Section 14-201
§ 14-201 Regulation of solicitation by law enforcement affiliated
organizations. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
1. "Law enforcement affiliated organization." a. Any organization,
association, or conference of present or former members of the force,
sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, detectives, investigators, constables or
similar law enforcement officers or peace officers or police officers as
defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20 of
the criminal procedure law, or any auxiliary or affiliate of such an
organization, association, or conference composed of one or more such
organizations.
b. Any organization, association or conference established for the
benefit of, benevolence towards or support of present or former members
of the force, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, detectives, investigators,
constables or similar law enforcement officers or peace officers or
police officers as defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four
of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, or the families of such
law enforcement personnel.
2. "Professional fund raiser." Any person who for compensation or
other consideration plans, conducts, manages, or carries on any drive or
campaign in the city for the purpose of soliciting funds or
contributions for or on behalf of any law enforcement affiliated
organization, or who engages in the business of, or holds himself or
herself out to persons in the city as independently engaged in the
business of soliciting contributions for such purposes.
3. "Professional solicitor." Any person who is employed or retained
for compensation by a professional fund raiser to solicit funds or
contributions on behalf of any law enforcement affiliated organization
from persons in the city.
Section 14-202
§ 14-202 Registration of law enforcement affiliated organizations. No
law enforcement affiliated organization shall solicit funds or
contributions from the public, or have funds or contributions solicited
on its behalf, unless it has filed a registration statement with the
commissioner or the commissioner's designee in accordance with the
provisions of this section. Each registration statement shall be refiled
and updated every twelve (12) months so long as the law enforcement
affiliated organization is engaged in solicitation activities in the
city. Such statements shall be made available to the public in a manner
determined by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee and shall
contain the following information:
1. The name of the organization and the purpose for which it was
organized;
2. The principal address of the organization;
3. A statement indicating whether the organization intends to use
professional fund raisers to solicit funds or contributions from the
public;
4. The general purpose or purposes for which the contributions
solicited shall be used;
5. The names and business addresses of the person or persons in direct
charge of conducting the solicitation;
6. The names and business addresses of all professional fund raisers
who will be connected with the solicitation;
7. A statement to the effect that the fact of registration will not be
used or represented in any way as an endorsement by the city or by the
department of the solicitation conducted thereunder;
8. Documents verifying the information provided under provisions one
through six above, including all contracts and subsequent amendments
thereto between a law enforcement affiliated organization and any
professional fund raiser with whom it does business;
9. Once each year on the fifteenth day of February, a report shall be
filed with the commissioner stating the amount of funds or contributions
collected in the preceding calendar year, the amount expended and the
specific recipients and purposes for which said amount was expended, the
administrative expenses incurred in said period including a statement of
the fees or other charges by any professional fund raisers and the
amount paid to same.
10. A statement to the effect that the organization acknowledges that
the information contained in the registration statement shall be made
available to the public in a manner determined by the commissioner or
the commissioner's designee.
Section 14-203
§ 14-203 Representation. During the course of each and every
solicitation for funds or contributions on behalf of a law enforcement
affiliated organization and on an acknowledgement which shall be mailed
to the person and/or persons who agree to contribute pursuant to the
solicitation, the fund raiser, solicitor or any other person acting on
behalf of the law enforcement affiliated organization shall make the
following representations.
1. The name and address of the organization represented;
2. A description of the programs in which the organization is actually
engaged and for which the funds or contributions will be used;
3. A statement of the percentage of the funds collected during the
preceding year which were actually used for the programs in which the
organization was then engaged, and that the remaining funds were used
for fund raising activities.
Section 14-204
§ 14-204 Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful to solicit funds or
contributions on behalf of a law enforcement affiliated organization:
1. By using a name, symbol or statement so closely related to that
used by another law enforcement affiliated organization or governmental
agency that the use thereof would tend to confuse or mislead the public,
including the use of statement or materials that would indicate that
such funds or contributions were being raised for the department or the
patrolman's benevolent association of the city of New York, unless such
agency or association shall have given its written permission for the
raising of such funds for it, and the use of its name in connection with
the solicitation of funds;
2. By means of a false pretense, representation or promise which
includes representing:
(i) that the professional fund raisers or solicitors are members of
the police force or employees of any law enforcement agency;
(ii) that funds collected will be used to aid surviving spouses,
domestic partners or children of members of the police force slain in
the line of duty or that the funds collected will be used for any other
charitable program unless the organization is actually engaged in such a
program;
(iii) that contributors will receive special benefits from members of
the police force;
(iv) that contributions are tax exempt as a charitable contribution or
as a business expense unless they so qualify under the applicable
provisions of the internal revenue codes;
(v) by any manner, means, practice or device that misleads the person
solicited as to the use of the funds or the nature of the organization.
Section 14-205
§ 14-205 Criminal and civil penalties. a. Any person who violates or
assists in the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than one
thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars or up to one year
imprisonment, or both. Each such violation shall be a separate and
distinct offense.
b. Such person shall also be subject to a civil penalty of not less
than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars for each violation.
Each such violation shall be a separate and distinct offense.
Section 14-206
§ 14-206 Enforcement actions or proceedings. The civil penalties
prescribed by this chapter shall be recovered by an action or proceeding
in any court of competent jurisdiction. All such actions or proceedings
shall be brought in the name of the city by the corporation counsel. In
addition, the corporation counsel may institute any other action or
proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction that may be
appropriate or necessary for the enforcement of the provisions of this
chapter, including actions to secure permanent injunctions enjoining any
acts or practices which constitute a violation of any provision of this
chapter, mandating compliance with the provisions of this chapter or for
such other relief as may be appropriate. In any such action or
proceeding the city may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction, or
to a judge or justice thereof, for a temporary restraining order or
preliminary injunction enjoining and restraining all persons from
violating any provision of this chapter, mandating compliance with the
provisions of this chapter, or for such other relief as may be
appropriate, until the hearing and determination of such action or
proceeding and the entry of final judgment or order therein. The court,
or judge or justice thereof, to whom such application is made, is hereby
authorized forthwith to make any or all of the orders above specified,
as may be required in such application, with or without notice, and to
make such other or further orders or directions as may be necessary to
render the same effectual. No undertaking shall be required as a
condition to the granting or issuing of such order, or by reason
thereof.
Section 14-207
§ 14-207 Scope of remedies. The remedies and penalties provided for
herein shall be in addition to any other remedies and penalties provided
under other provisions of law.
Section 14-208
§ 14-208 Construction. The provisions of this chapter shall not be
construed to apply to any law enforcement affiliated organizations when
solicitation of contributions is confined to their membership. In
addition, the provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to apply
to any person or law enforcement affiliated organization which solicits
contributions for the relief of any individual, specified by name at the
time of solicitation, if all of the contributions collected, without any
deductions whatsoever, are turned over to the named beneficiary.
To the extent possible under law, Friends of Devin Balkind for Public Advocate has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to New York City Administrative Code. This work is published from: United States.
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