§ 173-c. Cooperative honey bee health improvement program. 1. In
support of the duties outlined in this article, as well as the goals and
objectives for pollinator protection; the commissioner shall create a
cooperative honey bee health improvement program which will require
that:

(a) All beekeepers shall provide to the commissioner the number of
managed colonies; the county in which each of these colonies is located;
and current contact information of the individual or individuals
responsible for the care of these bees. All beekeepers shall also
indicate whether they intend to sell nucleus colonies. This information
shall be updated and provided to the commissioner on an annual basis.

(b) The department shall use this information to communicate the
incidence of infectious diseases and parasites at the county level to
beekeepers and bee clubs and to notify beekeepers of the potential need
for the department to prohibit the movement or selling of diseased or
infested bees or require the destruction of such bees. The department
shall also use this information to establish the boundaries of disease
and parasite infestations in the area surrounding a confirmed disease or
parasite infestation.

(c) Any individual or business that intends to sell nucs or queens
produced within and offered for sale to other persons in New York must
first have an inspection of its apiaries, as authorized by section one
hundred seventy-three-b of this article, by the department which
inspections shall continue on an annual basis, so long as nucs or queens
are offered for sale. These inspections shall ascertain whether such
beekeeper's apiaries are free from American Foulbrood and whether levels
of other infectious diseases and parasites in the operation render the
nucs or queens unfit for sale. Any individual or business whose nucs or
queen rearing colonies are found to be infested with American Foulbrood,
after laboratory confirmation, shall be prohibited from selling nucs and
queens until the affected apiaries are reinspected and found to be free
from American Foulbrood. If upon re-inspection, symptoms of American
Foulbrood are found to persist, the prohibition from selling nucs and
queens shall continue, and the department shall take samples for
laboratory testing for the continued presence of American Foulbrood.
Should the laboratory test results show the samples free from American
Foulbrood, the department shall promptly notify the individual or
business of the test results and the termination of the prohibition of
the sale of nucs and queens.

(d) No person shall knowingly transport, move, buy, sell, possess,
barter, offer for sale or barter, deliver, or offer for transportation
any species or subspecies of bees which have been determined by the
commissioner to cause injury, directly or indirectly, to the public
health or welfare or to this state's managed bee population, crops, or
other plants; provided, however, that the commissioner may, at his or
her discretion, exempt the transportation, sale, possession, movement,
or delivery of such bees used for scientific or educational purposes
under such safeguards as deemed necessary by the commissioner.

(e) Every shipment of live bees in cages or packages without comb into
this state from another state or foreign country, shall be accompanied
by a permit issued by the commissioner, or by a certificate of freedom
from disease executed by an official of such state or foreign country
recognized by the commissioner.

(f) Every shipment of a colony of bees, used brood comb, used
beekeeping equipment, or live bees on comb into this state from another
state or foreign country, shall be accompanied by a permit issued by the
commissioner or by a certificate of freedom from diseases and parasitic
organisms adversely affecting bees and from species or subspecies of
bees which have been determined by the commissioner to cause injury
directly or indirectly, to the public safety or to the state's managed
bee population, crops, or other plants; and certifying that a proper
inspection was made not earlier than sixty days preceding the date of
shipment. Such certificate shall be executed by the certifying official
of such state or foreign country. A duplicate of such certificate must
be received by the department before any such shipment enters the state.
Every transportation company that knowingly receives such shipment shall
immediately notify the commissioner thereof, giving the name and address
of the consignor or consignee.

2. The goals of the cooperative honey bee health improvement program
shall be to:

(a) document the health of the state's managed pollinator population,
including the presence of parasites, diseases, and environmental threats
to the state's population of managed pollinators;

(b) provide information on honey bee health to beekeepers,
stakeholders and academia to inform research and best management
practices related to pollinator health;

(c) document the annual population of managed pollinators in each
county within New York state; and

(d) collect contact information for each beekeeper to allow for better
communication among the department and beekeepers relating to the
incidence of parasites, disease and other health threats that could be
transmitted within the flight range of managed pollinators.

3. There shall be no fee or other registration cost for participation
in the cooperative honey bee health improvement program.

4. A beekeeper required to submit information to the commissioner
pursuant to this section may request that such information be exempted
from disclosure pursuant to subdivision five of section eighty-nine of
the public officers law.