Gift or loan or credit of local subdivisions prohibited; exceptions for enumerated purposes

ARTICLE VIII\n Local Finances\n Section 1. No county, city, town, village or school district shall\ngive or loan any money or property to or in aid of any individual, or\nprivate corporation or association, or private undertaking, or become\ndirectly or indirectly the owner of stock in, or bonds of, any private\ncorporation or association; nor shall any county, city, town, village or\nschool district give or loan its credit to or in aid of any individual,\nor public or private corporation or association, or private undertaking,\nexcept that two or more such units may join together pursuant to law in\nproviding any municipal facility, service, activity or undertaking which\neach of such units has the power to provide separately. Each such unit\nmay be authorized by the legislature to contract joint or several\nindebtedness, pledge its or their faith and credit for the payment of\nsuch indebtedness for such joint undertaking and levy real estate or\nother authorized taxes or impose charges therefor subject to the\nprovisions of this constitution otherwise restricting the power of such\nunits to contract indebtedness or to levy taxes on real estate. The\nlegislature shall have power to provide by law for the manner and the\nproportion in which indebtedness arising out of such joint undertakings\nshall be incurred by such units and shall have power to provide a method\nby which such indebtedness shall be determined, allocated and\napportioned among such units and such indebtedness treated for purposes\nof exclusion from applicable constitutional limitations, provided that\nin no event shall more than the total amount of indebtedness incurred\nfor such joint undertaking be included in ascertaining the power of all\nsuch participating units to incur indebtedness. Such law may provide\nthat such determination, allocation and apportionment shall be\nconclusive if made or approved by the comptroller. This provision shall\nnot prevent a county from contracting indebtedness for the purpose of\nadvancing to a town or school district, pursuant to law, the amount of\nunpaid taxes returned to it.\n Subject to the limitations on indebtedness and taxation applying to\nany county, city, town or village nothing in this constitution contained\nshall prevent a county, city or town from making such provision for the\naid, care and support of the needy as may be authorized by law, nor\nprevent any such county, city or town from providing for the care,\nsupport, maintenance and secular education of inmates of orphan asylums,\nhomes for dependent children or correctional institutions and of\nchildren placed in family homes by authorized agencies, whether under\npublic or private control, or from providing health and welfare services\nfor all children, nor shall anything in this constitution contained\nprevent a county, city, town or village from increasing the pension\nbenefits payable to retired members of a police department or fire\ndepartment or to widows, dependent children or dependent parents of\nmembers or retired members of a police department or fire department; or\nprevent the city of New York from increasing the pension benefits\npayable to widows, dependent children or dependent parents of members or\nretired members of the relief and pension fund of the department of\nstreet cleaning of the city of New York. Payments by counties, cities or\ntowns to charitable, eleemosynary, correctional and reformatory\ninstitutions and agencies, wholly or partly under private control, for\ncare, support and maintenance, may be authorized, but shall not be\nrequired, by the legislature. No such payments shall be made for any\nperson cared for by any such institution or agency, nor for a child\nplaced in a family home, who is not received and retained therein\npursuant to rules established by the state board of social welfare or\nother state department having the power of inspection thereof.\n