Bill Text: NY A10607 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes a New York food supply working group to provide advice, guidance, and recommendations on New York's food supply and related supply chain logistics in the wake of COVID-19.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-5)
Status: (Passed) 2020-12-02 - approval memo.26 [A10607 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A10607-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10607--A IN ASSEMBLY June 5, 2020 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Lupardo, Barrett, Rozic, Griffin, Buttenschon, Stern, McDonald, Cahill, Woer- ner, Magnarelli, Dickens, Thiele, Seawright, Galef, Reyes, Stirpe, L. Rosenthal, Fahy, Simon, Gottfried, Lifton, Crouch, McDonough, Tague, Palmesano, Manktelow) -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Agriculture -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to estab- lishing a New York food supply working group The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 51 to read as follows: 3 51. (a) Establish, in coordination with the commissioner of economic 4 development, a New York food supply working group to provide advice, 5 guidance, and recommendations on improving the resiliency and self-reli- 6 ance of the state's farm and food supply and the related supply chain 7 logistics to address food shortages, food waste, and the inability to 8 get New York farm goods to markets that occurred as a result of the 9 Covid-19 pandemic, with the goal of creating permanent solutions beyond 10 the state of emergency to reflect the changing wholesale, retail and 11 consumer marketplace. 12 (b) The commissioners shall work with the food supply working group 13 which shall include, but not be limited to, representatives, including 14 small and family-owned businesses, of: 15 (i) farmers; 16 (ii) food processors including, but not limited to, dairy, produce, 17 meat, and beverage processors; 18 (iii) retail food businesses including, but not limited to, retail 19 food stores and direct farm-to-consumer businesses; 20 (iv) the food service industry including, but not limited to, restau- 21 rants and institutional foodservice; 22 (v) food wholesalers and distributors; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16636-03-0A. 10607--A 2 1 (vi) food transporters including, but not limited to, direct-to-con- 2 sumer transporters serving retail food stores, foodservice, and farmers; 3 (vii) labor organizations and workers from the farm and food industry; 4 (viii) emergency food providers including, but not limited to, food- 5 banks; 6 (ix) academic experts in food production, marketing, distribution, 7 food safety, and consumers; 8 (x) federal agencies with responsibility for food production, process- 9 ing, marketing, and safety; and 10 (xi) any other representatives of agriculture, the food industry, 11 economic development, or any other state agencies the commissioners of 12 agriculture and markets and of economic development deem necessary. 13 (c) The working group shall convene on or before May first, two thou- 14 sand twenty-one, for the purpose of roundtable meetings which may be 15 held in different regions of the state. The agenda and meeting informa- 16 tion shall be made available to the public in advance and all such meet- 17 ings shall be open to, or accessible to, the public. Such meetings may 18 include, among other things, consideration of the following issues, 19 especially as they relate to state or federal emergencies: 20 (i) the need to strengthen the resiliency and self-reliance of the 21 state's farm and food supply and related supply chain logistics, to 22 prevent food shortages and food waste, and to overcome hurdles involved 23 in getting agricultural products to markets and consumers; and 24 (ii) the need for changes to, and development of, new state and feder- 25 al laws, rules, policies, and programs to address, and provide incen- 26 tives for, the goal of strengthening and improving the state food supply 27 in a manner that benefits New York farms, businesses, workers, and 28 consumers. 29 (d) The working group shall provide a written report of its findings 30 identifying any proposed recommendations and guidance to the governor, 31 the speaker of the assembly, and the temporary president of the senate 32 on or before December first, two thousand twenty-one, and shall publish 33 such report on the department's website. 34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.