Bill Text: NY A07457 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the farm ownership succession planning program to provide farm owners with a succession planning toolkit that can be used by such farm owners who plan on selling or closing their farm.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to agriculture [A07457 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A07457-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7457

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. CRUZ, ZINERMAN, SIMON, KELLES, GONZALEZ-ROJAS,
          DeSTEFANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture

        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation  to  estab-
          lishing the farm ownership succession planning program (FOSPP)

          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  section 323-a to read as follows:
     3    §  323-a.  Farm  ownership succession planning program. 1. The commis-
     4  sioner, in conjunction with the department of economic  development  and
     5  the department of financial services, shall establish the farm ownership
     6  succession  planning  program  (hereinafter referred to as "the FOSPP").
     7  Such program shall be established by August first, two thousand  twenty-
     8  four  and hold its first forum no later than October first, two thousand
     9  twenty-four.
    10    2. The FOSPP shall provide farm  owners  with  a  succession  planning
    11  toolkit that can be used by such farm owners who are planning on selling
    12  or  closing  their  farm. Such toolkit shall include, but not be limited
    13  to, the following:
    14    (a) financial resources available to prospective farmers interested in
    15  buying farms and farmland for the purpose of farming;
    16    (b) an itemized list of all  farming  related  education  and  support
    17  programs  in place at public and private institutions of higher learning
    18  in the state;
    19    (c) a list of state supported economic development funding for farming
    20  and for sustaining farming;
    21    (d) a list of organizations within the state and in  adjoining  states
    22  that auction and sell farming equipment and farming supplies;
    23    (e) a list of all labor laws governing farm labor; and
    24    (f)  a  list of insurance and financial services regulations impacting
    25  the sale and purchasing of farms and farmland.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05645-01-3
        A. 7457                             2

     1    3. The FOSPP shall develop a set of statewide live and virtual  forums
     2  to  link  and  educate  farmers  who  are planning on selling their farm
     3  and/or farmland, and for prospective new farmers  to  learn  of  farming
     4  business  opportunities,  the opportunities for purchasing farms, and on
     5  the  established  resources  to  assist  in selling and buying farms and
     6  farmland for food production. The FOSPP  shall  include  information  on
     7  other  existing farming collaboratives within the state and in adjoining
     8  states.
     9    4. (a) The FOSPP shall  provide  information  regarding  the  economic
    10  viability  of  family  farming and commercial farming, including but not
    11  limited to, data on farm  bankruptcies,  farmer  held  debt,  state  and
    12  national  trends  impacting the farming sector, and a profile of the New
    13  York state farming sector in sub-segments, including but not limited to,
    14  dairy farming, vegetable farming and fruit farming.
    15    (b) The commissioner, in conjunction with the department  of  economic
    16  development,  shall  establish  an outreach plan to chambers of commerce
    17  throughout the state, including chambers of commerce that represent  all
    18  segments of minority businesses within the state and the adjacent states
    19  of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts, to be admin-
    20  istered  through  the  department of economic development. Such outreach
    21  plan shall be submitted to the governor, the legislature and  the  chief
    22  diversity  officer  of the state of New York no later than August first,
    23  two thousand twenty-four.
    24    5. (a) The commissioner, in conjunction  with  the  superintendent  of
    25  financial  services,  is  authorized to establish a diversity in farming
    26  farm ownership succession planning  advisory  task  force  in  order  to
    27  assist  in  ensuring  that the FOSPP is reaching prospective farmers and
    28  farming entrepreneurs who are  from  the  list  of  currently  protected
    29  classes in the state of New York.
    30    (b) The commissioner, or his or her designee, shall be the chairperson
    31  of  the  task  force.  Such  task force shall consist of ten members and
    32  shall include members of the itemized protected  classes  who  have  the
    33  ability  to  help promote the FOSPP within communities of such protected
    34  classes. The commissioner, the commissioner of the department of econom-
    35  ic development  and  the  superintendent  of  financial  services  shall
    36  appoint  one member each. Such task force shall be established and named
    37  within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of this section.
    38    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.