S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 3248--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 3, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. MONTGOMERY, LATIMER -- read twice and ordered print-
  ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Govern-
  ment -- recommitted to the Committee on Local Government in accordance
  with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to  the  purchase
  of local food products by school districts

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 103 of the general municipal  law,
as  amended  by  chapter  269 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
follows:
  9. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of  this  section  to  the
contrary,  a  board  of  education  [may] SHALL, on behalf of its school
district, [separately purchase eggs,  livestock,  fish,  dairy  products
(excluding  milk), juice, grains, and species of fresh fruit and vegeta-
bles directly from New York State producers or growers, or  associations
of  producers and growers] REQUIRE THAT ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF ALL FOOD
PRODUCTS PURCHASED ARE GROWN, PRODUCED OR HARVESTED IN NEW YORK STATE OR
THAT ANY PROCESSING OF SUCH  FOOD  PRODUCTS  TAKE  PLACE  IN  FACILITIES
LOCATED WITHIN NEW YORK STATE, provided that:
  (a)  [such]  AN  association  of producers or growers THAT PRODUCES OR
GROWS EGGS, LIVESTOCK, FISH, DAIRY  PRODUCTS  (EXCLUDING  MILK),  JUICE,
GRAINS,  AND  SPECIES OF FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, is comprised of ten
or fewer owners of farms who  also  operate  such  farms  and  who  have
combined  to  fill  the order of a school district as herein authorized,
provided however, that a school district may apply to  the  commissioner
of education for permission to purchase from an association of more than
ten owners of such farms when no other producers or growers have offered
to sell to such school;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03035-02-6

              

S. 3248--A                          2

  (b)  [the  amount  that  may  be  expended by a school district in any
fiscal year for such purchases shall not exceed an amount equal to twen-
ty cents multiplied by the total number  of  days  in  the  school  year
multiplied by the total enrollment of such school district;
  (c)]  UPON DETERMINATION BY A BOARD OF EDUCATION THAT THE COST OF SUCH
FOOD PRODUCTS IS NOT REASONABLY COMPETITIVE, THE SPECIFICATIONS  REQUIR-
ING  SUCH  PURCHASE SHALL BE WAIVED FOR THAT SPECIFIC FOOD PRODUCT UNTIL
THE NEXT CONTRACT FOR SUCH FOOD PRODUCT IS LET OUT FOR BID. FOR PURPOSES
OF THIS SUBDIVISION "REASONABLY COMPETITIVE" SHALL MEAN THAT THE COST OF
THE NEW YORK STATE GROWN, PRODUCED, HARVESTED OR PROCESSED FOOD  PRODUCT
DOES NOT EXCEED A COST PREMIUM OF TEN PERCENT ABOVE THE COST OF A COMPA-
RABLE PRODUCT THAT IS NOT GROWN, PRODUCED, HARVESTED OR PROCESSED IN NEW
YORK STATE.
  (C) UPON DETERMINATION BY A BOARD OF EDUCATION THAT SUCH FOOD PRODUCTS
ARE  NOT AVAILABLE IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITY FOR PURCHASING, THE SPECIFICA-
TIONS REQUIRING SUCH PURCHASE SHALL BE WAIVED  FOR  THAT  SPECIFIC  FOOD
PRODUCT  UNTIL  THE  NEXT  CONTRACT FOR SUCH FOOD PRODUCT IS LET OUT FOR
BID.
  (D) all such purchases shall be administered pursuant  to  regulations
promulgated by the commissioner of education. Such regulations shall: be
developed  in  consultation  with  the  commissioner  of agriculture and
markets to accommodate and promote the provisions of the  farm-to-school
program  established  pursuant  to  subdivision  five-b of [the] section
sixteen of the agriculture and markets law and subdivision thirty-one of
section three hundred five of the education law as added by chapter  two
of  the laws of two thousand [two] ONE; ensure that the prices paid by a
district for any items so purchased do not exceed the prices of compara-
ble local farm products that are available to  districts  through  their
usual purchases of such items; ensure that all producers and growers who
desire  to  sell  to  school districts can readily access information in
accordance with the farm-to-school law;  include  provisions  for  situ-
ations  when  more  than  one  producer or grower seeks to sell the same
product to a district to ensure that all such producers or growers  have
an  equitable  opportunity  to  do  so  in a manner similar to the usual
purchasing practices of such districts; develop guidelines for  approval
of  purchases  of  items  from associations of more than ten growers and
producers; and, to the maximum extent practicable,  minimize  additional
paperwork,  recordkeeping and other similar requirements on both growers
and producers and school districts.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  the
academic school year commencing on or after July 1, 2016; provided that,
effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
tive  date  is  authorized  and  directed to be made and completed on or
before such effective date.