established by the State Board of Charities" not inconsistent with legisla tive regulation, and that the State Board has all the power of visitation and inspection necessary to enable it to know whether its rules are complied with. When such private individual or corporation agrees to render the public service, the law imposes an obligation upon it or him to submit to this scrutiny by the State Board of Charities. The State Board has the right to know that the provision made for the care of those who are a public charge is suitable and proper, and that the obligations assumed are fulfilled. This is the limit of its powers and duties concerning these persons or institutions. It has nothing to do with the general business or affairs of an individual or corporation because he or it may incidentally render a public service. Very respectfully yours, JOHN CUNNEEN, Attorney-General. Lump sum appropriations to private charitable institutions for the care and treatment of public dependents, unconstitutional. STATE OF NEW YORK, ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HON. ROBERT W. HILL, Secretary, State Board of Charities, Albany, N. Y.: DEAR SIR. In reply to your favor of the 15th ultimo, requesting an opinion on the legality of the action of the board of supervisors of Clinton county, in entering into an agreement for the care and surgical treatment at the Plattsburgh City Hospital of all such persons in Clinton county as are now, or shall become hereafter dependent and a charge upon the public, and by resolution appropriating the sum of five thousand dollars to said hospital, payment of which is contingent upon the said hospital binding itself to care for the said patients and contingent upon such action of the said board of supervisors being approved by the State Board of Charities. The following provisions of the State Constitution bear directly upon this subject: Article VIII, Section 10. "No county, city, town or village shall hereafter give any money or property or loan its money or credit to or in aid of any individual, association or corporation, or become directly or indirectly the owner of stock in, or bonds of, any association or corporation; nor shall any such county, city, town or village be allowed to incur any indebtedness except for county, city, town or village purposes. This section shall not prevent such county, city, town or village from making such provision for the aid or support of its poor as may be authorized by law." Article VIII, Section 14. Nothing in the Constitution contained shall prevent the Legislature from making such provision for the education and support of the blind, the deaf and dumb, and juvenile delinquents, as to it may seem proper; or prevent any county, city, town or village from providing for the care, support, maintenance and secular education of inmates of orphan asylums, homes for dependent children or correctional institutions, whether under public or private control. Payments by counties, cities, towns and villages to charitable, eleemosynary, correctional and ie. formatory institutions, wholly or partly under private control, for care, support and maintenance, may be authorized, but shall not be required by the Legislature. No such payments shall be made for any inmate of such institutions who is not received and retained therein pursuant to rules established by the State Board of Charities. Such rules shall be subject to the control of the Legislature by general laws." Section 14 of article VIII was added to the Constitution by the Constitutional Convention of 1894, for the purpose of preventing abuses in the waste of public moneys by charitable corporations. To carry out this purpose chapter 754 of the Laws of 1895, under which boards of supervisors derive their power, was enacted. The wording of section 14, above quoted, indicated a design on the part of the framers of the Constitution to base payments of money to private charitable corporations upon the number of inmates received and retained therein pursuant to the rules of the State Board of Charities, and thereby to prohibit appropriations for future care made without regard to the number of inmates received, or whether or not compliance should be had with the rules of the State Board of Charities. This view is sustained in the case of Mount Sinai Hospital v. Hyman, 92 App. Div. 270, 271, where the court held: "It is the evident policy of the State to deal in connection with such institutions having regard to the continued discharge of the public functions and providing funds to aid in the discharge of current obligations thereby created. The appropriation and payment of money from time to time as necessity requires enables the city at all times to control the proper application of the proceeds and to increase, diminish or withhold the amount appropriated in accordance with the needs of the institution, and fulfillment upon its part of the public obligation which it has assumed." The resolution of the board of supervisors in question would appropriate and pay moneys of the county to the hospital without regard to the number of inmates who may be received or retained therein. There may be many or no dependent poor requiring the care of the hospital. The payment is made at the present time for definite future services, and the county has no security for future compliance with the rules of the State Board of Charities, or for the care of a single dependent person, except the agreement of a corporation which may cease operations before it has rendered any service under the contract. In my opinion this does not meet the requirements of the Constitution, the intention of which was to provide for payment of services actually rendered and not to enable gifts or endowments. Yours truly, WILLIAM S. JACKSON, Institutions for the education of children under private control, receiving money from public sources, are subject to supervision, inspection and rules of the State Board of Charities. STATE OF NEW YORK, ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE, ALBANY, July 21, 1909. DR. ROBERT W. HILL, Secretary, State Board of Charities, Albany, N. Y.: DEAR SIR. I have your letter of the 20th inst., in which you ask my opinion upon certain questions in relation to the receipt of public money for the education of children by institutions under private control. You state that there are certain institutions under private control, established for the care of children and mainly sustained by voluntary contributions or the interest upon invested funds, which also receive money from public sources. You ask whether the receipt by such institutions of this money from the State or any city, town or village, comes within the provisions of section 14, article VIII, of the Constitution and renders such institution subject to the visitation and inspection of the State Board of Charities. Section 14, article VIII of the Constitution provides in part as follows: "Payments by counties, cities, towns and villages to charitable, eleemosynary, correctional and reformatory institutions, wholly or partly under private control, for care, support and maintenance, may be authorized, but shall not be required by the Legislature. No such payments shall be made for any inmate of such institutions who is not received and retained therein pursuant to rules established by the State Board of Charities. Such rules shall be subject to the control of the Legislature by general laws." It follows from this that no payments of public moneys can be made by any county, city, town or village to any such institutions for any inmate not received and retained pursuant to the rules of the State Board of Charities. It is clear, therefore, that such institution must be subject to the supervision and inspection of the State Board of Charities for the enforcement and promulgation of such rules. The constitutional provision does not apply, however, to payments made by the State. Very truly yours, EDWARD R. O'MALLEY, § 15. Commissioners of the state board of charities and commissioners of the state commission in lunacy, now holding office, shall be continued in office for the term for which they were appointed, respectively, unless the legislature shall otherwise provide. The legislature may confer upon the commissions and upon the board mentioned in the foregoing sections any additional powers that are not inconsistent with other provisions of the constitution. STATUTE LAWS. AN ACT relating to State Charities, constituting chapter 55 of the Consolidated Laws. Chapter 57, Laws of 1909 as amended by chapters 149, 240, 258, 339 and 340 of the Laws of 1909; chapters 47, 133, 260, 376 and 449 of 1910; chapters 9, 172, 305, 405, 447, 486, 555, 588, 601, 609 and 843 of 1911; chapters 310 and 448 of the Laws of 1912; chapters 173, 605, 662 and 663 of the Laws of 1913; chapters 39, 40, 165, 166, 361, 405 and 517 of the Laws of 1914; and chapters 121, 158 and 388 of the Laws of 1915. Article STATE CHARITIES LAW. 1. Short title; definitions (§§ 1, 2). 2. State board of charities (§§ 3-20). 3. State charities' aid association (§§ 30-32). 4. Regulation of state charitable institutions (§§ 40-51). 5. Syracuse state institution for feeble-minded children (§§ 60-70.) 6. State custodial asylum for feeble-minded women (S$ 80-83). 7. Rome State Custodial Asylum (§§ 90-95). 8. Craig colony for epileptics (§§ 100-116). 9. New York state hospital for the care of crippled and deformed children (§§ 130–139). 10. New York state hospital for the treatment of incipient pulmonary tuberculosis (§§ 150-163). 11. Institutions for juvenile delinquents (§§ 180-214). 12. House of refuge and reformatory for women (S$ 220-233). relief corps home 13. New York state woman's relief (S$ 250-258). 14. Thomas Indian School (§§ 270-276). 15. Licensing dispensaries (§§ 290–296). 16. Licenses for placing out destitute children (SS 300-308). [20] Article 17. Aged, decrepit and mentally enfeebled persons ($$ 320-324). 18. Care of inebriate women (§§ 340-348). 19. Burnham industrial farm (§§ 360-372). 22. General provisions applicable to charitable institu- 23. Laws repealed; when to take effect (§§ 470, 471). ARTICLE 1 Short Title; Definitions Section 1. Short title. 2. Definitions. § 1. Short title. This chapter shall be known as the "State Charities Law." § 2. Definitions. The term "state charitable institutions," when used in this chapter, shall include all institutions of a charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory character, supported in whole or in part by the state, except institutions for the instruction of the deaf and dumb and the blind, and such institutions which, by section eleven, article eight of the constitution, are made subject to the visitation and inspection of the commission in lunacy or the prison commission, whether managed or controlled by the state or by private corporations, societies or associations. ARTICLE 2 State Board of Charities Section 3. State board of charities. 4. Officers of the board. 5. Compensation and expenses of commissioners. 6. Meetings and effect of nonattendance. 7. Office room and supplies. 8. Official seal, certificates and subpoenas. 10. Visitation, inspection and supervision of institutions. |