Bill Text: NY S02896 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Includes additional definitions for procedures relating to state purchasing of tropical hardwoods; requires state to maximize the use of environmentally preferable building materials; requires use of information provided by forest certifiers; requires the governor to develop a list of eligible forest certifiers and a chain of custody certifiers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S02896 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S02896-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2896
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 30, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
        AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to the definition and
          purchase of tropical hardwoods
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  1 of section 165 of the state finance law is
     2  amended by adding six new paragraphs f, g, h, i, j  and  k  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    f.  "Sustained  managed forest" means a forest that has been certified
     5  by a forest certifier.
     6    g. "Forest certifier" means an independent, third  party  organization
     7  that  conducts  comprehensive assessments of forest management practices
     8  and environmental performance.
     9    h. "Chain of  custody"  means  a  process  that  provides  documentary
    10  evidence verifying that a given wood product is derived from a certified
    11  forest of origin.
    12    i.  "Chain  of  custody  certifier"  means  an independent third party
    13  organization that certifies chain of custody.
    14    j. "Environmentally preferable building material" means one or more of
    15  the following:
    16    (i) reclaimed wood products;
    17    (ii) biobased material; or
    18    (iii) recycled plastic and other recycled materials.
    19    k. "Third party" means an entity which does not have an equity  inter-
    20  est  in  the  land or the management of the forests being evaluated, and
    21  independent from any timber trade association.
    22    § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 165 of the state  finance
    23  law,  as  added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as
    24  follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02487-01-9
        S. 2896                             2
     1    a. Except as hereinafter provided,  the  state  and  any  governmental
     2  agency  or  political  subdivision  or public benefit corporation of the
     3  state shall not purchase or obtain for any purpose  any  tropical  hard-
     4  woods  or  tropical hardwood products, wholesale or retail, in any form,
     5  and  shall seek to maximize the use of environmentally preferable build-
     6  ing materials by whatever means practicable by law.
     7    § 3. Section 165 of the state finance law is amended by adding  a  new
     8  subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
     9    2-a. Eligible certifier list.  a. The governor shall direct the appro-
    10  priate  department  or  agency  that he or she so designates to create a
    11  list of eligible forest certifiers and chain of custody certifiers.
    12    b. The designated department or  agency  shall  promulgate  rules  and
    13  regulations  when  specifying the information that forest certifiers and
    14  chain of custody certifiers provide in order to be deemed  eligible  for
    15  the purposes of fulfilling the eligibility requirements of this section.
    16  Such eligibility requirements shall include but not be limited to:
    17    (i)  conducting  on the ground audits, using an interdisciplinary team
    18  of experts to evaluate the ecological, social, and  economic  impact  of
    19  forest management practices; and
    20    (ii)  separate  chain of custody certification, linking each certified
    21  forest product to its certified forest of origin.
    22    c. Once the designated department or  agency  has  determined  that  a
    23  certifier  has met the eligibility requirements specified, the certifier
    24  shall be deemed to be an approved and eligible certifier for purposes of
    25  this section.
    26    § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 165 of the state finance law is  amended
    27  by adding a new paragraph e to read as follows:
    28    e.  Nothing  in this subdivision shall be deemed to prohibit any local
    29  government from adopting any local law, ordinance,  rule  or  regulation
    30  governing the purchase of commodities which is more restrictive than the
    31  provisions  of this section relating to the use of tropical hardwoods or
    32  wood products.
    33    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.