Bill Text: NY A10195 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-18 - REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE [A10195 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A10195-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10195

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 5, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Lupardo) --
          (at request of the Department of Agriculture and Markets) -- read once
          and referred to the Committee on Agriculture

        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets  law,  in  relation  to  the
          beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture

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

     1    Section 1. Section 309-a of the agriculture and markets law, as  added
     2  by chapter 129 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  309-a.  [Young]  Beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture. 1.
     4  There shall be established within the department the  [young]  beginning
     5  farmer advisory board on agriculture, to advise and make recommendations
     6  to  the  state agencies on state government plans, policies and programs
     7  affecting agriculture, as outlined below, and in such areas as its expe-
     8  rience and studies may indicate to be appropriate. The department  shall
     9  provide necessary secretariat and support services to the board.
    10    2.  The  [young]  beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture shall
    11  consist of [twenty] twenty-two members, [ten to  be]  appointed  by  the
    12  [governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of the senate and assembly,
    13  selected] commissioner for their experience  and  expertise  related  to
    14  areas  of  board responsibility. The board shall be comprised of diverse
    15  members of the agriculture industry as follows:
    16    (a) Of the [twenty] twenty-two members appointed to the board:
    17    (1) one shall be from the department;
    18    (2) one shall be from the empire state development corporation;
    19    (3) one shall be an officer of the Future Farmers of America (FFA);
    20    (4) one shall be from the department of labor;
    21    (5) one shall be an urban farmer;
    22    [(5)] (6) one shall be from the New York Farm Bureau; [and
    23    (6) fifteen shall be from the general  public  appointed  as  follows:
    24  five  to  be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, five to
    25  be appointed by the speaker of the assembly, and five to be appointed by
    26  the governor.]
    27    (7) one shall be from the Cornell Small farms program;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13958-02-2
        A. 10195                            2

     1    (8) one shall be from the United States department of agriculture;
     2    (9) one shall be an organic farmer;
     3    (10) one shall be a veteran farmer;
     4    (11) one shall be from the Young Farmers coalition;
     5    (12)  one  shall  be  a  member  of a group that has been historically
     6  underrepresented in farm ownership; and
     7    (13) ten shall be entry level farmers or novice  farmers,  agriculture
     8  service  providers, financial and legal service providers to farm opera-
     9  tors, Cornell Cooperative Extension representatives, advocacy  organiza-
    10  tion representatives, academics, agricultural leaders, and/or others who
    11  can  contribute  to the work of the advisory board on issues, including,
    12  among others: access to land and  capital,  grants,  business  planning,
    13  farm processes and government programs.
    14    (b) Each member shall:
    15    (1)  be  interested in the preservation and development of agriculture
    16  and preservation of the agricultural way of life in New York;
    17    (2) be [under the age of forty-five years old at the beginning of  the
    18  member's  term]  actively  involved in farming, agricultural activities,
    19  agricultural research and/or  providing  services  to  the  agricultural
    20  community in the state;
    21    (3)  [derive  at  least  fifty percent of the member's personal income
    22  from farming or agricultural activities in the state;
    23    (4)] be a resident of the state; and
    24    [(5)] (4) be appointed for a term of three years and may  serve  until
    25  their  successors  are  chosen;  provided,  however, that of the members
    26  first appointed, six shall serve for a term of one year, six shall serve
    27  for a term of two years and eight shall serve for a term of three years.
    28    (c) Members shall serve  without  salary  but  shall  be  entitled  to
    29  reimbursement of their ordinary and necessary travel expenses.
    30    (d) The members of the board shall meet [quarterly] twice a year.
    31    3.  The  duties  and  responsibilities of the [young] beginning farmer
    32  advisory board on agriculture shall include, but not be limited to:
    33    (a) annually electing from its members a chairperson,  a  vice  chair-
    34  person,  and  a  secretary of the advisory board at the advisory board's
    35  first meeting of the calendar year;
    36    (b) communicating to the [general] public, the federal government, and
    37  the state government the importance of [young and] beginning farmers  to
    38  agriculture in the state;
    39    (c)  [identify]  identifying  issues relating to [young and] beginning
    40  farmers in the state and provide timely advice to the commissioner,  the
    41  governor  and  the relevant state agencies, with regard to the promotion
    42  of agriculture as a career path and the economic development  of  [young
    43  and aspiring] beginning farmers;
    44    (d)  [produce  an annual] producing a biennial report and provide such
    45  report to the governor, the temporary president of the  senate  and  the
    46  speaker of the assembly on or before the end of each calendar year. Such
    47  report  shall  identify and prioritize policy issues which affect [young
    48  and aspiring] beginning farmers; and
    49    (e) establish committees, as necessary, to develop  projects  relating
    50  to the aspects of life for [young and] beginning farmers in the state.
    51    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.