Bill Text: NY S00549 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Enacts the local food, farms, and jobs act; relates to the procurement of locally grown farm and food products; creates the New York state council on food policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-09 - SUBSTITUTED BY A3954B [S00549 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00549-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 549--B 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, BAILEY, BIAGGI, BROUK, GAUGHRAN, HINCHEY, MANNION, MAY, PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first report, amended on first report, ordered to a second report and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of second report -- recommitted to the Committee on Agriculture in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law and the economic devel- opment law, in relation to procurement of locally grown farm and food products and codifying the New York state council on food policy The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "local food, farms, and jobs act". 3 § 2. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 4 adding a new subdivision 6-a to read as follows: 5 6-a. Establish a New York state council on food policy. The purpose 6 of the council shall be to develop comprehensive, coordinated state food 7 policies with the goal of: ensuring that all citizens of the state are 8 able to eat a healthy diet and avoid food insecurity while consuming New 9 York grown and produced foods as much as possible. The council shall 10 work to: support and facilitate the growth of a New York-based local 11 farm and food product economy that revitalizes rural, suburban and urban 12 communities, creates jobs, and supports economic growth through promot- 13 ing and developing local farm and food businesses and their products and 14 helps to make them more available to New York residents; and promote 15 healthy eating through a plentiful, accessible, affordable, safe and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04684-04-2S. 549--B 2 1 nutritious food supply with access to fresh and minimally processed 2 foods including a readily available supply of such food during emergen- 3 cies. 4 (a) The responsibilities of the council shall include, but are not 5 limited to, developing and recommending policies and plans to achieve 6 the following: 7 (i) a food policy for the state which recognizes that it is in the 8 best interests of the state to ensure the availability of an adequate 9 supply of affordable, fresh and nutritious food to its residents; 10 (ii) state policies to expand agricultural production and processing, 11 including locally-grown and organically-grown food; 12 (iii) a strategic plan for implementation of the state food policy, 13 including benchmarks and criteria for measuring progress in achieving 14 state food policy objectives; 15 (iv) offer comments on state regulations, legislation and budget 16 proposals in the area of food policy, to ensure a coordinated and 17 comprehensive inter-agency approach to food policy issues; 18 (v) assist state agencies, state-owned facilities, and other entities 19 with the purchase of local farm or food products and with tracking and 20 reporting of such purchases in order to meet the goals established in 21 this section; 22 (vi) assist local farm and food businesses to succeed and grow, espe- 23 cially beginning and new owners and those historically underrepresented 24 or marginalized in agriculture or the food industry, to identify and 25 secure necessary resources and equipment to begin, maintain, and expand 26 projects and networks necessary for the development of local farm or 27 food products; 28 (vii) facilitate the building of infrastructure, including, but not 29 limited to, aggregation, processing, storage, packaging, distribution, 30 and marketing facilities necessary to move local farm or food products 31 to local and other markets; 32 (viii) support and expand programs that recruit, train, and provide 33 technical assistance to New York farmers, food producers, food process- 34 ors and residents in order to encourage the production and processing of 35 local farm or food products; 36 (ix) coordinate interagency policies, initiatives, and procedures 37 promoting local farm and food products in New York communities, by work- 38 ing with and involving state, federal, and local agencies, as well as 39 community based organizations, educational institutions, and trade 40 organizations in executing the purposes of this section; 41 (x) eliminate statutory and legal barriers hindering the development 42 of a local farm and food economy by working with federal, state, and 43 local agencies, other agencies and applicable entities, to create 44 consistent and compatible regulations for the production, processing, 45 storage, distribution, and marketing of local farm or food products; 46 (xi) facilitate the use of public lands for growing local farm or food 47 products by working with governmental entities at the local, state, and 48 federal levels; 49 (xii) set annual goals for all purchases of local farm or food 50 products by New York residents and to monitor the development and expan- 51 sion of a local farm and food economy through data collection, tracking, 52 measurement, analysis, and reporting on progress made in an annual 53 report to the legislature; and 54 (xiii) initiate and facilitate public awareness campaigns about the 55 economic benefits of a local farm and food economy.S. 549--B 3 1 (b) (i) The council shall consist of thirteen voting members as 2 follows: six members with experience and expertise related to agricul- 3 ture, nutrition, food insecurity or food policy appointed on the recom- 4 mendation of the legislative leaders, two each by the temporary presi- 5 dent of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, and one each by the 6 minority leader of the senate, and the minority leader of the assembly; 7 the dean of the New York state college of agriculture and life sciences; 8 and six members shall be appointed by the governor. 9 (ii) The council shall consult on a regular basis with an advisory 10 board consisting of: the commissioner, the commissioner of health, the 11 commissioner of the office of temporary and disability assistance, the 12 commissioner of the office of children and family services, the commis- 13 sioner of education, the commissioner of the department of economic 14 development, the commissioner of the department of environmental conser- 15 vation, the director of the office for the aging, the director of the 16 office of general services, and eight members appointed by the governor. 17 (c) (i) The six council members selected by the legislative leaders 18 shall be appointed to three-year staggered terms as determined by the 19 legislature. Such persons may be nominated by organizations representing 20 the sectors outlined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. Vacancies 21 shall be filled by the legislative leaders. 22 (ii) The six council members selected by the governor and the dean of 23 the New York state college of agriculture and life sciences shall be 24 appointed to three-year staggered terms as determined by the governor. 25 (iii) The members of the advisory board shall be appointed to three- 26 year staggered terms as determined by the governor. Such persons shall 27 be nominated by organizations representing the sectors outlined in para- 28 graph (b) of this subdivision. Vacancies shall be filled by the gover- 29 nor. 30 (d) The board of directors shall elect its presiding officers from 31 among its members and may elect or appoint an executive committee, other 32 committees, and subcommittees to conduct the business of the organiza- 33 tion. 34 (e) The council shall issue a written report on the first day of 35 December each year on: (i) the activities of the council during the 36 preceding year; (ii) recommended food policies for the state; (iii) 37 recommended changes to the strategic plan; (iv) an account of the 38 progress made in achieving the goals of the council; and (v) actions 39 which are necessary to implement the recommendations of the council and 40 effectuate its purposes. 41 (f) The state governmental agencies represented on the board of direc- 42 tors may re-direct existing staff, as appropriations permit; assist in 43 executing the purposes of this subdivision; and provide office space, 44 meeting space, and other research and communication services as appro- 45 priate. 46 (g) No member of the council shall be disqualified from holding any 47 public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office 48 or employment by virtue of his or her appointment hereunder. Members of 49 the council shall receive no compensation for their services but shall 50 be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the perform- 51 ance of their functions hereunder. All members of the council shall 52 serve at the pleasure of the governor and vacancies shall be filled in 53 the same manner as original appointments. 54 § 3. Subdivision 52 of section 16 of the agriculture and markets law, 55 as added by chapter 751 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 56 follows:S. 549--B 4 1 52. Develop and maintain, in cooperation with the department of 2 economic development and urban development corporation, a publicly 3 available searchable database of New York state farms and farm products. 4 The database shall include all farms located within the state and shall 5 list the products available for purchase and contact information for 6 each farm, unless a farm opts out of being included in the database by 7 notifying the department of such option. The department shall provide 8 farms with the ability to signify that they are interested in supplying 9 schools on the directory. The department shall provide easily accessible 10 electronic access to the database on the department's website and shall 11 update the database at least every two years. The department shall seek 12 cooperation and coordination of the directory with the New York state 13 council on food policy and the New York state land grant university, 14 where necessary information overlaps. The department may utilize any 15 directories that exist or are in progress. 16 § 4. Subdivisions 8 and 9 of section 180-a of the economic development 17 law, as added by chapter 550 of the laws of 1999, are amended to read as 18 follows: 19 8. geographically balanced public input and advice from individuals 20 and agencies directly involved with the production, processing, manufac- 21 turing and storage of agricultural products; and such other individuals 22 and agencies as may be engaged in state and local activities in support 23 of economic development in the agriculture resource industry; [and] 24 9. the establishment and purposes of the New York state council on 25 food policy established pursuant to subdivision six-a of section sixteen 26 of the agriculture and markets law; and 27 10. all things necessary or convenient to carry out the functions, 28 powers and duties expressly set forth in this article. 29 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that if chapter 30 751 of the laws of 2021 shall not have taken effect on or before such 31 date then section three of this act shall take effect on the same date 32 and in the same manner as such chapter of the laws of 2021 takes effect.
