Bill Text: NY S04240 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended
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-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 4240--A 2015-2016 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E March 11, 2015 ___________ Introduced by Sens. RITCHIE, CROCI, GRIFFO, MARTINS, VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the county law, in relation 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 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, ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, NUTRITION AND HEALTHY FAMILIES, AND 16 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT under a form of organization and administration 17 approved by Cornell university as agent for the state. It shall be known 18 as a county or regional extension service association. Cooperative 19 extension work in a county may consist of programs in the fields of 20 agriculture, [home economics, 4-H and community betterment] COMMUNITY 21 AND ECONOMIC VITALITY, ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, NUTRITION, HEALTHY FAMI- EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09793-03-5 S. 4240--A 2 1 LIES AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT. References herein to the county or regional 2 association shall mean such an organization. Only one such [associaton] 3 ASSOCIATION shall be recognized or formed in each county or, by formal 4 agreement, two or more counties may join to form one regional associ- 5 ation to serve the several counties. The instrument providing its form 6 of organization and administration shall be deemed its constitution. It 7 shall have a board of directors and the offices of president and treas- 8 urer, to be constituted and filled as provided in such constitution, 9 which also shall regulate admission to and tenure of enrollment in the 10 organization. The board of directors of any such association heretofore 11 or hereafter created may adopt such regulations and by-laws governing 12 its procedure in the work assigned to it as are not inconsistent with 13 the provisions of this subdivision. Subject to such rules and regu- 14 lations and the constitution so approved, the president of the associ- 15 ation shall act for, as and in the name of the association in all 16 matters except those as to which the treasurer is given powers and 17 duties. Civil actions or proceedings may be brought by or against the 18 president or treasurer, as such, of the association. A judgment against 19 them or either of them shall be enforceable only against funds or prop- 20 erty of the association. Such an association is hereby declared to be a 21 subordinate governmental agency and neither the county nor Cornell 22 university nor any member, officer or director of the association shall 23 be liable in damages for any injury to person or property in connection 24 with the activities of the association the proximate cause of which was 25 not directly their or his fault or negligence. 26 S 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 8 of section 224 of the county law, 27 as amended by chapter 621 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as 28 follows: 29 (d) For the support of cooperative extension programs and subject to 30 annual appropriation by the legislature, there shall be annually appor- 31 tioned to each county cooperative extension association out of any 32 moneys in the state treasury appropriated therefor, fifty cents for each 33 dollar up to the first one hundred thousand dollars appropriated by such 34 county for cooperative extension activities during the state fiscal year 35 most recently ended and five cents for each dollar appropriated by such 36 county for cooperative extension activities in excess of one hundred 37 thousand dollars during the state fiscal year most recently ended. In 38 the case of a regional extension service association authorized by this 39 section, the maximum amount to be apportioned to any such association 40 shall be the sum of the maximum apportionments which would have accrued 41 to a separate association in each county included in the region. No 42 county cooperative extension association shall receive an apportionment 43 of funds under this section in an amount less than had been received in 44 the nineteen hundred ninety-five--ninety-six state fiscal year, provided 45 that the annual state appropriation is not less than the state moneys 46 appropriated in the nineteen hundred ninety-five--ninety-six state 47 fiscal year. ADDITIONAL STATE ALLOCATIONS SHALL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE 48 COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS IN A PERCENTAGE PROPORTIONATE TO THEIR MOST RECENT 49 COUNTY APPROPRIATION, SUCH APPROPRIATION NOT TO INCLUDE ANY AMOUNT 50 ATTRIBUTED TO IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS, SERVICE AGREEMENTS, OR CONTRACTS. 51 1. The entitlement of each association to state moneys annually appro- 52 priated under this chapter is subject to the furnishing of equivalent 53 sums from county appropriations. ANNUAL COUNTY APPROPRIATIONS MAY 54 INCLUDE IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS, SERVICE AGREEMENTS, AND CONTRACTS WITH 55 COOPERATIVE EXTENSION ASSOCIATIONS SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY CORNELL UNIVER- 56 SITY. S. 4240--A 3 1 2. The apportionments provided pursuant to provisions of this para- 2 graph shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 3 3. The state apportionments provided for in this subdivision shall be 4 paid upon vouchers certified by Cornell university as follows: 5 (i) For salaries of professional staff employed by the association; 6 (ii) For salaries of staff employed by Cornell university when admin- 7 istering, furnishing or conducting extension programs benefiting the 8 county under agreement with the association. 9 4. All such payments shall be made in accordance with the annual 10 agreement between the association and Cornell university, which shall: 11 (i) Specify the amount in dollars to be expended for each of such 12 purposes and the amount in dollars to be provided from apportionments 13 pursuant to this subdivision; 14 (ii) Identify by titles the positions for which the salary is paid; 15 (iii) In the case of salaries of agents jointly employed by two or 16 more county associations, and in the case of salaries of agents or other 17 personnel employed by Cornell university, in furnishing or conducting 18 programs which are furnished or conducted in or for the benefit of two 19 or more counties, identify each of the county extension service associ- 20 ations against whose account payments pursuant to this subdivision are 21 to be charged and the amount to be charged. 22 S 3. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 8 of section 224 of the county law 23 is amended by adding a new subparagraph 7 to read as follows: 24 (7) IN SUPPORT OF ITS OPERATIONS, RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING 25 NEEDS, AN ASSOCIATION MAY CONTRACT WITH ONE OR MORE ENTITIES, INCLUDING 26 BUT NOT LIMITED TO FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, NOT FOR PROFITS 27 OR FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE SERVICES, COMPENSATED OR UNCOM- 28 PENSATED, CONSISTENT WITH THIS SECTION. SUCH CONTRACTS ARE SUBJECT TO 29 REVIEW BY CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 30 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.