Senate Bill S7817A

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to providing compensation to qualified property owners who forego certain developments on such property

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 01, 2018	reported and committed to finance
Mar 21, 2018	print number 7817a
Mar 21, 2018	amend (t) and recommit to agriculture
Feb 28, 2018	referred to agriculture

Votes

- May 1, 2018 - Agriculture Committee Vote
  S7817A
  
  Aye
  
  8
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  3
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  
  0
  - - Agriculture Committee Vote: May 1, 2018
      
      aye (8)
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Montgomery
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Seward
      
      Valesky
      
      aye wr (3)
      
      Brooks
      
      Comrie
      
      Serrano

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2017-S7817 - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 9 Title 23 §9-2301, En Con L

2017-S7817 - Summary

Provides for the establishment of an open space preservation project initiative which shall provide compensation to qualified property owners who forgo certain development on such property.

2017-S7817 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7817

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to enacting the military base and farmland preservation act

 
PURPOSE:

To enact the "military base and farmland preservation act to provide
compensation to farmers, loggers and foresters with property located
near a military installation or national weather service facility, who
forego the construction of wind turbines

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Sections one and two amend the agriculture and markets law, creating a
new section 325-b, to provide for the military base and farmland preser-
vation act.

Section three provides the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

None. Would create a new section within the agriculture and markets law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York has a long tradition of farmland preservation in order to
strengthen and grow its critical agricultural sector, while also helping
to achieve its goals of open space conservation and protection. In areas
nearby and contiguous to military facilities, farmland preservation has
also proved a useful tool to discourage development that could hinder
mission-critical training and operations essential to ensuring maximum
readiness to serve our national defense.

In the area of Fort Drum in Northern New York, the state's largest mili-
tary facility and single-site employer, with more than 16,000 military
and 3,000 civilian employees, state open space funding, along with
federal investments through the Army's Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB)
program, have helped deter mission-hindering development on more than
8,000 acres, while ensuring continued agricultural production on more
than two dozen long-established farms.

Development threats to military operations extend not only to surround-
ing land areas, but also to the airspace above. Wind energy turbines,
which can stand 500 feet or more, have been shown to create significant
interference with radar signals that military pilots depend upon for
safe operation and training, as well as weather radar used by the mili-
tary and civilian authorities to forecast dangerous lake effect and
winter storms that pose a serious threat to public safety.

By creating a targeted preservation program like that proposed in this
legislation, the state can extend its limited resources to provide
significant financial incentives to preserve farmland and open space and
ensure continued agriculture production, while also averting development
that threatens safe and effective military training and operations at
installations like Fort Drum.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None. This is new legislation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Shall take effect on the 90th day after it becomes law, providing howev-
er, that any addition, amendment or repeal of a rule or regulation need-
ed for implementation are authorized to occur prior to the effective
date.

2017-S7817 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7817
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 28, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. 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 enacting
   the military base and farmland preservation act
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the "military
 base and farmland preservation act".
   § 2. The agriculture and markets  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 325-b to read as follows:
   §  325-B.  MILITARY  BASE  AND FARMLAND PRESERVATION. THE COMMISSIONER
 SHALL ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN AN OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION  PROJECT  INITI-
 ATIVE  WHICH SHALL PROVIDE COMPENSATION TO QUALIFIED PROPERTY OWNERS WHO
 FOREGO CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT ON SUCH PROPERTY.
   1. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A) "QUALIFIED PROPERTY OWNER" SHALL MEAN ANY FARMER, LOGGER OR FORES-
 TER WHO DECLINES THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANY PROPERTY OR PORTION OF  PROPERTY
 LOCATED  WITHIN  FORTY-FIVE MILES OF A MILITARY INSTALLATION OR NATIONAL
 WEATHER SERVICE FACILITY, PROVIDED THAT SUCH  QUALIFIED  PROPERTY  OWNER
 CAN OFFER PROOF OF FARM-RELATED OR FORESTRY-RELATED INCOME STEMMING FROM
 THE SUBJECT PROPERTY FOR AT LEAST ONE OF THE LAST THREE YEARS;
   (B)  "DEVELOPMENT"  SHALL  MEAN  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  WIND TURBINES,
 PROVIDED HOWEVER, ONLY SUCH CONSTRUCTION SUBJECT TO  AN  APPLICATION  TO
 THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OR A MUNICIPALITY SHALL QUALIFY.
   2.  QUALIFIED  PROPERTY  OWNERS  MAY  NEGOTIATE WITH THE STATE AND ITS
 AGENTS TO REACH AN AGREEMENT TO FOREGO DEVELOPMENT FOR COMPENSATION  FOR
 THE  PURCHASE OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS. WHEN DETERMINING SUCH COMPENSATION,
 THE STATE SHALL CONSIDER CURRENT MARKET RATES FOR  SIMILAR  PROJECTS  IN
 SUCH REGION OR NEARBY REGIONS.
   3.  FUNDING FOR SUCH AGREEMENTS SHALL BE APPROPRIATED PENDING APPROVAL
 BY THE COMMISSIONER OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION.
   4. SUCH AGREEMENTS SHALL BE IN EFFECT FOR FIFTEEN YEARS AND  SHALL  BE
 RENEWABLE PENDING APPROPRIATION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14835-04-8

 S. 7817                             2
 
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such date.

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 9 Title 23 §9-2301, En Con L

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for the establishment of an open space preservation project initiative which shall provide compensation to qualified property owners who forgo certain development on such property.

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7817A

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to enacting the military base and farmland preservation act

 
PURPOSE:

To enact the "military base and farmland preservation act" to provide
compensation to farmers, loggers and foresters with property located
near a military installation or national weather service facility, who
forego the construction of wind turbines

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Sections one and two amend the environmental conservation law, creating
a new title 23, to provide for the military base and farmland preserva-
tion act.

Section three provides the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

None. This bill would create a new title within the environmental
conservation law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York has a long tradition of farmland preservation in order to
strengthen and grow its critical agricultural sector, while also helping
to achieve its goals of open space conservation and protection. In areas
nearby and contiguous to military facilities, farmland preservation has
also proved a useful tool to discourage development that could hinder
mission-critical training and operations essential to ensuring maximum
readiness to serve our national defense.

In the area of Fort Drum in Northern New York, the state's largest mili-
tary facility and single-site employer, with more than 16,000 military
and 3,000 civilian employees, state open space funding, along with
federal investments through the Army's Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB)
program, have helped deter mission-hindering development on more than
8,000 acres, while ensuring continued agricultural production on more
than two dozen long-established farms.

Development threats to military operations extend not only to surround-
ing land areas, but also to the airspace above. Wind energy turbines,
which can stand 500 feet or more, have been shown to create significant
interference with radar signals that military pilots depend upon for
safe operation and training, as well as weather radar used by the mili-
tary and civilian authorities to forecast dangerous lake effect and
winter storms that pose a serious threat to public safety.

By creating a targeted preservation program like that proposed in this
legislation, the state can extend its limited resources to provide
significant financial incentives to preserve farmland and open space and
ensure continued agriculture production, while also averting development
that threatens safe and effective military training and operations at
installations like Fort Drum.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None. This is new legislation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Shall take effect on the 90th day after it becomes law, providing howev-
er, that any addition, amendment or repeal of a rule or regulation need-
ed for implementation are authorized to occur prior to the effective
date.

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7817--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 28, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  RITCHIE,  AKSHAR,  BOYLE, CROCI, HELMING, LARKIN,
   LITTLE, MARCHIONE, ORTT, RANZENHOFER, ROBACH, SAVINO -- read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Agriculture  --  committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
   as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
   enacting the military base and farmland preservation act
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as  the  "military
 base and farmland preservation act".
   §  2.  Article  9  of the environmental conservation law is amended by
 adding a new title 23 to read as follows:
                                  TITLE 23
                  MILITARY BASE AND FARMLAND PRESERVATION
 SECTION 9-2301. MILITARY BASE AND FARMLAND PRESERVATION.
 § 9-2301. MILITARY BASE AND FARMLAND PRESERVATION.
   THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN AN OPEN SPACE  PRESERVA-
 TION  PROJECT  INITIATIVE  WHICH SHALL PROVIDE COMPENSATION TO QUALIFIED
 PROPERTY OWNERS WHO FOREGO CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT ON SUCH PROPERTY.
   1. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A) "QUALIFIED PROPERTY OWNER" SHALL MEAN ANY FARMER, LOGGER OR FORES-
 TER WHO DECLINES THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANY PROPERTY OR PORTION OF  PROPERTY
 LOCATED  WITHIN  FORTY-FIVE MILES OF A MILITARY INSTALLATION OR NATIONAL
 WEATHER SERVICE FACILITY, PROVIDED THAT SUCH  QUALIFIED  PROPERTY  OWNER
 CAN OFFER PROOF OF FARM-RELATED OR FORESTRY-RELATED INCOME STEMMING FROM
 THE SUBJECT PROPERTY FOR AT LEAST ONE OF THE LAST THREE YEARS;
   (B)  "DEVELOPMENT"  SHALL  MEAN  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  WIND TURBINES,
 PROVIDED HOWEVER, ONLY SUCH CONSTRUCTION SUBJECT TO  AN  APPLICATION  TO
 THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OR A MUNICIPALITY SHALL QUALIFY.
   2.  QUALIFIED  PROPERTY  OWNERS  MAY  NEGOTIATE WITH THE STATE AND ITS
 AGENTS TO REACH AN AGREEMENT TO FOREGO DEVELOPMENT FOR COMPENSATION  FOR
 THE  PURCHASE OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS. WHEN DETERMINING SUCH COMPENSATION,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14835-05-8

 S. 7817--A                          2
 
 THE STATE SHALL CONSIDER CURRENT MARKET RATES FOR  SIMILAR  PROJECTS  IN
 SUCH REGION OR NEARBY REGIONS.
   3.  FUNDING FOR SUCH AGREEMENTS SHALL BE APPROPRIATED PENDING APPROVAL
 BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   4. SUCH AGREEMENTS SHALL BE IN EFFECT FOR FIFTEEN YEARS AND  SHALL  BE
 RENEWABLE PENDING APPROPRIATION.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such date.

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Senate Bill S7817A

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Actions

Votes

May 1, 2018 - Agriculture Committee Vote

Agriculture Committee Vote: May 1, 2018

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2017-S7817 - Details

2017-S7817 - Summary

2017-S7817 - Sponsor Memo

2017-S7817 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Senate Bill S7817A

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Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Actions

Votes

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2017-S7817 - Details

2017-S7817 - Summary

2017-S7817 - Sponsor Memo

2017-S7817 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S7817A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments