Bill Text: NY A07936 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires supermarkets to make excess food available to qualifying charities.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-14 - ordered to third reading rules cal.224 [A07936 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A07936-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7936--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                      May 19, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ABINANTI, WILLIAMS, RODRIGUEZ, ORTIZ, SIMON,
          GALEF, BLAKE, RA, D'URSO, DE LA ROSA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
          HOOPER -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on  Environmental
          Conservation  -- recommitted to the Committee on Environmental Conser-
          vation in accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  environmental  conservation law, in relation to
          requiring supermarkets to make excess  food  available  to  qualifying
          charities
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law is amended
     2  by adding a new title 28 to read as follows:
     3                                  TITLE 28
     4                               EXCESS FOOD ACT
     5  Section 27-2801. Legislative intent.
     6          27-2802. Definitions.
     7          27-2803. Availability requirement.
     8          27-2804. Exclusions.
     9          27-2805. Construction.
    10          27-2806. Enforcement.
    11  § 27-2801. Legislative intent.
    12    An estimated 2.8 million New Yorkers face hunger and food  insecurity.
    13  This  legislation  is  designed to increase food donations to food banks
    14  and other providers who feed the needy  while  reducing  food  waste  in
    15  solid waste landfills.
    16  § 27-2802. Definitions.
    17    As used in this title, the following terms shall mean:
    18    1.  "Excess  food"  means  edible  food  that is not sold or used by a
    19  supermarket and is still safe to be consumed but is being disposed of by
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10758-07-8
        A. 7936--A                          2
     1  the supermarket due to labeling, appearance, surplus  or  other  similar
     2  conditions.
     3    2.  "Qualifying  charity"  means  (a)  a  religious organization which
     4  provides food for free to needy persons,  or  (b)  a  charity  qualified
     5  under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which provides food
     6  for  free  to  needy  persons.   Qualifying charities shall include food
     7  banks and food pantries qualified under section 501(c)(3) of the  Inter-
     8  nal  Revenue  Code which provide food to other qualified charities which
     9  provide food for free to needy persons.
    10    3. "Supermarket" means a  physical  retail  store  which  has  at  the
    11  subject  location more than ten thousand square feet devoted to offering
    12  food for human consumption for sale to the general public.
    13  § 27-2803. Availability requirement.
    14    1. Every supermarket shall from time to time make excess  food  avail-
    15  able to qualifying charities.
    16    2.  No  supermarket  shall  be required to make available a particular
    17  quantity or level of excess food  or  to  transport  or  distribute  any
    18  excess food.
    19    3.    A supermarket shall be deemed in compliance with this section if
    20  it in good faith arranges with a qualifying charity that  has  requested
    21  in  writing  to  collect  excess  food  from  the  supermarket  for  the
    22  collection of such excess food.
    23    4. A supermarket may impose reasonable restrictions as to the time and
    24  manner of collection by a qualifying charity so as not to interfere with
    25  its business operations.
    26  § 27-2804. Exclusions.
    27    Excess food shall not include: unpackaged fresh meat, fish,  or  poul-
    28  try;  food damaged by storage conditions, pests, mold, bacteria or other
    29  contamination; food which has been offered for sale from a hot, cold  or
    30  prepared  food  bar;  food subject to a governmental or producer recall;
    31  food returned to a supplier; food donated to a qualifying charity;  food
    32  sold  to  a  food remarketer or restaurant or other preparer of food for
    33  human consumption or sold to a farmer or other producer.
    34  § 27-2805. Construction.
    35    Nothing in this title shall be construed to  supersede  any  state  or
    36  federal health laws or regulations regarding the handling of food.
    37  § 27-2806. Enforcement.
    38    A  supermarket that does not meet the requirements of this title shall
    39  not be subject to the penalties specified in title twenty-seven of arti-
    40  cle seventy-one of this chapter.
    41    § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
    42  law.