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

                                 3455--A

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 27, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. MAGEE -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Agriculture -- recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  in
  accordance  with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
  amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
  tee

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  agriculture and markets law, in relation to the
  powers and duties of  the  commissioner  of  agriculture  and  markets
  pertaining to the direct marketing of grapes and other fruit products,
  and  the  profitability of farming and the preservation of viable farm
  land; and to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a limited
  and partial exemption for certain structures and buildings used in the
  operation of wineries and distilleries

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

  Section 1. Section 3 of the agriculture and markets law, as amended by
chapter 651 of the laws of 1946, is amended to read as follows:
  S 3. Declaration of policy and purposes.  The agricultural industry is
basic  to  the  life  of  our state. It vitally concerns and affects the
welfare, health, economic well-being and productive and industrial capa-
bilities of all our people. It is the policy and duty of  the  state  to
promote,  foster,  and  encourage the agricultural industry, with proper
standards of living for those engaged therein; to design  and  establish
long-range  programs  for its stabilization and profitable operation; to
increase through education, research, regulation, and scientific  means,
the  quantity, quality, and efficiency of its production; to improve its
marketing system; to encourage adequate and skilled assistance for agri-
cultural enterprises; to maintain at fair prices uncontrolled by  specu-
lation  the  instrumentalities  and  products  of agriculture; to remove
unnecessary or unfair costs and obstacles in the [transporation]  TRANS-
PORTATION,  storage,  processing,  distribution,  marketing, and sale of
agricultural products; to prevent frauds  in  the  traffic  therein;  to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05418-03-0
              

A. 3455--A                          2

promote an expanded demand for the state's agricultural products and the
intelligent  uses  thereof  by  consumers as pure and wholesome food; to
protect the public health and to eliminate the evils  of  under-nourish-
ment;  to  encourage  the selection and consumption of food according to
sound dietary  and  nutritional  principles;  and  to  make  our  people
conscious  of the bond of mutual self-interest between our urban and our
rural populations.
  AT THE DAWN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, THE  LEGISLATURE  FINDS  THAT
EVER-INCREASING  ECONOMIC CHANGES AND PRESSURES ON FARMING HAVE INTENSI-
FIED THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THOSE ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURAL  PRODUCTION
FOR  THEIR  LIVELIHOODS, MANY OF WHOM ARE THE DESCENDANTS OF GENERATIONS
OF FARMERS. THESE POWERFUL FORCES, NATIONWIDE AND GLOBAL, HAVE INCREASED
THE URGENCY OF THE PROBLEMS AND THE NEED TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS  OF
THE FOREGOING PARAGRAPH OF THIS SECTION. THUS, THE LEGISLATURE CONTINUES
TO  ENACT  MEASURES  DELIBERATELY  INTENDED TO FULFILL THE GOALS OF SAID
PARAGRAPH. THE NEED HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER.
  Accordingly, all laws enacted concerning the agricultural industry and
its allied subjects, whether included in this chapter or not, are to  be
deemed  an  exercise of the police power of the state and a discharge of
its obligations for the promotion of the general welfare through  state-
wide  laws and regulations, local initiative and government, cooperative
action between groups and  localities,  home-rule  measures,  individual
enterprise,  civic  consciousness, and appropriate coordination with the
federal government and  as  between  educational  research  institutions
within the state.
  Such  laws  and  all  governmental  measures  adopted pursuant thereto
should receive a liberal interpretation and application  in  furtherance
of the aforesaid policy and purposes.
  S  2.  Subdivision 1 of section 16 of the agriculture and markets law,
as amended by chapter 639 of the laws of 2004, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  1.  Execute  and carry into effect the laws of the state and the rules
of the department, relative to agriculture,  horticulture,  farm,  fruit
AND FRUIT PRODUCTS, and dairy products, aquaculture, and the production,
processing, transportation, storage, marketing and distributing of food;
enforce  and  carry  into effect the provisions of the laws of the state
relative to weights and measures.
  S 3. Subdivision 2 of section 16 of the agriculture and  markets  law,
such section as renumbered by chapter 16 of the laws of 1935, is amended
to read as follows:
  2.  Aid in the promotion and development of the agricultural resources
of the state and the improvement of the conditions of  rural  life;  the
improvement  of  the  fertility  and  productiveness of farm AND ORCHARD
lands and the restoration to fertility and productiveness of  unoccupied
and  unproductive  land;  the settlement of farms and the supply of farm
labor; the stocking of farms with meat-producing and dairy  animals  and
promoting  the  production  of  cereals,  fruits and vegetables, AND THE
PROCESSING THEREOF, and co-operate with county farm bureaus[,] and  with
agricultural,  dairying  and  horticultural associations or corporations
and other agencies organized for any or all of such purposes.
  S 4. Subdivision 2-b of section 16 of the agriculture and markets law,
as amended by chapter 639 of the laws of 2004, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  2-b.  Aid  in  the  promotion,  marketing,  and sale of New York state
labelled wines, grapes [and], grape products, OTHER FRUITS AND ALL OTHER
FRUIT PRODUCTS in cooperation with the department of  economic  develop-

A. 3455--A                          3

ment  both  within  and  outside  the state and to provide promotion and
marketing advisement to wineries, farm wineries,  micro-wineries,  grape
and  other fruit growers and processors, and related trade organizations
located within this state.
  S  5.  Subdivisions 5, 11 and 13 of section 283 of the agriculture and
markets law, as added by chapter 834 of the laws of 1981, are amended to
read as follows:
  5. Provide assistance to consumer, COMMUNITY or  non-profit  organiza-
tions  seeking  to  purchase or facilitate the purchase of farm products
directly from producers.
  11. Establish a statewide advisory council which shall provide  infor-
mation  to  and advise the commissioner, as prescribed by him OR HER, on
policy, planning, and programs.
  13. Undertake any other activities which he OR SHE deems necessary  to
accomplish the purposes of this article.
  S  6. Subdivision 9 of section 284 of the agriculture and markets law,
as amended by chapter 639 of the laws of 2004, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  9.  Establish  the  Hudson  valley  agricultural  center to serve as a
marketing, promotional, informational and cultural center for the Hudson
river valley  agricultural  region  and  greenway  and  to  promote  the
production  of fruits [(] AND FRUIT PRODUCTS, including juices, jellies,
[and] preserves [made therefrom)], wine, GRAPPA AND cider, vegetables[,]
and other agricultural products.
  S 7. The opening paragraph and paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section
285 of the agriculture and markets law, as added by chapter 834  of  the
laws of 1981, are amended to read as follows:
  The  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the statewide advisory council
shall be prescribed by the commissioner [and he], WHO  may  specifically
delegate to the council any or all of the following duties and responsi-
bilities:
  a.  [Assisting] ASSIST the commissioner in the collection and assembly
of information and data necessary for the proper administration of  this
article.
  S  8.  Subdivision  2  of section 285-b of the agriculture and markets
law, as amended by chapter 571 of the laws of 2008, is amended  to  read
as follows:
  2.  The advisory council, in consultation with the Hudson river valley
greenway communities council, the upstate New York tourism council,  and
the  downstate  New  York  tourism  council,  may recommend programs and
promotional activities designed to preserve and  enhance  Hudson  valley
region  tourism,  INCREASE  THE  PROFITABLILITY  OF FARMING and PRESERVE
VIABLE agricultural open [space] SPACES, address  issues  affecting  the
viability  of  agriculture,  including  real  property  tax policies and
municipal land use issues AND POLICIES, and promote greater agricultural
marketing and promotional opportunities for  the  region's  agricultural
producers to the department.
  S  9.  The  real  property  tax law is amended by adding a new section
483-e to read as follows:
  S 483-E. EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION OF STRUCTURES AND BUILDINGS ESSENTIAL
TO THE OPERATION OF WINERIES AND DISTILLERIES. 1. STRUCTURES AND  BUILD-
INGS  ESSENTIAL TO THE PROCESSING OR STORAGE OF FRUIT, AND ACTUALLY USED
AND OCCUPIED TO CARRY OUT SUCH PROCESSING OR STORAGE BY  ANY  PERSON  OR
ENTITY  LICENSED  UNDER  SECTION  SIXTY OR SEVENTY-FIVE OF THE ALCOHOLIC
BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW, WHICH ARE CONSTRUCTED OR RECONSTRUCTED  SUBSEQUENT
TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE AND INITIAL APPLICABILITY QUALIFICATION THEREOF OF

A. 3455--A                          4

THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  EXEMPT  FROM  TAXATION  TO THE EXTENT OF FIFTY
PERCENT OF ANY INCREASE IN VALUE THEREOF BY REASON OF SUCH  CONSTRUCTION
OR RECONSTRUCTION FOR A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS.
  2.  THE TERM "STRUCTURES AND BUILDINGS" INCLUDES STRUCTURES AND BUILD-
INGS OR PORTIONS THEREOF USED DIRECTLY AND EXCLUSIVELY IN THE PROCESSING
OR STORAGE OF FRUIT BY A PERSON OR ENTITY LICENSED UNDER  SECTION  SIXTY
OR  SEVENTY-FIVE  OF  THE  ALCOHOLIC  BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW TO PRODUCE OR
MANUFACTURE WINE, LIQUOR, ALCOHOL  OR  SPIRITS,  BUT  DOES  NOT  INCLUDE
STRUCTURES OR BUILDINGS WITHIN THE MEANING OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION
FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-THREE OF THIS TITLE.
  3. SUCH EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION SHALL BE GRANTED ONLY UPON AN APPLICA-
TION  BY  THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING OR STRUCTURE ON A FORM PRESCRIBED BY
THE STATE BOARD. THE APPLICANT SHALL FURNISH SUCH  INFORMATION  AS  SUCH
BOARD  SHALL  REQUIRE. SUCH APPLICATION SHALL BE FILED WITH THE ASSESSOR
OF THE CITY, TOWN, VILLAGE OR COUNTY HAVING THE POWER TO ASSESS PROPERTY
FOR TAXATION ON OR BEFORE THE APPROPRIATE TAXABLE STATUS  DATE  OF  SUCH
CITY,  TOWN,  VILLAGE  OR  COUNTY  AND  WITHIN ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF
COMPLETION OF SUCH CONSTRUCTION OR RECONSTRUCTION.
  4. IF THE ASSESSOR IS SATISFIED THAT THE APPLICANT IS ENTITLED  TO  AN
EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, HE OR SHE SHALL APPROVE THE APPLICA-
TION.  SUCH  STRUCTURES  OR  BUILDINGS  SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM TAXATION AS
PROVIDED IN THIS SECTION.
  5. THE ASSESSED VALUE  OF  ANY  EXEMPTION  GRANTED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
SECTION  SHALL  BE ENTERED BY THE ASSESSOR ON THE PORTION OF THE ASSESS-
MENT ROLL PROVIDED FOR  PROPERTY  EXEMPT  FROM  TAXATION.  AN  EXEMPTION
GRANTED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL CONTINUE ONLY WHILE THE BUILDINGS
AND  STRUCTURES  ARE  ACTUALLY USED AND OCCUPIED AS PROVIDED FOR IN THIS
SECTION, BUT IN NO EVENT FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS.
  6. IN THE EVENT THAT BUILDINGS OR STRUCTURES OR PORTIONS THEREOF  USED
DIRECTLY  AND  EXCLUSIVELY  IN  THE  PROCESSING OR STORAGE OF FRUIT BY A
PERSON OR ENTITY LICENSED UNDER SECTION SIXTY  OR  SEVENTY-FIVE  OF  THE
ALCOHOLIC  BEVERAGE  CONTROL LAW TO PRODUCE OR MANUFACTURE WINE, LIQUOR,
ALCOHOL OR SPIRITS ARE CONVERTED TO ANY OTHER USE OR CEASE TO BE SO USED
DURING THE PERIOD OF AN EXEMPTION GRANTED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION,  THE
STRUCTURES OR BUILDINGS OR PORTIONS THEREOF UPON WHICH THE EXEMPTION WAS
GRANTED  SHALL BE SUBJECT TO ROLL-BACK TAXES FOR THE PERIOD DURING WHICH
THE  EXEMPTION  WAS  OPERATIVE.  STRUCTURES  AND  BUILDINGS  SUBJECT  TO
ROLL-BACK TAXES SHALL BE TAXED AS PROVIDED FOR IN THIS SECTION.
  (A)  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LIMITATIONS CONTAINED IN SECTION FIVE HUNDRED
FIFTY OF THIS CHAPTER, THE ASSESSOR OF THE  APPROPRIATE  ASSESSING  UNIT
SHALL ENTER ON THE TAXABLE PORTION OF THE ASSESSMENT ROLL OF THE CURRENT
YEAR THE ASSESSED VALUATION OR VALUATIONS OF THE STRUCTURES OR BUILDINGS
ON  WHICH  EXEMPTION  WAS  GRANTED  IN  ANY  PRIOR  YEAR OR YEARS AT THE
ASSESSED VALUATION OR VALUATIONS AS SET FORTH ON THE EXEMPT  PORTION  OF
THE ASSESSMENT ROLL OR ROLLS.
  (B) THE AMOUNT OF ROLL-BACK TAXES SHALL BE COMPUTED BY THE APPROPRIATE
TAX LEVYING BODY BY APPLYING THE APPLICABLE TAX RATE FOR EACH SUCH PRIOR
YEAR  TO  THE  ASSESSED VALUATION, AS SET FORTH ON THE EXEMPT PORTION OF
THE ASSESSMENT ROLL, FOR SUCH STRUCTURES  OR  BUILDINGS  FOR  EACH  SUCH
PRIOR YEAR DURING SUCH PERIOD OF EXEMPTION.
  (C)  SUCH  ROLL-BACK  TAXES  SHALL BE LEVIED AND COLLECTED IN THE SAME
MANNER AND AT THE SAME TIME AS OTHER TAXES ARE  IMPOSED  AND  LEVIED  ON
SUCH ROLL.
  7.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY INCONSISTENT PROVISION OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED
EIGHTY-TWO OF  THIS  CHAPTER,  STRUCTURES  AND  BUILDINGS  RECEIVING  AN

A. 3455--A                          5

EXEMPTION  PURSUANT  TO  THIS SECTION SHALL BE ASSESSED PURSUANT TO SAID
SECTION FIVE HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO.
  S  10. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
section nine of this act shall apply to assessment rolls prepared on the
basis of taxable status dates occurring on or after the first of January
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.