Bill Text: NY A03506 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the Supply Chain Transparency Assistance Program to encourage the shifting of the state's economy toward more ethical and sustainable supply chains.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-07-15 - enacting clause stricken [A03506 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03506-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3506

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. ZEBROWSKI, KELLES -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Economic Development

        AN ACT to amend the economic development law, in relation to  establish-
          ing the Supply Chain Transparency Assistance Program

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

     1    Section 1. Legislative findings. The Legislature  finds  and  declares
     2  the following:
     3    1.  The climate crisis is an immediate and urgent threat, and New York
     4  State is and must continue to be a leader in addressing it. New York has
     5  a statutory goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas  emissions  econo-
     6  my-wide  by  2050.  However,  that  goal does not include greenhouse gas
     7  emissions created outside of New York in the extraction, production, and
     8  transport of the goods  we  purchase.  Currently,  eight  global  supply
     9  chains  - food, construction, fashion, fast-moving consumer goods, elec-
    10  tronics, automobiles, professional services, and freight -  account  for
    11  over half of greenhouse gas emissions annually.  Increasing supply chain
    12  transparency  and  traceability is an important part of fighting climate
    13  change and moving global production toward more environmentally sustain-
    14  able practices.
    15    2. The International Labor Organization estimates that over 25 million
    16  people are currently caught in forced labor, 4 million of whom are chil-
    17  dren. Over 160 million children between the ages of  five  to  seventeen
    18  are  engaged  in  child labor in 2021, and about 79 million of those are
    19  estimated to be engaged in hazardous labor. Across  the  United  States,
    20  Canada  and  the  European  Union  there are estimated to be 1.5 million
    21  people trapped in forced labor, while  millions  of  other  people  live
    22  trapped  in  forced  labor across the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, Latin
    23  America and the Middle East. The fruit of such forced labor, as well  as
    24  additional  health  and  safety risks and other impacts from substandard
    25  labor practices, can potentially be  found  in  many  of  the  goods  we

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04692-01-3
        A. 3506                             2

     1  consume,  making  it  incumbent  on  businesses to take action to ensure
     2  ethical labor practices throughout their supply chains.
     3    3.  Businesses  throughout  the United States and across the world are
     4  increasingly engaged in efforts to ensure their supply chains are trans-
     5  parent,  traceable,  ethical,  and  environmentally  sound,  whether  in
     6  reaction  to  consumer  pressure  or government regulation, or out of an
     7  understanding  of  corporate  social  responsibility.  Businesses   that
     8  achieve  ethical  and  sustainable  supply  chains  may  also be able to
     9  increase their appeal with certain consumers, charge premium prices,  or
    10  access  previously  untapped  markets  as  a result of their efforts. In
    11  order to remain competitive, New York businesses, particularly small and
    12  medium-sized businesses and minority- and women-owned  businesses,  must
    13  be able to take advantage of and stay ahead of this socially responsible
    14  and beneficial trend.
    15    4.  It  is  therefore the intent of the Legislature to create a Supply
    16  Chain Transparency Assistance Program to encourage the shifting  of  the
    17  state's economy toward more ethical and sustainable supply chains, while
    18  ensuring  New York businesses have the tools they need to compete in the
    19  national and global marketplace.
    20    § 2. The economic development law is amended by adding a  new  article
    21  27 to read as follows:
    22                                 ARTICLE 27
    23                SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
    24  Section 500. Definitions.
    25          501. The supply chain transparency assistance program.
    26    § 500. Definitions. For purposes of this article:
    27    1.  "Small  business"  means  small business as defined in section one
    28  hundred thirty-one of this chapter.
    29    2. "Medium-sized business" shall mean a business that is  resident  in
    30  this state, independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field,
    31  and employs between one hundred and five hundred persons.
    32    3.  "Eligible business" shall mean any small and medium-sized business
    33  as defined in this article, and any minority-owned or women-owned  busi-
    34  ness enterprise as defined in article fifteen-a of the executive law.
    35    4.  "Supply  chain"  shall  mean  a  system of extraction, production,
    36  transportation, and distribution involving multiple processes, organiza-
    37  tions, individuals, and resources,  beginning  with  raw  materials  and
    38  culminating in the delivery of a product or service to a consumer.
    39    §  501.  The  supply  chain  transparency  assistance  program. 1. The
    40  department is hereby authorized and directed, within  one  year  of  the
    41  effective  date  of  this article, to establish, develop, implement, and
    42  maintain, within available appropriations, a supply  chain  transparency
    43  assistance  program  to  assist  small  and  medium-sized businesses and
    44  minority- and women-owned businesses in  achieving  supply  chains  that
    45  are:
    46    (a)  Transparent, meaning a supply chain for which sufficient informa-
    47  tion has been disclosed regarding all relevant units of production  from
    48  the  raw  material  stage  to  the delivery of a product or service to a
    49  consumer, including, but not limited to,  extraction  sites,  suppliers,
    50  manufacturers,   transporters,  wholesalers,  and  retailers,  to  allow
    51  consumers to determine whether the supply chain is ethical and sustaina-
    52  ble.
    53    (b) Traceable, meaning a supply chain for which distributors,  retail-
    54  ers,  and  other  businesses  down  the  supply chain are able to gather
    55  sufficient  relevant  information  regarding  all  units  of  production
        A. 3506                             3

     1  further  up  the  supply  chain  to  determine whether a supply chain is
     2  ethical and sustainable.
     3    (c)  Ethical, meaning a supply chain that upholds the human rights and
     4  all other legal  rights,  supports  the  well-being,  and  prevents  the
     5  exploitation,  of  workers  and  communities,  and  guarantees the free,
     6  prior, and informed consent, land, and other legal  rights  of  affected
     7  Indigenous peoples and other local and traditional communities.
     8    (d) Sustainable, meaning a supply chain that takes all necessary meas-
     9  ures to avoid, minimize, and reduce degradation of natural environmental
    10  systems,  and  maximizes  efforts  to  contribute to the restoration and
    11  regeneration of impacted ecosystems.
    12    2. The purpose of such program shall be to:
    13    (a) Develop and share best practices and provide technical  assistance
    14  to  help  participating eligible businesses develop and implement stand-
    15  ards, plans, and benchmarks for transparency and traceability,  environ-
    16  mental  sustainability,  and  ethical  practices throughout their supply
    17  chains.
    18    (b) Assist participating  eligible  businesses  with  compliance  with
    19  supply  chain related regulations, procurement standards, or contracting
    20  requirements.
    21    (c) Identify funding streams, grant monies, financial  assistance  and
    22  other  resources  that  may  be available to help participating eligible
    23  businesses achieve  transparent,  traceable,  ethical,  and  sustainable
    24  supply chains.
    25    (d)  Help  participating  eligible businesses with marketing, communi-
    26  cation, and other activities to achieve  maximum  competitive  advantage
    27  from  their  transparent,  traceable,  ethical,  and  sustainable supply
    28  chains.
    29    (e) Conduct market analysis to identify opportunities for  participat-
    30  ing  eligible businesses to access new markets and increase competitive-
    31  ness through achieving transparent, traceable, ethical, and  sustainable
    32  supply chains.
    33    (f)  Conduct outreach to promote awareness of the program among eligi-
    34  ble businesses, business organizations, and regional and local  economic
    35  development agencies.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.