Bill Text: NY S06714 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the import of dairy products and payment from the milk producers security fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-07-01 - SIGNED CHAP.228 [S06714 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S06714-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6714

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 12, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HINCHEY -- (at request of the Department of Agricul-
          ture and Markets) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when  printed
          to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture

        AN  ACT  to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to import
          of dairy products and payment from the milk producers security fund

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section  71-n  of the agriculture and
     2  markets law, as amended by chapter 389 of the laws of 1994,  is  amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    1.  (a) No person, firm, association, partnership or corporation shall
     5  engage in or carry on the business of shipping, transporting or  import-
     6  ing  into  this state from any other state, territory or foreign country
     7  any milk or milk products, as defined  in  subdivision  two  of  section
     8  seventy-one-l  of  this  article,  for  sale,  resale or distribution to
     9  consumers [without first having obtained from the commissioner a  permit
    10  authorizing  all such shipments, transportations or importations] unless
    11  the milk and milk products to be shipped, transported, or imported  into
    12  this  state meet all of the sanitary requirements and standards for such
    13  milk and milk products produced or manufactured within this state.
    14    (b) [All such  permits  shall  expire  on  June  thirtieth  following;
    15  provided,  however, that before the commissioner shall issue such permit
    16  he or she shall (i) cause an inspection by a New York state inspector of
    17  the out-of-state producers' cows, barns,  stables,  milk  houses,  water
    18  supply, milk equipment, utensils and milk; (ii) require a veterinarian's
    19  certificate  showing  the  cows  to be in a healthy condition; and (iii)
    20  require the applicant or applicants for the permit to satisfy him or her
    21  that the milk or milk products to be shipped,  transported  or  imported
    22  into  the  state meet all of the sanitary requirements and standards for
    23  such milk and milk products produced within the state of New York.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09951-01-1
        S. 6714                             2

     1    (c)] Nothing in this section shall be held or construed  to  apply  to
     2  evaporated  or  condensed milk manufactured, sold or exposed for sale or
     3  exchange in hermetically sealed cans.
     4    [(d)  The  commissioner  shall  not  issue  a permit for the shipment,
     5  transportation or importation into  this  state  of  any  milk  or  milk
     6  products, as defined in subdivision two of section seventy-one-l of this
     7  article,  for  sale,  resale  or distribution to consumers which fail to
     8  meet in detail in accordance  with  the  actual  inspection  hereinabove
     9  described,  all sanitary requirements, regulations and product standards
    10  now in  force  or  hereafter  promulgated  by  the  department  for  the
    11  production of milk or milk products within the state.]
    12    (c)  When the commissioner inspects a plant beyond the boundary of the
    13  state, the commissioner may require such plant to reimburse the  depart-
    14  ment  for  all necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in making such
    15  inspections. [In lieu of the inspection requirements set forth in  para-
    16  graph  (b)  of  this subdivision, the] The commissioner is authorized to
    17  effectuate and enter into such reciprocal agreements  with  governmental
    18  units of other states, commonwealths or jurisdictions as will insure the
    19  inhabitants  of this state milk and milk products complying with all the
    20  sanitary requirements and product standards and regulations now in force
    21  or hereafter promulgated by the department for the production and handl-
    22  ing of milk or  milk  products  within  the  state,  through  reciprocal
    23  inspection  agreements,  and  in  aid of such agreements, may approve or
    24  accept inspections conducted by other commonwealths, states  and  juris-
    25  dictions with respect to milk and milk products.
    26    §  2.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5, paragraph (a) of subdivision 6,
    27  subdivision 7 and subdivision 9 of section 258-b of the agriculture  and
    28  markets law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 326 of
    29  the  laws  of 1988, paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 as amended by chapter
    30  506 of the laws of 2003, subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 167 of  the
    31  laws of 1995, and subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 540 of the laws of
    32  1987, are amended to read as follows:
    33    (a)  If  the  commissioner  has reason to believe that a licensed milk
    34  dealer who is participating in the  milk  producers  security  fund  has
    35  defaulted  in  making  payments  for milk to producers, the commissioner
    36  shall give reasonable notice to the producers believed to be affected to
    37  file verified claims and may fix a reasonable  time  within  which  such
    38  claims  must  be  filed. Upon learning of such default, the commissioner
    39  shall immediately examine the records of the defaulting dealer and shall
    40  identify the amounts which  are  reasonably  estimated  to  be  owed  to
    41  producers.  Within  [thirty]  sixty  days of the receipt of a claim by a
    42  producer and on the  basis  of  such  estimates,  the  commissioner  may
    43  authorize  the  comptroller  to pay any such producer up to seventy-five
    44  percent of such estimate. In connection with such payment,  the  commis-
    45  sioner  may make provisions for the recovery for the benefit of the fund
    46  of any payments made pursuant to this paragraph.
    47    (a) Each milk dealer who buys,  receives  or  otherwise  handles  milk
    48  received  from  producers  may  execute and file with the commissioner a
    49  surety bond in lieu of participation in the milk producers security fund
    50  and the filing of a surety bond or bonds pursuant to  subdivision  three
    51  of  this section. The bond shall be executed by a surety company author-
    52  ized to do business in this state and shall be approved by  the  commis-
    53  sioner.  The  bond  shall  be  conditioned for the prompt payment of all
    54  amounts due to producers for milk sold or consigned by them to such milk
    55  dealer during the license year and all amounts due to  the  equalization
    56  or producer settlement fund of any order promulgated by the commissioner
        S. 6714                             3

     1  pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  fifty-eight-m or two hundred fifty-
     2  eight-n of this article or to the equalization  or  producer  settlement
     3  fund  of  a  federal  milk marketing order. Additionally, the bond shall
     4  make  provisions  for an advance payment pursuant to subdivision nine of
     5  this section.
     6    7. Alternative security. Each milk dealer buying milk  from  producers
     7  may in lieu of filing a surety bond pursuant to subdivision three or six
     8  of  this section provide an equal amount of protection for the producers
     9  from whom he or she purchases or receives milk by filing an  irrevocable
    10  letter or letters of credit for the account of the milk dealer authoriz-
    11  ing  the  commissioner  to  draw  on a bank or trust company or banks or
    12  trust companies authorized to do business in  the  state  of  New  York.
    13  Such  letter  or  letters shall contain such terms and conditions as the
    14  commissioner may require. Additionally, the irrevocable letter of credit
    15  shall make provisions for an advance  payment  pursuant  to  subdivision
    16  nine of this section.
    17    9.  Claims  against  bond or alternative security. Claims by producers
    18  against a dealer who had filed a bond or alternative security  shall  be
    19  processed  by  the  commissioner  in  the  same manner as is provided in
    20  subdivision five hereof with respect to  claims  against  the  producers
    21  security  fund and such claims shall be subject to the same limitations.
    22  Upon receiving a claim against a dealer who had filed a bond or alterna-
    23  tive security, the commissioner shall immediately examine the records of
    24  the defaulting dealer and shall identify the amounts which  are  reason-
    25  ably  estimated  to  be  owed  to  producers.   Within sixty days of the
    26  receipt of a claim, and on the basis of such estimates, the commissioner
    27  is authorized to pay any such producer up to fifty percent of such esti-
    28  mate and proceed to obtain from such security the funds  with  which  to
    29  pay  any  advances  on  the claims. In connection with such payment, the
    30  commissioner shall make provisions for the recovery of any payments made
    31  pursuant to this subdivision. The commissioner's determination  certify-
    32  ing the amounts due claimants shall be subject to judicial review in the
    33  same manner and subject to the same limitations. In the case of a dealer
    34  who  has  filed  alternative security, the commissioner shall proceed to
    35  obtain from such security the funds with which to  pay  the  claims.  If
    36  recovery  upon  the  alternative  security  is not sufficient to pay all
    37  claims, the amount recovered shall be divided pro rata among  claimants.
    38  In  the  case  of a dealer who has filed a surety bond, the commissioner
    39  may bring an action on the bond, and for the purposes of such action his
    40  determination certifying the amounts due shall be  presumptive  evidence
    41  of  the  facts therein stated.   In the event that recovery on such bond
    42  has not been made within sixty days of the commissioner's  certification
    43  of the amounts due producers covered by the bond, the commissioner shall
    44  direct  the  comptroller  to pay such amounts to claimants from whatever
    45  monies are available in the milk producers security fund. In  the  event
    46  that  recovery  against  the  bond  has not been made within one hundred
    47  eighty days of certification of the  amounts  due  claimants,  each  and
    48  every  dealer  having  filed  a bond pursuant to subdivision six of this
    49  section shall pay monthly to the commissioner an amount  not  to  exceed
    50  one-half  of  one-tenth  of one percent of the average uniform price per
    51  hundredweight of milk for the previous calendar year, as  determined  by
    52  the  commissioner  on  or  before  the thirty-first day of March of each
    53  year, on each hundredweight of such milk purchased, received or handled.
    54  Such payments shall continue for such period of time as the commissioner
    55  deems necessary in order to return to the  fund,  no  later  than  three
    56  years  from the date of such payment therefrom, the total amount paid as
        S. 6714                             4

     1  a result of the default of  such  dealer  plus  interest,  at  the  rate
     2  provided  for  in  section  5-501  of the general obligations law on the
     3  amount of such payment from the date of such payment. In the event of  a
     4  recovery  on  the  bond  after  the  commencement  of such payments, the
     5  commissioners shall authorize the comptroller  to  pay  to  each  dealer
     6  making such payments its pro rata share of the amount by which the total
     7  of  such payments exceeds the difference between the amount received and
     8  the total amount paid to claimants.
     9    § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    10  have become a law.