Requires school districts to purchase food products that are grown, produced, harvested or processed in New York state; allows waiver if price of such local food products is not reasonably competitive; allows waiver if such food products are not available in sufficient quantity.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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6132--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
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:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 103 of the general municipal law,
2 as amended by chapter 269 of the laws of 2004, paragraph (a) as amended
3 by chapter 62 of the laws of 2016, and subparagraph (ii) of paragraph
4 (a) as amended by section 39 of part YYY of chapter 59 of the laws of
5 2017, is amended to read as follows:
6 9. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section to the
7 contrary, a board of education [may] shall, on behalf of its school
8 district, [separately purchase eggs, livestock, fish, dairy products
9 (excluding milk), juice, grains, and species of fresh fruit and vegeta-
10 bles directly from New York State producers or growers, or associations
11 of producers and growers] require that essential components of all food
12 products purchased are grown, produced or harvested in New York state or
13 that any processing of such food products take place in facilities
14 located within New York state, provided that:
15 (a) (i) [such] a board of education may only purchase food products
16 from an association of producers or growers that produces or grows eggs,
17 livestock, fish, dairy products (excluding milk), juice, grains, and
18 species of fresh fruit and vegetables, is comprised of ten or fewer
19 owners of farms who also operate such farms and who have combined to
20 fill the order of a school district as herein authorized, provided
21 however, that a school district may apply to the commissioner of educa-
22 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
1 owners of such farms when no other producers or growers have offered to
2 sell to such school; or
3 (ii) [such] a board of education may only purchase food products from
4 an association of producers or growers that produces or grows eggs,
5 livestock, fish, dairy products (excluding milk), juice, grains, and
6 species of fresh fruit and vegetables, is comprised of owners of farms
7 who also operate such farms and have combined to fill the order of a
8 school district, and where such order is for fifty thousand dollars or
9 less as herein authorized, provided however, that a school district may
10 apply to the commissioner of education for permission to purchase orders
11 of more than fifty thousand dollars from an association of owners of
12 such farms when no other producers or growers have offered to sell to
13 such school;
14 (b) [the amount that may be expended by a school district in any
15 fiscal year for such purchases shall not exceed an amount equal to twen-
16 ty cents multiplied by the total number of days in the school year
17 multiplied by the total enrollment of such school district;
18 (c)] upon determination by a board of education that the cost of such
19 food products is not reasonably competitive, the specifications requir-
20 ing such purchase shall be waived for that specific food product until
21 the next contract for such food product is let out for bid. For purposes
22 of this subdivision "reasonably competitive" shall mean that the cost of
23 the New York state grown, produced, harvested or processed food product
24 does not exceed a cost premium of ten percent above the cost of a compa-
25 rable product that is not grown, produced, harvested or processed in New
26 York state.
27 (c) upon determination by a board of education that such food products
28 are not available in sufficient quantity for purchasing, the specifica-
29 tions requiring such purchase shall be waived for that specific food
30 product until the next contract for such food product is let out for
31 bid.
32 (d) all such purchases shall be administered pursuant to regulations
33 promulgated by the commissioner of education. Such regulations shall: be
34 developed in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture and
35 markets to accommodate and promote the provisions of the farm-to-school
36 program established pursuant to subdivision five-b of [the] section
37 sixteen of the agriculture and markets law and subdivision thirty-one of
38 section three hundred five of the education law as added by chapter two
39 of the laws of two thousand [two] one; ensure that the prices paid by a
40 district for any items so purchased do not exceed the prices of compara-
41 ble local farm products that are available to districts through their
42 usual purchases of such items; ensure that all producers and growers who
43 desire to sell to school districts can readily access information in
44 accordance with the farm-to-school law; include provisions for situ-
45 ations when more than one producer or grower seeks to sell the same
46 product to a district to ensure that all such producers or growers have
47 an equitable opportunity to do so in a manner similar to the usual
48 purchasing practices of such districts; develop guidelines for approval
49 of purchases of items from associations of more than ten growers and
50 producers; and, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize additional
51 paperwork, recordkeeping and other similar requirements on both growers
52 and producers and school districts.
53 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
54 academic school year commencing on or after July 1, 2017; provided that,
55 effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
56 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
A. 6132--A 3
1 tive date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or
2 before such effective date.
