Bill Text: NY S04240 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Relates to community and economic vitality, environment and energy, nutrition and healthy families and youth development under a form of organization and administration approved by Cornell university.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2015-09-25 - SIGNED CHAP.298 [S04240 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S04240-Introduced.html

---

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4240
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                    March 11, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
       AN ACT to amend the county law, in relation to  community  and  economic
         vitality,  nutrition  and  healthy families, and 4-H/youth development
         under a form of organization and administration  approved  by  Cornell
         university
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 8 of section 224 of the county
    2  law, as amended by chapter 270 of the laws of 1973, is amended  to  read
    3  as follows:
    4    (b)  County or regional extension service association and its work. In
    5  each county or region of two or more counties of the state  which  shall
    6  qualify under this subdivision to co-operate with Cornell university for
    7  extending  to  the people of the state of New York, not enrolled in said
    8  colleges, the educational programs of the  New  York  State  College  of
    9  Agriculture  and  Life  Sciences and the New York State College of Human
   10  Ecology at Cornell university and subjects relating thereto, in  cooper-
   11  ation  with  the  state,  there shall be recognized and may be created a
   12  subordinate governmental agency consisting of an  unincorporated  organ-
   13  ization  of  citizens  of the respective counties interested in agricul-
   14  ture, [home economics and community betterment] COMMUNITY  AND  ECONOMIC
   15  VITALITY,  NUTRITION  AND  HEALTHY  FAMILIES,  AND 4-H/YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
   16  under a form of organization  and  administration  approved  by  Cornell
   17  university  as  agent  for  the  state. It shall be known as a county or
   18  regional extension service association. Cooperative extension work in  a
   19  county  may  consist  of  programs  in  the fields of agriculture, [home
   20  economics, 4-H and community betterment] COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC  VITALI-
   21  TY,  NUTRITION,  HEALTHY FAMILIES AND 4-H/YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.  References
   22  herein to the county or regional association shall mean such  an  organ-
   23  ization.  Only  one such [associaton] ASSOCIATION shall be recognized or
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09793-02-5
       S. 4240                             2
    1  formed in each county or, by formal agreement, two or more counties  may
    2  join to form one regional association to serve the several counties. The
    3  instrument  providing  its form of organization and administration shall
    4  be  deemed  its constitution. It shall have a board of directors and the
    5  offices of president and treasurer, to  be  constituted  and  filled  as
    6  provided  in  such  constitution, which also shall regulate admission to
    7  and tenure of enrollment in the organization. The board of directors  of
    8  any  such  association  heretofore  or  hereafter created may adopt such
    9  regulations and by-laws governing its procedure in the work assigned  to
   10  it  as  are  not  inconsistent  with the provisions of this subdivision.
   11  Subject to such rules and regulations and the constitution so  approved,
   12  the  president  of  the association shall act for, as and in the name of
   13  the association in all matters except those as to which the treasurer is
   14  given powers and duties. Civil actions or proceedings may be brought  by
   15  or  against  the  president or treasurer, as such, of the association. A
   16  judgment against them or  either  of  them  shall  be  enforceable  only
   17  against  funds  or  property  of the association. Such an association is
   18  hereby declared to be a subordinate governmental agency and neither  the
   19  county nor Cornell university nor any member, officer or director of the
   20  association shall be liable in damages for any injury to person or prop-
   21  erty  in connection with the activities of the association the proximate
   22  cause of which was not directly their or his fault or negligence.
   23    S 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 8 of section 224 of the county  law,
   24  as  amended  by  chapter  621 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as
   25  follows:
   26    (d) For the support of cooperative extension programs and  subject  to
   27  annual  appropriation by the legislature, there shall be annually appor-
   28  tioned to each county  cooperative  extension  association  out  of  any
   29  moneys in the state treasury appropriated therefor, fifty cents for each
   30  dollar up to the first one hundred thousand dollars appropriated by such
   31  county for cooperative extension activities during the state fiscal year
   32  most  recently ended and five cents for each dollar appropriated by such
   33  county for cooperative extension activities in  excess  of  one  hundred
   34  thousand  dollars  during  the state fiscal year most recently ended. In
   35  the case of a regional extension service association authorized by  this
   36  section,  the  maximum  amount to be apportioned to any such association
   37  shall be the sum of the maximum apportionments which would have  accrued
   38  to  a  separate  association  in  each county included in the region. No
   39  county cooperative extension association shall receive an  apportionment
   40  of  funds under this section in an amount less than had been received in
   41  the nineteen hundred ninety-five--ninety-six state fiscal year, provided
   42  that the annual state appropriation is not less than  the  state  moneys
   43  appropriated  in  the  nineteen  hundred  ninety-five--ninety-six  state
   44  fiscal year. ADDITIONAL STATE ALLOCATIONS SHALL BE  DISTRIBUTED  TO  THE
   45  COUNTY  ASSOCIATIONS  IN A PERCENTAGE PROPORTIONATE TO THEIR MOST RECENT
   46  COUNTY APPROPRIATION, SUCH  APPROPRIATION  NOT  TO  INCLUDE  ANY  AMOUNT
   47  ATTRIBUTED TO IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS, SERVICE AGREEMENTS, OR CONTRACTS.
   48    1. The entitlement of each association to state moneys annually appro-
   49  priated  under  this  chapter is subject to the furnishing of equivalent
   50  sums  from  county  appropriations.  ANNUAL  COUNTY  APPROPRIATIONS  MAY
   51  INCLUDE  IN-KIND  CONTRIBUTIONS,  SERVICE AGREEMENTS, AND CONTRACTS WITH
   52  COOPERATIVE EXTENSION ASSOCIATIONS SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY CORNELL  UNIVER-
   53  SITY.
   54    2.  The  apportionments  provided pursuant to provisions of this para-
   55  graph shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
       S. 4240                             3
    1    3. The state apportionments provided for in this subdivision shall  be
    2  paid upon vouchers certified by Cornell university as follows:
    3    (i) For salaries of professional staff employed by the association;
    4    (ii)  For salaries of staff employed by Cornell university when admin-
    5  istering, furnishing or conducting  extension  programs  benefiting  the
    6  county under agreement with the association.
    7    4.  All  such  payments  shall  be  made in accordance with the annual
    8  agreement between the association and Cornell university, which shall:
    9    (i) Specify the amount in dollars to be  expended  for  each  of  such
   10  purposes  and  the  amount in dollars to be provided from apportionments
   11  pursuant to this subdivision;
   12    (ii) Identify by titles the positions for which the salary is paid;
   13    (iii) In the case of salaries of agents jointly  employed  by  two  or
   14  more county associations, and in the case of salaries of agents or other
   15  personnel  employed  by  Cornell university, in furnishing or conducting
   16  programs which are furnished or conducted in or for the benefit  of  two
   17  or  more counties, identify each of the county extension service associ-
   18  ations against whose account payments pursuant to this  subdivision  are
   19  to be charged and the amount to be charged.
   20    S  3.  Paragraph (e) of subdivision 8 of section 224 of the county law
   21  is amended by adding a new subparagraph 7 to read as follows:
   22    (7) IN SUPPORT OF ITS OPERATIONS, RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
   23  NEEDS, AN ASSOCIATION MAY CONTRACT WITH ONE OR MORE ENTITIES,  INCLUDING
   24  BUT  NOT LIMITED TO FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, NOT FOR PROFITS
   25  OR FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE SERVICES, COMPENSATED  OR  UNCOM-
   26  PENSATED,  CONSISTENT  WITH  THIS SECTION. SUCH CONTRACTS ARE SUBJECT TO
   27  REVIEW BY CORNELL UNIVERSITY.
   28    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.