Bill Text: NY S05437 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to agricultural custom operators.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-03-02 - referred to agriculture [S05437 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05437-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5437
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 1, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. METZGER, RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to agricul-
          tural custom operators
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  11  of  section  301  of the agriculture and
     2  markets law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of  2016,  is  amended
     3  and a new subdivision 19 is added to read as follows:
     4    11.  "Farm operation" means the land and on-farm buildings, equipment,
     5  manure processing and handling facilities, and practices which  contrib-
     6  ute to the production, preparation and marketing of crops, livestock and
     7  livestock  products  as a commercial enterprise, including a "commercial
     8  horse boarding operation" as defined in  subdivision  thirteen  of  this
     9  section, a "timber operation" as defined in subdivision fourteen of this
    10  section,  "compost, mulch or other biomass crops" as defined in subdivi-
    11  sion seventeen of this section [and], "commercial equine  operation"  as
    12  defined  in  subdivision  eighteen  of this section and an "agricultural
    13  custom operator" as defined in subdivision  nineteen  of  this  section.
    14  Such farm operation may consist of one or more parcels of owned or rent-
    15  ed land, which parcels may be contiguous or noncontiguous to each other.
    16    19.  "Agricultural custom operator" means an operator whose facilities
    17  are located in an agricultural district or whose services are hired by a
    18  farm operation that is located within an agricultural district to under-
    19  take an activity on the farm operation that is an essential activity  of
    20  the  farm  operation.  An agricultural custom operator's functions shall
    21  include, but not be limited to, the following:  planting  or  harvesting
    22  crops, spreading manure, and applying pesticides or fertilizers.
    23    §  2. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 305-a of the agriculture
    24  and markets law, as added by chapter 497 of the laws of 2011, is amended
    25  to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04799-03-9
        S. 5437                             2
     1    b. Upon the request of any municipality, farm owner  or  operator,  or
     2  agricultural  custom  operator, the commissioner shall render an opinion
     3  to the appropriate local government officials, as to whether farm  oper-
     4  ations would be unreasonably restricted or regulated by proposed changes
     5  in  local  land  use regulations, ordinances or local laws pertaining to
     6  agricultural practices and to the appropriate local land use enforcement
     7  officials administering local land use regulations, ordinances, or local
     8  laws or reviewing a permit pertaining to agricultural practices.
     9    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.