NY State Senate Bill S3974

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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Actions

view actions (16)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 09, 2022	referred to education delivered to assembly passed senate
Jan 20, 2022	advanced to third reading
Jan 19, 2022	2nd report cal.
Jan 18, 2022	1st report cal.223
Jan 05, 2022	referred to local government returned to senate died in assembly
Mar 22, 2021	referred to education delivered to assembly passed senate
Mar 03, 2021	advanced to third reading
Mar 02, 2021	2nd report cal.
Mar 01, 2021	1st report cal.445
Feb 01, 2021	referred to local government

Votes

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Mar 9, 2022 - floor Vote

S3974

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Jan 18, 2022 - Local Government committee Vote

S3974

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Mar 22, 2021 - floor Vote

S3974

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Mar 1, 2021 - Local Government committee Vote

S3974

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Co-Sponsors

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S3974 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7482
Current Committee:: Assembly Education
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §103, Gen Muni L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S1430, A7011
2019-2020: S252, A6733
2023-2024: A2959

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Permits school districts to favor locally sourced goods.

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S3974

SPONSOR: KENNEDY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to facilitating
school districts in purchasing local agricultural products

 
PURPOSE:

By removing certain limitations imposed by the General Municipal Law,
this bill will help schools that wish to integrate a variety of local
agricultural products in to their food services be able to do so.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The cap on limited local purchasing imposed by Article 5-A of the Gener-
al Municipal Law, section 103, subdivision 9, paragraph b will be
removed in its entirety. That article and section of the General Munici-
pal Law will also have a new subdivision added, 16. That subdivision
would allow a Board of Education to include language in an offer for

bids favoring local or regional procurement if certain standards were
met.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Allowing schools to put a regional preference into their bid requests
would financially benefit local agricultural producers and distributors
with little risk of state expense. Expanding the market for local
produce might also create new markets for New York's hardworking farmers
by encouraging larger distributors to invest in their connections with
smaller regional producers. This could help co-ops or farms without the
resources to independently participate in a bidding process to access
local school procurement programs. In addition, students would benefit
from what could potentially be a wider variety of fresher fruits, vege-
tables and other farm products.  The major impediment to schools that
wish to put out bids for a range of local agricultural products is
section 103 of the General Municipal Law ("GML"). Comptroller's Opinions
91-52 and 92-50 have interpreted the GML to allow local preferences to
be included in bid offers in certain conditions. This bill follows the
language used by those opinions and makes them, subject to restrictions,
explicitly applicable to offers for bids made by a board of education.
This will be done in such as way as to keep the protections the GAL
affords to public funds intact.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S.1430A/A.7011A

2019-20: S.252 Passed Senate/A.6733 Referred to Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law; provided however, that effective immediately the addition,
amendment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date is authorized and
directed to be made by the commissioner of the department of agriculture
and markets in consultation with the commissioner of the department of
education on or before such effective date.

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3974
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 1, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  KENNEDY,  HELMING, MAY, RITCHIE -- read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Local Government
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the general municipal law, in relation to facilitating
   school districts in purchasing local agricultural products

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraphs (b), (b-1) and (c) of subdivision 9 of section
 103 of the general municipal law, paragraphs (b) and (c) as amended  and
 paragraph  (b-1) as added by chapter 90 of the laws of 2017, are amended
 to read as follows:
   (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;
   (b-1) the amount that may be expended by a board of cooperative educa-
 tional services in any fiscal year for such purchases shall  not  exceed
 an  amount  equal to twenty cents multiplied by the total number of days
 in the school year  multiplied  by  the  number  of  students  receiving
 services by such board of cooperative educational services at facilities
 operated by a board of cooperative educational services;
   (c)]  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 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  or  board of cooperative educational services for any items so
 purchased do not exceed the prices of  comparable  local  farm  products
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD06929-01-1

 S. 3974                             2
 
 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 or boards of cooperative educational services can read-
 ily  access  information  in  accordance  with  the  farm-to-school law;
 include provisions for situations when more than one producer or  grower
 seeks  to  sell  the  same product to a district or board of cooperative
 educational services 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 or boards of  cooperative  educa-
 tional  services;  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. Section 103 of the general municipal law is amended by  adding  a
 new subdivision 17 to read as follows:
   17.  (A)  WHEN  A  BOARD OF EDUCATION, ON BEHALF OF A SCHOOL OR SCHOOL
 DISTRICT, ADVERTISES AN OFFER FOR BIDS, IT MAY INCLUDE IN ITS SPECIFICA-
 TIONS LANGUAGE FAVORING LOCAL OR REGIONAL PROCUREMENT WHERE PROXIMITY TO
 THE OFFEROR IS REASONABLY RELATED TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES  OR
 THE  PROVISION  OF  THE  GOODS,  INCLUDING THE TYPE OR QUALITY OF GOODS,
 BEING SOUGHT.
   (B) UPON A DETERMINATION BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ADVERTISING SUCH  A
 BID  THAT THE GOODS OR SERVICES INCLUDED IN SUCH AN OFFER ARE NOT AVAIL-
 ABLE LOCALLY OR REGIONALLY, ANY LANGUAGE  SPECIFYING  PROXIMITY  TO  THE
 OFFEROR  SHALL  BE  WAIVED  UNTIL  THE  NEXT  CONTRACT FOR SUCH GOODS OR
 SERVICES IS LET OUT FOR BID.
   (C) IN THE EVENT THAT A BOARD OF EDUCATION RECEIVES NO ACCEPTABLE BIDS
 IT MAY WAIVE THE LANGUAGE SPECIFYING PROXIMITY TO THE OFFEROR AND  SHALL
 AWARD A CONTRACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH OTHER APPLICABLE STATUTES.
   §  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 by the
 commissioner of the department of agriculture and markets  in  consulta-
 tion  with  the commissioner of the department of education on or before
 such effective date.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S3974

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

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Votes

Mar 9, 2022 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Mar 9, 2022

Jan 18, 2022 - Local Government committee Vote

Local Government Committee Vote: Jan 18, 2022

Mar 22, 2021 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Mar 22, 2021

Mar 1, 2021 - Local Government committee Vote

Local Government Committee Vote: Mar 1, 2021

Co-Sponsors

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Details

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S3974

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Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Mar 9, 2022 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Mar 9, 2022

Jan 18, 2022 - Local Government committee Vote

Local Government Committee Vote: Jan 18, 2022

Mar 22, 2021 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Mar 22, 2021

Mar 1, 2021 - Local Government committee Vote

Local Government Committee Vote: Mar 1, 2021

Co-Sponsors

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Details

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S3974 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments