Bill Text: NY S02468 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "buy from the backyard act"; requires the office of general services and other state agencies to buy 20% of all their food products from producers and/or processors in New York state; provides that the commissioner of agriculture and markets shall determine the New York food products that are available during the various times during the year; directs such commissioner to report to the governor and the legislature on the implementation of such provisions.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 14-7)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-03-19 - referred to agriculture [S02468 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S02468-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2468
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   January 21, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  LIBOUS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
       AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the  agriculture  and  markets
         law, in relation to enacting the "buy from the backyard act"
         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 "buy from the backyard act".
    3    S 2. Subdivision 4 of section 165 of the state finance law, as amended
    4  by chapter 137 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
    5    4.  Special  provisions  for  purchase  of  available  New  York  food
    6  products.
    7    a. Except as otherwise provided  in  this  subdivision,  when  letting
    8  contracts  for the purchase of food products on behalf of facilities and
    9  institutions of the state, solicitation specifications of the office  of
   10  general  services  and  any  other  agency, department, office, board or
   11  commission [may] SHALL require provisions  that  mandate  that  [all  or
   12  some],  DURING  EACH  STATE FISCAL YEAR, NOT LESS THAN TWENTY PERCENT of
   13  the required food products are grown, produced or harvested in New  York
   14  state, or that any processing of such food products take place in facil-
   15  ities located within New York state.
   16    b.  The  commissioner  of  agriculture and markets shall determine AND
   17  CERTIFY, using uniform criteria,  those  food  products  for  which  the
   18  requirements  of  this  subdivision are deemed MOST beneficial and shall
   19  promulgate and forward to the appropriate agencies a list of  such  food
   20  products,  and  shall  in  addition ascertain those periods of time each
   21  year that those food products are available in sufficient quantities for
   22  competitive purchasing and shall forward such information to  purchasing
   23  agencies.  The commissioner of agriculture and markets shall update such
   24  list  as  often  as  is  deemed  by him or her to be necessary.  FOR THE
   25  PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, "COMPETITIVE PURCHASING" OF NEW YORK  FOOD
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07264-01-1
       S. 2468                             2
    1  PRODUCTS  SHALL  BE  DEEMED  TO  BE  ESTABLISHED  WHEN  THE COST OF SUCH
    2  PRODUCTS ARE NOT MORE THAN TEN PERCENT HIGHER THAN OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS.
    3    c.  (i)  Prior  to  issuing  a  solicitation  for  such food products,
    4  purchasing agencies shall advise the  commissioner  of  agriculture  and
    5  markets  of  the quantities of each food product on the list promulgated
    6  by the commissioner of agriculture and markets to fulfill that  agency's
    7  purchasing needs.
    8    (ii)  The  commissioner  of  agriculture  and markets will then make a
    9  determination of whether those products required by the purchasing agen-
   10  cy are available in sufficient  quantities  to  satisfy  the  purchasing
   11  agency's requirements.
   12    (iii)  Upon  a  determination  by  the commissioner of agriculture and
   13  markets that the food products required by  the  purchasing  agency  are
   14  available  in  sufficient  quantities to fulfill the agency's purchasing
   15  needs, the purchasing agency [may] SHALL include in its  solicitation  a
   16  requirement  that all or some of those food products are grown, produced
   17  or harvested in New York state, or that  any  processing  of  such  food
   18  products take place in facilities located within New York state.
   19    (iv)  Upon  a  determination  by  the  commissioner of agriculture and
   20  markets that such food products are not available in sufficient  quanti-
   21  ties  to  fulfill  the  agency's purchasing needs, the purchasing agency
   22  shall issue a solicitation that does not require that  all  or  some  of
   23  those  food products are grown, produced or harvested in New York state,
   24  or that any processing of such food products take  place  in  facilities
   25  located  within  New  York  state.  In such cases, the purchasing agency
   26  [may] SHALL include such requirements in the next contract for such food
   27  products that is let if at such time those food products  are  available
   28  in  sufficient quantities.  If at that time, those food products are not
   29  available in sufficient  quantities,  the  requirement  shall  again  be
   30  waived until such time as the products are available.
   31    (v)  In  the  event that the purchasing agency receives no offers that
   32  meet the agency's requirement that all or some of the food products  are
   33  grown,  produced  or harvested in New York state, or that any processing
   34  of such food products take place in facilities located within  New  York
   35  state,  it  may  waive  the  provisions  of this subdivision and award a
   36  contract in accordance with other applicable statutes. [In addition,  if
   37  the  commissioners  of agriculture and markets, economic development and
   38  any such individual agency shall agree as to  the  deleterious  economic
   39  impact  of  specifications  requiring  such purchases, such agencies may
   40  waive the provisions of this subdivision for such purchases.]
   41    d. The commissioner, and the commissioner of agriculture and  markets,
   42  may  issue  such  regulations  as they deem necessary and proper for the
   43  implementation of this subdivision.
   44    e. Notwithstanding any other section of law, rule, regulation or stat-
   45  ute, the department of agriculture and markets shall supply  information
   46  required  by  paragraph  b  of this subdivision to the office of general
   47  services and to all other appropriate agencies.
   48    f. (i) With each offer,  the  offerer  shall  certify  that  the  food
   49  products  provided  pursuant  to that solicitation will be in conformity
   50  with the provisions of the [percentage required to meet or  exceed  the]
   51  requirements  in  the  solicitation specifying that all [or some] of the
   52  food products be grown, produced, or harvested within New York state  or
   53  that  any  processing  of  such  food  products take place in facilities
   54  located within New York state.
   55    (ii) Any successful offerer who fails to comply with the provisions of
   56  this subdivision, at the discretion of such  agency,  board,  office  or
       S. 2468                             3
    1  commission,  shall  forfeit  the right to bid on contracts let under the
    2  provisions of this subdivision for a period of time to be determined  by
    3  the commissioner and the commissioner of agriculture and markets.
    4    g.  The  commissioner and the commissioner of agriculture and markets,
    5  shall advise and assist the chancellor of the state  university  of  New
    6  York in [extending the benefits] THE IMPLEMENTATION of the provisions of
    7  this  subdivision  [to]  BY  the  STATE university [and shall modify any
    8  regulations or procedures heretofore established pursuant to this subdi-
    9  vision, in order to facilitate such participation] OF NEW YORK.
   10    S 3. The agriculture and markets  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
   11  section 5-a to read as follows:
   12    S  5-A.  REPORT  ON  PURCHASE  OF NEW YORK FOOD PRODUCTS. ON OR BEFORE
   13  MARCH FIRST EACH YEAR, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR AND
   14  THE LEGISLATURE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS  OF  SUBDIVISION
   15  FOUR  OF  SECTION  ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW. SUCH
   16  REPORT SHALL INCLUDE THE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE BY STATE AGENCIES WITH  THE
   17  PROVISIONS OF SUCH SUBDIVISION, THE AVAILABLE NEW YORK FOOD PRODUCTS AND
   18  THE  PRODUCERS AND/OR PROCESSORS THEREOF WHICH WERE PURCHASED AND RECOM-
   19  MENDATIONS FOR THE IMPROVED IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH SUBDIVISION.
   20    S 4. This act shall take effect on the first of April  next succeeding
   21  the date on which it shall have become a law.