Municipal foundation; information on legal supervision

Local, district-municipal and district-municipal foundations (municipal foundations) are foundations under civil or public law whose purpose lies within the scope of the respective municipal tasks and does not extend significantly beyond the territorial scope of the local authority (municipality, district or county). Unless otherwise specified in the foundation statutes, they are administered and represented by the bodies responsible for the administration and representation of the respective local authority (e.g. municipal council, first mayor).

For their protection, foundations that pursue public purposes (with the exception of church and state-administered foundations) are subject to legal supervision by the state (foundation supervision). For certain tasks of foundation supervision, the locally competent legal supervisory authority takes the place of the foundation authorities in the case of municipal foundations administered by municipalities, counties and districts. This concerns the tasks under Part 2 of the Bavarian Foundation Act (BayStG) with the exception of the provisions of Art. 12 to 14 BayStG, which are not applicable to municipal, municipally administered foundations, as well as the tasks under Art. 17 and 18 BayStG with the exception of Art. 18 No. 2 BayStG, which is also not applicable to these foundations. In this respect, the district offices are responsible for municipal foundations that are administered by a municipality belonging to a district. As legal supervisory authorities, the governments are responsible for the aforementioned tasks of foundation supervision for municipal foundations that are administered by independent cities and districts. The State Ministry of the Interior, Sport and Integration is responsible for the aforementioned tasks of foundation supervision for municipal foundations that are administered by the districts. Otherwise, the governments are responsible as foundation authorities for municipal foundations, even if these are administered by a municipality.

The foundation and legal supervisory authorities should advise, promote and protect the municipal foundations in the fulfillment of their tasks with understanding. When supervising the foundation, they must observe the founder's will and ensure that the foundation's affairs are managed in accordance with the law and the foundation charter. In particular, they monitor the preservation of the foundation's assets as well as the intended use of its income and donations intended for use. The legal supervisory authorities are responsible for approving certain legal transactions and elements of the budget statutes for municipal foundations that are administered by a municipality. In the case of these foundations, the Bavarian Municipal Auditing Association or the state audit offices of the district administrations are responsible for the supra-local audit.

The respective government as the foundation authority is always responsible for approving amendments to the articles of association and new versions of the articles of association as well as for dissolving municipal foundations.

• Art. 2 para. 3 Bavarian Foundation Act (BayStG)
• Art. 20 Bavarian Foundation Act (BayStG)