Bill Text: NY S05302 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to financial security requirements for small business milk dealers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-21 - SUBSTITUTED BY A8492 [S05302 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S05302-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5302--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     March 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. RITCHIE -- (at request of the Department of Agricul-
          ture and Markets) -- 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  --
          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  the
          financial  security  requirements  for small business milk dealers and
          increasing the minimum farm products sales threshold for  requiring  a
          farm products dealer license and security
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 57 of the
     2  agriculture and markets law, as amended by chapter 596 of  the  laws  of
     3  1986, is amended to read as follows:
     4    Application  for  a  license,  or  licenses  shall be made upon a form
     5  prescribed by the commissioner. The applicant shall furnish satisfactory
     6  evidence of good moral character, and shall give proof of his ability to
     7  perform the functions for which a license is applied, to  the  satisfac-
     8  tion of the commissioner. [The applicant shall pay a license fee of five
     9  dollars  to  the commissioner for remittance to the state treasury.] The
    10  commissioner, in his discretion, may combine in one license authority to
    11  perform any of the functions for which a license is required pursuant to
    12  the provisions of subdivisions one, two and three of this  section.    A
    13  license  shall  be  for  a  period  not exceeding five years, and may be
    14  renewed, in the discretion of the commissioner, for  successive  periods
    15  of  not  exceeding five years each [upon payment of a license fee of two
    16  dollars to the commissioner for remittance to the state treasury].
    17    § 2. The first undesignated paragraph of section 57-a of the  agricul-
    18  ture  and markets law, as amended by chapter 149 of the laws of 1969, is
    19  amended to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09990-03-7
        S. 5302--A                          2
     1    No person shall test milk and/or  cream  in  order  to  determine  the
     2  bacterial  or leucocyte count or make other tests to determine the pres-
     3  ence or absence of abnormal milk, where the results of such test affects
     4  the rate of payment to the producer for  such  milk  and/or  cream,  the
     5  classification  of  milk  and/or cream as received from the producer, or
     6  the acceptance or rejection of such milk and/or cream by the operator of
     7  a milk-receiving or manufacturing plant, unless licensed by the  commis-
     8  sioner.  Application  for  such  license  shall  be  made  upon  a  form
     9  prescribed by the commissioner. The applicant shall furnish satisfactory
    10  evidence of good moral character, and shall demonstrate his  ability  to
    11  make such tests by an examination under the direction of the commission-
    12  er.  [The  applicant  shall  pay  a  license  fee of five dollars to the
    13  commissioner for remittance to the state treasury.] A license  shall  be
    14  for  a  period not exceeding five years. A license may be renewed in the
    15  discretion of the commissioner, without an examination,  for  successive
    16  periods  of not exceeding five years each [upon payment of a license fee
    17  of two dollars to the commissioner for remittance to  the  state  treas-
    18  ury].
    19    §  3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 244 of the agriculture
    20  and markets law, as added by chapter 367 of the laws of 1996, is amended
    21  to read as follows:
    22    (b) The licensing, bonding and stated grape price provisions  of  this
    23  article  shall  not  apply to:   (i) any person whose annual dealings in
    24  farm products do not exceed the sum of [ten] twenty thousand dollars; or
    25  (ii) any agricultural cooperative with respect to the receipt,  process-
    26  ing and marketing of grapes or grape products of its producer members or
    27  non-members  of  such  cooperative  on  the  basis  of  their patronage,
    28  provided, however, that the annual purchase of grape or  grape  products
    29  from  non-members  of  such  cooperative shall not exceed the sum of one
    30  hundred thousand dollars; or (iii) a charitable not-for-profit organiza-
    31  tion which receives for distribution donated farm salvage, as defined in
    32  section two hundred seventeen of this chapter.
    33    § 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 250 of the  agriculture
    34  and markets law, as added by chapter 367 of the laws of 1996, is amended
    35  to read as follows:
    36    (b)  In  addition  to the bond or letter of credit required by section
    37  two hundred forty-eight of this article, a fee for deposit in the  agri-
    38  cultural  producers  security fund shall be paid annually to the commis-
    39  sioner at the time application is made for a license. Such fee shall  be
    40  determined on the basis of the annual dollar volume of purchases of farm
    41  products  as  shown in the application for license under this article in
    42  accordance with the following schedule:
    43             Annual Volume                    Fee
    44        $5,000,000 and over               $2,500
    45         3,000,000 - 4,999,999             1,750
    46         1,000,000 - 2,999,999             1,000
    47           500,000 - 999,999                 750
    48           300,000 - 499,999                 500
    49            50,000 - 299,999                 300
    50            20,000 - 49,999                  200
    51            [10,000 - 19,999]               [100]
    52    § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 258-b of the agriculture and markets law
    53  is amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
    54    (d) Upon an application of  a  dealer,  and  pursuant  to  regulations
    55  promulgated  to  effectuate  the  provisions of this paragraph, a dealer
    56  that purchases less than one hundred thousand pounds of milk  per  month
        S. 5302--A                          3
     1  shall not be subject to bond or assessment under the security provisions
     2  of  this section when the commissioner waives such provisions.  Notwith-
     3  standing such waiver, a claim may be filed and pursued  against  such  a
     4  dealer  as provided for in this section; and any claim that is certified
     5  for payment by the commissioner shall be paid from  funds  derived  from
     6  license  fees assessed upon milk dealers pursuant to section two hundred
     7  fifty-eight-a of this article.
     8    The defaulting dealer shall be liable for reimbursement to the commis-
     9  sioner for the value of the claim in the same manner as if the claim was
    10  paid out of the milk producers security fund as provided  for  in  para-
    11  graph (e) of subdivision five of this section.
    12    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.