SECTIONS 9230 - California Statutes

CORPORATIONS CODE

SECTION 9230

9230. (a) Except as the Attorney General is empowered to act in the
enforcement of the criminal laws of this state, and except as the
Attorney General is expressly empowered by subdivisions (b), (c) and
(d), the Attorney General shall have no powers with respect to any
corporation incorporated or classified as a religious corporation
under or pursuant to this code.
(b) The Attorney General shall have authority to institute an
action or proceeding under Section 803 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, to obtain judicial determination that a corporation is not
properly qualified or classified as a religious corporation under
the provisions of this part.
(c) The Attorney General shall have the authority (1) expressly
granted with respect to any subject or matter covered by Sections
9660 to 9690, inclusive; (2) to initiate criminal procedures to
prosecute violations of the criminal laws, and upon conviction seek
restitution as punishment; and (3) to represent as legal counsel any
other agency or department of the State of California expressly
empowered to act with respect to the status of religious
corporations, or expressly empowered to regulate activities in which
religious corporations, as well as other entities, may engage.
(d) Where property has been solicited and received from the
general public, based on a representation that it would be used for a
specific charitable purpose other than general support of the
corporation's activities, and has been used in a manner contrary to
that specific charitable purpose for which the property was
solicited, the Attorney General may institute an action to enforce
the specific charitable purpose for which the property was solicited;
provided (1) that before bringing such action the Attorney General
shall notify the corporation that an action will be brought unless
the corporation takes immediate steps to correct the improper
diversion of funds, and (2) that in the event it becomes impractical
or impossible for the corporation to devote the property to the
specified charitable purpose, or that the directors or members of the
corporation in good faith expressly conclude and record in writing
that the stated purpose for which the property was contributed is no
longer in accord with the policies of the corporation, then the
directors or members of the corporation may approve or ratify in good
faith the use of such property for the general purposes of the
corporation rather than for the specific purpose for which it was
contributed.
As used in this section, "solicited from the general public" means
solicitations directed to the general public, or to any individual
or group of individuals who are not directly affiliated with the
soliciting organization and includes, but is not limited to,
instances where property has been solicited on an individual basis,
such as door to door, direct mail, face to face, or similar
solicitations, as well as solicitations on a more general level to
the general public, or a portion thereof, such as through the media,
including newspapers, television, radio, or similar solicitations.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any
individual rights of action which were accorded under law in
existence prior to the enactment of Chapter 1324 of the Statutes of
1980.
As used in this section, "individual rights of action" include
only rights enforceable by private individuals and do not include any
right of action of a public officer in an official capacity
regardless of whether the officer brings the action on behalf of a
private individual.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require express
statutory authorization by the California Legislature of any
otherwise lawful and duly authorized action by any agency of local
government.