Bill Text: NY S00618 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Includes additional definitions for procedures relating to state purchasing of tropical hardwoods; requires state to maximize the use of environmentally preferable building materials; requires use of information provided by forest certifiers; requires the department of environmental conservation to develop a list of eligible forest certifiers and a chain of custody certifiers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS [S00618 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00618-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           618

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 5, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Procurement and Contracts

        AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to the definition and
          purchase of tropical hardwoods

          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 165 of the state finance law is
     2  amended by adding six new paragraphs f, g, h, i, j  and  k  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    f.  "Sustained  managed forest" means a forest that has been certified
     5  by a forest certifier.
     6    g. "Forest certifier" means an independent, third  party  organization
     7  that  conducts  comprehensive assessments of forest management practices
     8  and environmental performance.
     9    h. "Chain of  custody"  means  a  process  that  provides  documentary
    10  evidence verifying that a given wood product is derived from a certified
    11  forest of origin.
    12    i.  "Chain  of  custody  certifier"  means  an independent third party
    13  organization that certifies chain of custody.
    14    j. "Environmentally preferable building material" means one or more of
    15  the following:
    16    (i) reclaimed wood products;
    17    (ii) biobased material; or
    18    (iii) recycled plastic and other recycled materials.
    19    k. "Third party" means an entity which does not have an equity  inter-
    20  est  in  the  land or the management of the forests being evaluated, and
    21  independent from any timber trade association.
    22    § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 165 of the state  finance
    23  law,  as  added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as
    24  follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02424-01-3
        S. 618                              2

     1    a. Except as hereinafter provided,  the  state  and  any  governmental
     2  agency  or  political  subdivision  or public benefit corporation of the
     3  state shall not purchase or obtain for any purpose  any  tropical  hard-
     4  woods  or  tropical hardwood products, wholesale or retail, in any form,
     5  and  shall seek to maximize the use of environmentally preferable build-
     6  ing materials by whatever means practicable by law.
     7    § 3. Section 165 of the state finance law is amended by adding  a  new
     8  subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
     9    2-a.  Eligible  certifier  list.    a. The department of environmental
    10  conservation shall create a list of eligible forest certifiers and chain
    11  of custody certifiers.
    12    b. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations when specify-
    13  ing the information that forest certifiers and chain of custody certifi-
    14  ers provide in order to be deemed eligible for the purposes of  fulfill-
    15  ing  the  eligibility  requirements  of  this  section. Such eligibility
    16  requirements shall include but not be limited to:
    17    (i) conducting on the ground audits, using an  interdisciplinary  team
    18  of  experts  to  evaluate the ecological, social, and economic impact of
    19  forest management practices; and
    20    (ii) separate chain of custody certification, linking  each  certified
    21  forest product to its certified forest of origin.
    22    c.  Once  the  department  has determined that a certifier has met the
    23  eligibility requirements specified, the certifier shall be deemed to  be
    24  an approved and eligible certifier for purposes of this section.
    25    §  4. Subdivision 2 of section 165 of the state finance law is amended
    26  by adding a new paragraph e to read as follows:
    27    e. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to prohibit  any  local
    28  government  from  adopting  any local law, ordinance, rule or regulation
    29  governing the purchase of commodities which is more restrictive than the
    30  provisions of this section relating to the use of tropical hardwoods  or
    31  wood products.
    32    §  5.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    33  have become a law.