S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6132--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 23, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. LIFTON, CROUCH, LOPEZ, BARRETT -- read once and
   referred to the Committee on Education -- committee  discharged,  bill
   amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
   tee
 
 AN ACT to amend the general municipal  law,  in  relation  to  requiring
   school  districts  to purchase food products that are grown, produced,
   harvested or processed in New York state
 
   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, paragraph (a) as  amended
 by  chapter  62  of the laws of 2016, and subparagraph (ii) of paragraph
 (a) as amended by section 39 of part YYY of chapter 59 of  the  laws  of
 2017, 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) (i) [such] A BOARD OF EDUCATION MAY ONLY  PURCHASE  FOOD  PRODUCTS
 FROM 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 educa-
 tion for permission to purchase from an association  of  more  than  ten
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07918-04-7

 A. 6132--A                          2
 
 owners  of such farms when no other producers or growers have offered to
 sell to such school; or
   (ii)  [such] A BOARD OF EDUCATION MAY ONLY PURCHASE FOOD PRODUCTS FROM
 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 owners  of  farms
 who  also  operate  such  farms and have combined to fill the order of a
 school district, and where such order is for fifty thousand  dollars  or
 less  as herein authorized, provided however, that a school district may
 apply to the commissioner of education for permission to purchase orders
 of more than fifty thousand dollars from an  association  of  owners  of
 such  farms  when  no other producers or growers have offered to sell to
 such school;
   (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.
   §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
 academic school year commencing on or after July 1, 2017; 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-

 A. 6132--A                          3
 
 tive date are authorized and directed to be made  and  completed  on  or
 before such effective date.