S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6183
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 3, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered
   printed,  and  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corpo-
   rations, Authorities and Commissions
 
 AN ACT to amend the religious corporations law, in relation to requiring
   the Catholic Archdiocese follow certain procedures during the  consol-
   idation or merger of churches
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 13 of the religious corporations law, as amended by
 chapter 549 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   § 13. Consolidation or merger of incorporated churches.  Two  or  more
 incorporated  churches  may enter into an agreement, under their respec-
 tive corporate seals, for the consolidation or  merger  of  such  corpo-
 rations,  setting  forth  the  name  of  the proposed new corporation or
 surviving corporation, the denomination, if  any,  to  which  it  is  to
 belong,  and  if  the  churches  of such denomination have more than one
 method of choosing trustees, by which of such methods the  trustees  are
 to  be  chosen, the number of such trustees, the names of the persons to
 be the first trustees of the new corporation, and the date of its  first
 annual  corporate  meeting.  Such  an  agreement  shall not be valid for
 United Methodist churches unless proposed by  a  majority  vote  of  the
 charge  conference  of each church and approved by the superintendent or
 superintendents of the district or districts in which the  consolidating
 churches are located, and by the majority of the members of each of such
 churches,  over  the  age  of  twenty-one years, present and voting at a
 meeting thereof held in the usual place of public worship and called for
 the purpose of considering such agreement by announcement made at public
 service in such churches on two Sundays, the first  not  less  than  ten
 days  next  preceding  the date of such meeting. SUCH AN AGREEMENT SHALL
 NOT BE VALID FOR ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES UNLESS PROPOSED BY  A  MAJORITY
 VOTE  OF THE PARISH COUNCILS AND TRUSTEES OF EACH CHURCH AND APPROVED BY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10643-01-3
              

 S. 6183                             2
 
 THE CARDINAL OR CARDINALS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OR  ARCHDIOCESES  IN  WHICH
 THE  CONSOLIDATING  CHURCHES  ARE  LOCATED,  AND  BY THE MAJORITY OF THE
 MEMBERS OF EACH OF SUCH CHURCHES, OVER  THE  AGE  OF  TWENTY-ONE  YEARS,
 PRESENT  AND  VOTING  AT  A  MEETING  THEREOF HELD IN THE USUAL PLACE OF
 PUBLIC WORSHIP AND CALLED FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING SUCH  AGREEMENT
 BY  ANNOUNCEMENT MADE AT PUBLIC SERVICE IN SUCH CHURCHES ON TWO SUNDAYS,
 THE FIRST NOT LESS THAN TEN DAYS NEXT PRECEDING THE DATE OF  SUCH  MEET-
 ING.  Such  agreement  shall not be valid unless approved in the case of
 Protestant Episcopal churches by the bishop and  standing  committee  of
 the  diocese  in  which  such  churches  are situated and in the case of
 churches of other denominations by the governing  body  of  the  denomi-
 nation,  if  any, to which each church belongs, having jurisdiction over
 such church. Each corporation shall thereupon make a  separate  petition
 to  the  supreme  court for an order consolidating or merging the corpo-
 rations, setting forth the denomination, if any,  to  which  the  church
 belongs,  that the consent of the governing body to the consolidation or
 merger, if any, of  that  denomination  having  jurisdiction  over  such
 church has been obtained, the agreement therefor, and a statement of all
 the  property  and  liabilities and the amount and sources of the annual
 income of such petitioning corporation. In its discretion the court  may
 direct  that  notice  of  the  hearing  of such petition be given to the
 parties interested therein in such manner and for such time  as  it  may
 prescribe.  After hearing all the parties interested, present and desir-
 ing to be heard, the court may make an order for  the  consolidation  or
 merger of the corporations on the terms of such agreement and such other
 terms  and  conditions  as it may prescribe, specifying the name of such
 new or surviving corporation and the trustees thereof, and the method by
 which their successors shall be chosen and the date of its first or next
 annual corporate meeting. When such order is made and duly entered,  the
 persons  constituting  such consolidated or merged corporations shall be
 or become an incorporated church by, and said petitioning churches shall
 become consolidated or merged under, the name designated in  the  order,
 and  the  trustees  therein named shall be the trustees thereof, and the
 future trustees thereof shall be chosen by  the  method  therein  desig-
 nated,  and  all  the  estate, rights, powers and property of whatsoever
 nature belonging to either corporation shall without further act or deed
 be vested in and transferred to the  new  or  surviving  corporation  as
 effectually  as  they  were  vested in or belonging to the former corpo-
 rations; and the said new or surviving corporation shall be  liable  for
 all  the  debts  and  liabilities of the former corporations in the same
 manner and as effectually as if  said  debts  or  liabilities  had  been
 contracted  or incurred by the new or surviving corporation. A certified
 copy of such order shall be recorded in the book for  recording  certif-
 icates  of  incorporation  in  each  county  clerk's office in which the
 certificate of incorporation of each consolidating or merging church was
 recorded; or if no such certificate was so recorded, then in the clerk's
 office of the county in which the principal place of worship or  princi-
 pal office of the new or surviving corporation is, or is intended to be,
 situated.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.