S1361-2013 Actions

• Apr 15, 2013: referred to agriculture
• Apr 15, 2013: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Apr 15, 2013: PASSED SENATE
• Mar 14, 2013: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Mar 13, 2013: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Mar 12, 2013: 1ST REPORT CAL.177
• Jan 9, 2013: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

S1361-2013 Meetings

S1361-2013 Calendars

S1361-2013 Votes

S1361-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S1361

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend
the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the wood products
development council; and to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to contracts for timber or other forest products

PURPOSE:
This bill would ease burdensome contracting requirements currently
required in order to gain permission from the Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) to harvest timber on state lands.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1- Amends subdivision 2 of section 225 of the agriculture and
markets law is amended to clarify that the New York State Wood
Products Council should work to enhance the timber industry in New
York State

Section 2- Amends section 9-0505 of the environmental conservation law
to allow the DEC to have sole contract authority over forestry
projects on non-protected state lands that have a timber value under
$50,000.

JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, any contract of more than $10,000 to harvest timber on
non-protected state lands must be approved by DEC and the State
Comptroller's office. This dual review procedure can be overly time
consuming and many times pushes the date for project initiation back
by months as the contract wends its way through the bureaucracy of
two state agencies. This frustration is compounded by the fact that
the current contract threshold is very low and requires extremely
small forestry projects to be held up without need

This new legislation would provide breathing room for the forestry
industry and DEC by increasing the threshold for dual oversight over
forestry projects from $10,000 to $50,000. As a result, any project
with a contract of under $50,000 would be needed to be approved by
only DEC

This proposal essentially mirrors language put forth by DEC in the
Governor's 2010/2011 Executive Budget proposal

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2011-12: S. 2485 Passed Senate; A. 444 Referred to Agriculture

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately

S1361-2013 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                         1361
 2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 I N  SENATE
 (PREFILED)
 January 9, 2013
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. LITTLE, 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 the wood
 products development council; and to amend the environmental conserva
 tion law, in relation to contracts for timber or other forest products
 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 225 of the agriculture and markets
 law,  as added by chapter 325 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as
 follows:

 2. The council shall work with wood-using  manufacturers  to  increase
 the  economic  contributions and employment opportunities related to the
 practice of forestry and manufacture of wood products in New York state.
 The council shall give priority  to  increasing  private  investment  in
 working forests; maintaining access to working and family forests; coor
 dinating  policy and permitting issues with state agencies, academia and
 the private sector; working  to  improve  public  understanding  of  and
 appreciation  for forestry, THE TIMBER INDUSTRY and forest products; and
 increasing export and market opportunities for New York forest products.
 The council shall deliver an annual report outlining its work and making
 recommendations with regard to economic development and marketing initi
 atives and research and  development  initiatives  consistent  with  the
 purposes  of the council. The report shall be delivered to the governor,
 the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate,  the
 minority leader of the assembly and the minority leader of the senate.
 

S  2. 

Section 9-0505 of the environmental conservation law is amended
 by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:

 5. NOTWITHSTANDING SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED TWELVE  OF
 THE  STATE  FINANCE  LAW,  IF THE VALUE OR ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE TREES,
 TIMBER OR OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS DOES NOT EXCEED FIFTY THOUSAND  DOLLARS,
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD01124-01-3
 
       S. 1361                             2
 THE  CONTRACT  MAY  BE EXECUTED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND SHALL BE VALID AND
 ENFORCEABLE WITHOUT FIRST BEING APPROVED BY THE  STATE  COMPTROLLER  AND
 FILED IN HIS OR HER OFFICE.
 

S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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