Bill Text: NY A04817 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: An act to provide for the creation of regional conservation partnership trusts

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to tourism, arts and sports development [A04817 Detail]

Download: New_York-2009-A04817-Introduced.html

---

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4817
                              2009-2010 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   February 6, 2009
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A. ENGLEBRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
         McENENY -- read once and referred to the Committee  on  Tourism,  Arts
         and Sports Development
       AN  ACT to provide for the creation of regional conservation partnership
         trusts
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings  and purpose. The legislature finds
    2  that the state's heritage areas, greenways, preserves, partnerships  and
    3  other  specially  designated  areas are unique and special areas serving
    4  public interests in conservation, education, recreation and  sustainable
    5  development.  Often  these areas include all or portions of many cities,
    6  towns and villages, and their management depends  on  interrelationships
    7  between  state  and  municipal  entities and private entities. They have
    8  appropriately been called "partnership parks". While state  funding  has
    9  often  been available for the acquisition of open space and recreational
   10  and historic preservation projects, support for management and  steward-
   11  ship  of  partnership  parks  has  been  insufficient  and threatens the
   12  resources for which these areas have been designated.
   13    The legislature further finds that community  philanthropic  organiza-
   14  tions  and  nonprofit  conservation  organizations  have  provided  some
   15  support for partnership parks and if assisted by the state may  be  able
   16  to maximize public and private funding for management and stewardship.
   17    Therefore, the legislature hereby establishes a framework for areas of
   18  the  state to create regional partnership trusts to raise and distribute
   19  funds for nonprofit conservation organizations providing management  and
   20  stewardship  services  for  partnership  parks and other state and local
   21  conservation activity.
   22    S 2. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New
   23  York state regional conservation partnership trust act".
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD08690-01-9
       A. 4817                             2
    1    S 3. Regional conservation partnership trusts. (a)  Community  founda-
    2  tions  may  apply to the commissioners of environmental conservation and
    3  parks, recreation and historic preservation to be certified as  regional
    4  conservation partnership trust boards. Each such partnership trust board
    5  shall  be a charitable subsidiary of a community foundation organized to
    6  support  management  and  stewardship  activities  of  a  not-for-profit
    7  conservation  organization  within  its region. Such activities shall be
    8  provided to partnership parks with the trust board's region.
    9    (b) The commissioners of environmental conservation and parks,  recre-
   10  ation  and  historic  preservation shall approve and certify as regional
   11  conservation partnership trusts those not-for-profit  corporations  that
   12  are  dedicated  to  raise  funds from private donors for the purposes of
   13  grants to non-profit organizations consistent with the purposes of  this
   14  act.  The  members of a board of a partnership trust shall serve without
   15  compensation for their work. Each partnership trust  shall  establish  a
   16  fund  to consist of donations and funds made available therefor from the
   17  state.
   18    S 4. The state is hereby authorized, during any state fiscal year,  to
   19  disburse  not  more  than  one  million dollars to regional conservation
   20  partnership trusts to match donations to such  trust  during  the  state
   21  fiscal  year,  and  made  available  for grants to not-for-profit corpo-
   22  rations for the purpose of this act.
   23    S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.