHT will increase investment
opportunities and income generation for the Endowment and provide much
needed revenue for the maintenance and care of the Preserve.

This legislation is supported by the Friends of the Rockefeller State
Park Preserve, established in 1997 to encourage public participation
in protecting and maintaining the Preserve, the Alliance for New York
State Parks - a statewide not-for-profit organization that protects
and enhances state parks and historic sites, and members of the
Rockefeller family. The legislative sponsors communicated with the
Office of the State Comptroller and the Office of State Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation in developing the legislation.
The State Comptroller's office does not object to the transfer of the
Endowment to the NHT.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.