15 USC 80a-3a – Protection of philanthropy under State law
(a) Registration requirements
A security issued by or any interest or participation in any pooled income fund, collective trust fund, collective investment fund, or similar fund that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under section 80a-3(c)(10)(B) of this title, and the offer or sale thereof, shall be exempt from any statute or regulation of a State that requires registration or qualification of securities.
(b) Treatment of charitable organizations
Terms Used In 15 USC 80a-3a
- charitable organization: means an organization described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 170(c) or section 501(c)(3) of title 26. See 15 USC 80a-3
- Company: means a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, a trust, a fund, or any organized group of persons whether incorporated or not. See 15 USC 80a-2
- Director: means any director of a corporation or any person performing similar functions with respect to any organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, including any natural person who is a member of a board of trustees of a management company created as a common-law trust. See 15 USC 80a-2
- investment company: means any issuer which&mdash. See 15 USC 80a-3
- officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
- Person: means a natural person or a company. See 15 USC 80a-2
- Security: means any note, stock, treasury stock, security future, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement, collateral-trust certificate, preorganization certificate or subscription, transferable share, investment contract, voting-trust certificate, certificate of deposit for a security, fractional undivided interest in oil, gas, or other mineral rights, any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security (including a certificate of deposit) or on any group or index of securities (including any interest therein or based on the value thereof), or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a "security" or any certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing. See 15 USC 80a-2
- State: means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or any other possession of the United States. See 15 USC 80a-2
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
No charitable organization, or any trustee, director, officer, employee, or volunteer of a charitable organization acting within the scope of such person‘s employment or duties, shall be required to register as, or be subject to regulation as, a dealer, broker, agent, or investment adviser under the securities laws of any State because such organization or person buys, holds, sells, or trades in securities for its own account in its capacity as trustee or administrator of, or otherwise on behalf of or for the account of one or more of the following:
(1) a charitable organization;
(2) a fund that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under section 80a-3(c)(10)(B) of this title; or
(3) a trust or other donative instrument described in section 80a-3(c)(10)(B) of this title, or the settlors (or potential settlors) or beneficiaries of any such trusts or other instruments.
(c) State action
Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), during the 3-year period beginning on December 8, 1995, a State may enact a statute that specifically refers to this section and provides prospectively that this section shall not preempt the laws of that State referred to in this section.
(d) Definitions
For purposes of this section—
(1) the term “charitable organization” means an organization described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 170(c) or section 501(c)(3) of title 26;
(2) the term “security” has the same meaning as in section 78c of this title; and
(3) the term “State” means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.