Bill Text: NY A05123 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Establishes the New York state youth in agriculture and entrepreneurship summer employment program to provide students with the opportunity to be educated on the agricultural industry and alternative career paths and to provide agricultural work experience and entrepreneurship work experience.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to agriculture [A05123 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05123-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5123

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Agriculture

        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation  to  estab-
          lishing  the  New York state youth in agriculture and entrepreneurship
          summer employment program

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

     1    Section  1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
     2  article 29-A to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 29-A
     4       NEW YORK STATE YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMER
     5                             EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
     6  Section 525. Legislative intent and findings.
     7          526. Definitions.
     8          527. New York state youth in  agriculture  and  entrepreneurship
     9                 summer employment program.
    10          528. Commissioner's power and duties.
    11    §  525.  Legislative intent and findings. The legislature hereby finds
    12  that diversifying the agricultural industry  addresses  issues  of  food
    13  insecurity  and  food access in the state. The legislature further finds
    14  that there are certain culturally significant foods  in  the  state  and
    15  seeks  to  encourage  the continuance of production of such foods and to
    16  generate an interest in the production of such foods  by  future  gener-
    17  ations  of persons working in agriculture. The legislature hereby estab-
    18  lishes the New York state  youth  in  agriculture  and  entrepreneurship
    19  summer  employment  program  to  allow  students  the  opportunity to be
    20  educated on the agricultural industry and alternative career  paths  and
    21  to  attain  entrepreneurial experience. The legislature also establishes
    22  this program to  subsidize  youth  employment  for  farms  and  farmers'
    23  markets  that  could  otherwise  participate in the program if the wages
    24  were not a hardship.  It is the intention of the  legislation  that  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04207-01-3
        A. 5123                             2

     1  New  York state youth in agriculture and entrepreneurship summer employ-
     2  ment program serves as a stepping stone for such  youth  in  careers  in
     3  agriculture and entrepreneurship, as well as to provide farmers means to
     4  participate in the program.
     5    § 526. Definitions. As used in this section:
     6    1.  "Minority  or  socially disadvantaged" means a group whose members
     7  have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender  prejudice  because  of
     8  their  identity as members of a group without regard to their individual
     9  qualities or citizenship status.  These  groups  include,  but  are  not
    10  limited to, the following:
    11    (a) African Americans;
    12    (b) Native Indians;
    13    (c) Alaskan Natives;
    14    (d) Hispanics;
    15    (e) Asian Americans; and,
    16    (f) Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
    17    2.  "Low  income  or economically disadvantaged" means having a family
    18  income that does not exceed one hundred fifty  percent  of  the  federal
    19  poverty  level, including being a child of a working migratory family or
    20  an agricultural worker who is employed by  more  than  one  agricultural
    21  employer  during  the course of a year and whose income varies according
    22  to weather conditions and market stability.
    23    3. "Qualifying business" means a farmers market, mobile market, commu-
    24  nity supported agriculture, cooperative, or any other type  of  business
    25  structure  that  provides  New  York  grown and raised foods directly to
    26  consumers as approved by the commissioner.
    27    4. "Qualifying farm" means a small to medium-sized farm or urban  farm
    28  participating in a qualifying business.
    29    5. "Agricultural work" means work performed maintaining crops or tend-
    30  ing livestock.
    31    6.  "Entrepreneurship  work  experience" means experience that aims to
    32  develop skills deemed necessary to succeed in  the  design,  launch  and
    33  running of a new business.
    34    7.  "Subsidized  employment" means any employment through the New York
    35  state  youth  in  agriculture  and  entrepreneurship  summer  employment
    36  program  for  which  any  costs  associated  with   participation in the
    37  program, including wages and transportation, are paid by the state or by
    38  the federal government.
    39    § 527. New York state youth in agriculture and entrepreneurship summer
    40  employment program. 1. There is hereby established in the department the
    41  New York state youth in agriculture and entrepreneurship summer  employ-
    42  ment  program to provide students with the opportunity to be educated on
    43  the agricultural industry and alternative career paths  and  to  provide
    44  agricultural work experience and entrepreneurship work experience.
    45    2.  The commissioner shall establish application criteria that require
    46  qualifying businesses and qualifying farms to  provide  unsubsidized  or
    47  subsidized employment as follows:
    48    (a) Unsubsidized employment:
    49    (i)  demonstrate  that such business or farm can provide students with
    50  both agricultural work experience and entrepreneurship work experience;
    51    (ii) pay wages to eligible students in an amount that is above minimum
    52  wage;
    53    (iii) provide transportation to and from the  qualifying  business  or
    54  qualifying  farm or to provide transportation compensation to the eligi-
    55  ble student; and
        A. 5123                             3

     1    (iv) provide eligible students with a minimum of sixteen hours  and  a
     2  maximum of no more than forty hours of work per week.
     3    (b) Subsidized employment:
     4    (i)  demonstrate  that such business or farm can provide students with
     5  both agricultural work experience and entrepreneurship work experience;
     6    (ii) establish a hardship to pay wages  to  eligible  students  in  an
     7  amount that is above minimum wage;
     8    (iii)  demonstrate  a  hardship to provide transportation to and  from
     9  the qualifying  business  or qualifying farm or a  hardship  to  provide
    10  transportation compensation to the eligible student; and
    11    (iv) provide eligible students with a minimum of sixteen  hours  and a
    12  maximum of no more than forty hours of work per week.
    13    §  528.  Commissioner's powers and duties. The commissioner shall have
    14  the following powers and duties with regards to the New York state youth
    15  in agriculture and entrepreneurship summer employment program:
    16    1. to promulgate grants as necessary to achieve the legislative intent
    17  of this program as set forth in this article.
    18    2. to apply for federal grants to help fund the program.
    19    3. in consultation and cooperation with  the  commissioner  of  social
    20  services, the commissioner of education, and the president of the higher
    21  education  services  corporation,  to  perform  outreach  to  ensure the
    22  program is known and available to students who  are  socially  disadvan-
    23  taged or economically disadvantaged.
    24    4.  to  establish  a  website  for the program which includes a portal
    25  where students may apply for jobs and where  qualifying  businesses  and
    26  qualifying  farms  may  connect and which provides promotional materials
    27  about the program in a pdf format that is easily accessible  and  print-
    28  able by organizations and the general public.
    29    5.  to  include  annual  outreach  campaigns that start at least three
    30  months prior to the date when applications for the  summer  program  are
    31  first  able  to  be  submitted. Such campaigns shall include outreach to
    32  schools, non-profit organizations, qualifying businesses and  qualifying
    33  farms. Such outreach shall be performed in a variety of methods, includ-
    34  ing a social media campaign.
    35    6.  to  create  an  informational  packet for students on agricultural
    36  opportunities in higher education including, but not limited to,  infor-
    37  mation  on  the  availability of scholarships, student loan forgiveness,
    38  and government assistance to create and establish farms.
    39    7. to establish a subsidized employment program for  qualifying  farms
    40  and  qualifying  businesses  that  could  otherwise  participate  in the
    41  program if paying wages were not a hardship.
    42    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    43  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
    44  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    45  tation  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
    46  completed on or before such effective date.