Bill Text: NY S00549 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Enacts the local food, farms, and jobs act; relates to the procurement of locally grown farm and food products; creates the New York state council on food policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-09 - SUBSTITUTED BY A3954B [S00549 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00549-Amended.html
Bill Title: Enacts the local food, farms, and jobs act; relates to the procurement of locally grown farm and food products; creates the New York state council on food policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-09 - SUBSTITUTED BY A3954B [S00549 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00549-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 549--A Cal. No. 455 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, BAILEY, HINCHEY, PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first report, amended on first report, ordered to a second report and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of second report AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, the state finance law, and the economic development law, in relation to procurement of local- ly grown farm and food products and codifying the New York state coun- cil on food policy The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "local food, farms, and jobs act". 3 § 2. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 4 adding a new subdivision 6-a to read as follows: 5 6-a. Establish a New York state council on food policy. The purpose 6 of the council shall be to facilitate the growth of a New York-based 7 local farm and food product economy that revitalizes rural and urban 8 communities, promotes healthy eating with access to fresh foods, creates 9 jobs, ensures a readily available supply of safe food in an emergency 10 event, and supports economic growth through making local farm or food 11 products available to all New York citizens. 12 (a) The responsibilities of the council shall include, but are not 13 limited to, the following: 14 (i) to develop and recommend a food policy for the state which recog- 15 nizes that it is in the best interests of the state to ensure the avail- 16 ability of an adequate supply of affordable, fresh and nutritious food 17 to its residents; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04684-02-1S. 549--A 2 1 (ii) to develop and recommend state policies to expand agricultural 2 production, including locally-grown and organically-grown food; 3 (iii) to develop and recommend a strategic plan for implementation of 4 the state food policy, including benchmarks and criteria for measuring 5 progress in achieving state food policy objectives; 6 (iv) to offer comments on state regulations, legislation and budget 7 proposals in the area of food policy, to ensure a coordinated and 8 comprehensive inter-agency approach to food policy issues; 9 (v) to assist state agencies, state-owned facilities, and other enti- 10 ties with the purchase of local farm or food products and with tracking 11 and reporting of such purchases in order to meet the goals established 12 in this section; 13 (vi) to assist local farm and food entrepreneurs to identify and 14 secure necessary resources and equipment to begin, maintain, and expand 15 projects and networks necessary for the development of local farm or 16 food products; provided, however, that the council will facilitate 17 program start-ups and then relinquish rights, benefits, and control 18 within a reasonably short duration of time; 19 (vii) to facilitate the building of infrastructure, including aggre- 20 gation, processing, storage, packaging, and distribution facilities 21 necessary to move local farm or food products to local and other 22 markets; 23 (viii) to support and expand programs that recruit, train, and provide 24 technical assistance to New York farmers and residents in order to 25 encourage the production of local farm or food products; 26 (ix) to coordinate interagency policies, initiatives, and procedures 27 promoting local farm and food products in New York communities, by work- 28 ing with and involving state, federal, and local agencies, as well as 29 community based organizations, educational institutions, and trade 30 organizations in executing the purposes of this section; 31 (x) to facilitate the elimination of legal barriers hindering the 32 development of a local farm and food economy by working with federal, 33 state, and local public health agencies, other agencies and applicable 34 entities, and the New York attorney general to create consistent and 35 compatible regulations for the production, storage, distribution, and 36 marketing of local farm or food products; 37 (xi) to facilitate the use of public lands for growing local farm or 38 food products by working with governmental entities at the local, state, 39 and federal levels; 40 (xii) to set annual goals for all purchases of local farm or food 41 products by New York residents and to monitor the development and expan- 42 sion of a local farm and food economy through data collection, tracking, 43 measurement, analysis, and reporting on progress made in an annual 44 report to the legislature; and 45 (xiii) to initiate and facilitate public awareness campaigns about the 46 economic benefits of a local farm and food economy. 47 (b) (i) The council shall consist of thirteen voting members as 48 follows: six members with experience and expertise related to agricul- 49 ture, nutrition or food policy appointed on the recommendation of the 50 legislative leaders, two each by the temporary president of the senate 51 and the speaker of the assembly, and one each by the minority leader of 52 the senate, and the minority leader of the assembly; the dean of the New 53 York state college of agriculture and life sciences; and six members 54 shall be appointed by the governor. 55 (ii) The council shall consult on a regular basis with an advisory 56 board consisting of: the commissioner, the commissioner of health, theS. 549--A 3 1 commissioner of the office of temporary and disability assistance, the 2 commissioner of the office of children and family services, the commis- 3 sioner of education, the director of the office for the aging and eight 4 members appointed by the governor. 5 (c) (i) The six council members selected by the legislative leaders 6 shall be appointed to three-year staggered terms as determined by the 7 legislature. Such persons may be nominated by organizations representing 8 the sectors outlined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. Vacancies 9 shall be filled by the legislative leaders. 10 (ii) The six council members selected by the governor and the dean of 11 the New York state college of agriculture and life sciences shall be 12 appointed to three-year staggered terms as determined by the governor. 13 (iii) The members of the advisory board shall be appointed to three- 14 year staggered terms as determined by the governor. Such persons shall 15 be nominated by organizations representing the sectors outlined in para- 16 graph (b) of this subdivision. Vacancies shall be filled by the gover- 17 nor. 18 (d) The council may apply for and establish a not-for-profit corpo- 19 ration. 20 (e) The board of directors shall elect its presiding officers from 21 among its members and may elect or appoint an executive committee, other 22 committees, and subcommittees to conduct the business of the organiza- 23 tion. 24 (f) The council may solicit grants, loans, and contributions from 25 public or private sources and may enter into any contracts, grants, 26 loans, or agreements with respect to the use of such funds to execute 27 the purposes of this subdivision. 28 (g) The council shall issue a written report on the first day of 29 December each year on: (i) the activities of the council during the 30 preceding year; (ii) recommended food policies for the state; (iii) 31 recommended changes to the strategic plan; (iv) an account of the 32 progress made in achieving the goals of the council; and (v) actions 33 which are necessary to implement the recommendations of the council and 34 effectuate its purposes. 35 (h) Subject to the availability of public or private funds, the board 36 of directors may employ an executive director, treasurer, other staff, 37 or independent contractors necessary to execute the purposes of this 38 subdivision, and it may fix the compensation, benefits, terms, and 39 conditions of those persons' employment. 40 (i) The state governmental agencies represented on the board of direc- 41 tors may re-direct existing staff, as appropriations permit; assist in 42 executing the purposes of this subdivision; and provide office space, 43 meeting space, and other research and communication services as appro- 44 priate. 45 (j) No member of the council shall be disqualified from holding any 46 public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office 47 or employment by virtue of his or her appointment hereunder. Members of 48 the council shall receive no compensation for their services but shall 49 be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the perform- 50 ance of their functions hereunder. All members of the council shall 51 serve at the pleasure of the governor and vacancies shall be filled in 52 the same manner as original appointments. 53 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 163-c to 54 read as follows: 55 § 163-c. Procurement goals for local farm or food products. 1. For 56 the purposes of this section, "local farm or food products" are productsS. 549--A 4 1 grown, processed, packaged, and distributed by New York citizens or 2 businesses located wholly within the borders of New York state. 3 2. (a) In order to create, strengthen, and expand local farm and food 4 economies throughout New York, it shall be the goal of this state that: 5 (i) twenty percent of all food and food products purchased by state 6 agencies and state-owned facilities, including, without limitation, 7 facilities for persons with mental health and developmental disabili- 8 ties, correctional facilities, and public universities, shall, by two 9 thousand twenty-two, be local farm or food products; and 10 (ii) fifty percent of all food and food products purchased by state 11 agencies and state-owned facilities, including, without limitation, 12 facilities for persons with mental health and developmental disabili- 13 ties, correctional facilities, and public universities, shall, by two 14 thousand twenty-six, be local farm or food products. 15 (b) The New York state council on food policy shall support and 16 encourage that twenty-five percent of food and food products purchased 17 by entities funded in part or in whole by state funds, which spend more 18 than twenty-five thousand dollars per year on food or food products for 19 its students, residents, or clients, including, without limitation, 20 public schools, child care facilities, after-school programs, and hospi- 21 tals, shall, by two thousand twenty-three, be local farm or food 22 products. The goal shall increase to forty percent by two thousand twen- 23 ty-eight. 24 (c) To meet the goals set forth in this section, when a state contract 25 for purchase of food or food products is to be awarded to the lowest 26 responsible bidder, an otherwise qualified bidder who will fulfill the 27 contract through the use of local farm or food products may be given 28 preference over other bidders, provided that the cost included in the 29 bid of local farm or food products is not more than ten percent greater 30 than the cost included in a bid that is not for local farm or food 31 products. 32 (d) All state agencies and state-owned facilities that purchase food 33 and food products shall, with the assistance of the New York state coun- 34 cil on food policy, develop a system for (i) identifying the percentage 35 of local farm or food products purchased for fiscal year two thousand 36 twenty-two as the baseline; and (ii) tracking and reporting local farm 37 or food products purchases on an annual basis. 38 § 4. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 39 adding a new subdivision 52 to read as follows: 40 52. Establish, and make available on its website, a geo-coded elec- 41 tronic database to facilitate the purchase of fresh produce and food 42 products by schools. The database shall be developed jointly with the 43 New York state council on food policy and, at a minimum, contain the 44 information necessary for (a) schools to identify and contact agricul- 45 tural producers that are interested in supplying schools in the state 46 with fresh produce and food products and (b) agricultural producers of 47 fresh produce and food products to identify schools in the state that 48 are interested in purchasing those products. 49 § 5. Subdivisions 8 and 9 of section 180-a of the economic development 50 law, as added by chapter 550 of the laws of 1999, are amended to read as 51 follows: 52 8. geographically balanced public input and advice from individuals 53 and agencies directly involved with the production, processing, manufac- 54 turing and storage of agricultural products; and such other individuals 55 and agencies as may be engaged in state and local activities in support 56 of economic development in the agriculture resource industry; [and]S. 549--A 5 1 9. the establishment and purposes of the New York state council on 2 food policy established pursuant to subdivision six-a of section sixteen 3 of the agriculture and markets law; and 4 10. all things necessary or convenient to carry out the functions, 5 powers and duties expressly set forth in this article. 6 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
