Bill Text: NY A04481 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the beginning farmer revolving loan program.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-9)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to agriculture [A04481 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A04481-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4481
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 2, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MAGEE, CROUCH, FINCH, GUNTHER, HAWLEY, OTIS,
          ROSENTHAL, JENNE,  SKOUFIS,  STIRPE,  JAFFEE,  MAGNARELLI,  MONTESANO,
          PEOPLES-STOKES,  TITONE, BRONSON, BARRETT, WOERNER, DiPIETRO -- Multi-
          Sponsored by -- M. of A.   BARCLAY, BUTLER, COOK,  GOTTFRIED,  KEARNS,
          LOPEZ,  LUPARDO, LUPINACCI, McDONOUGH, McLAUGHLIN, PALMESANO, SIMANOW-
          ITZ, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture
        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets  law,  in  relation  to  the
          beginning farmer revolving loan fund program
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 328 of the agriculture and markets law  is  amended
     2  by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
     3    5.  "Beginning  farmer"  shall  mean  a farmer who has not produced an
     4  "agricultural product" as defined in this section,  for  more  than  ten
     5  consecutive years, and who will materially and substantially participate
     6  in  the  production  of  an  agricultural product within a region of the
     7  state.
     8    § 2. The agriculture and markets  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     9  section 330-a to read as follows:
    10    §  330-a. Beginning farmer revolving loan program. 1. The commissioner
    11  shall establish and maintain a beginning farmer revolving  loan  program
    12  to  provide  low interest loans to beginning farmers for the purposes of
    13  supporting beginning farmers, encouraging the growth of small  agribusi-
    14  ness,  preserving  farmland  as  a  working  agricultural landscape, and
    15  providing open space benefits for all residents of the  state.  Properly
    16  managed  farmland  has  been  demonstrated  to be the best environmental
    17  usage of land for watershed protection, so it is in the best interest of
    18  the state to maintain agricultural land. Such program  shall,  from  any
    19  appropriation  made  available  for  this  purpose, provide low interest
    20  loans to beginning farmers as the commissioner shall deem to be eligible
    21  pursuant to rule or regulation.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07454-01-7
        A. 4481                             2
     1    2. The commissioner shall promulgate rules  and  regulations  for  the
     2  purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section, including estab-
     3  lishing:
     4    a.  an  application  process  whereby  beginning farmers may apply for
     5  loans;
     6    b. criteria and standards for determining a beginning farmer's  eligi-
     7  bility for a loan;
     8    c.  criteria  and standards for determining the priority to be granted
     9  among beginning farmer applicants;
    10    d. criteria and standards for  determining  the  amount  of  financial
    11  assistance to be provided to a beginning farmer; and
    12    e. criteria and standards to be used in determining the loan repayment
    13  periods and the terms of any repayment agreement.
    14    §  3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
    15  the date on which it shall have become a law;  provided,  however,  that
    16  any  rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this
    17  act on its effective date are authorized to be made on  or  before  such
    18  date.