Bill Text: NY S01780 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Expands the FreshConnect program, which provides rebates for the purchase of local produce to certain people, to include local produce sold in supermarkets and grocery stores.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2023-12-22 - VETOED MEMO.130 [S01780 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S01780-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1780--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN  ACT to incentivize the purchase of local produce in supermarkets and
          grocery stores through the FreshConnect program

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

     1    Section  1. (a) For the purposes of this act the following terms shall
     2  have the following meanings:
     3    (i) "local produce" means produce grown by a producer with  the  pride
     4  of New York symbol of the business claiming the local produce tax credit
     5  within  the  state  of  New  York, from seed or conception through final
     6  product.
     7    (ii) "producer" means an individual, whether  acting  individually  or
     8  through  a  cooperative, corporation, partnership, business association,
     9  or educational institution, who is a farmer, student farmer or  manufac-
    10  turer  of  foods  or  goods  in  New  York state. It shall not, however,
    11  include a wholesaler or distributor.
    12    (iii) "supermarket" or "grocery store" means a retail store at a given
    13  location devoted to the sale of foods, food  stuffs  and  groceries  for
    14  human  consumption  regularly and customarily sold in a bona fide manner
    15  for consumption off of the premises. The following shall not be  consid-
    16  ered  supermarkets  or  grocery  stores  for  the  purposes of this act:
    17  hotels, motels, restaurants, cafeterias, bakeries, caterers,  hospitals,
    18  assisted  living  facilities,  independent  living  facilities,  nursing
    19  homes, hospices, group homes,  drug  stores,  educational  institutions,
    20  food  courts  in  shopping  malls,  food  retailers at airports or other
    21  transportation facilities, gas stations, sports arenas,  movie  theaters
    22  or any other similar establishments.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04967-03-3
        S. 1780--A                          2

     1    (b)  The  commissioner  of  agriculture  and  markets shall expand the
     2  FreshConnect program, which improves access to local produce by  provid-
     3  ing  certain  people with two dollar rebates to be used for the purchase
     4  of further  local  produce  for  every  two  dollars  of  local  produce
     5  purchased,  to  include  local  produce sold in supermarkets and grocery
     6  stores.
     7    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
     8  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
     9  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    10  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or
    11  before such date.