Directs the wood products development council to work to improve public understanding of the timber industry and authorizes the department of environmental conservation to execute contracts for timber or other forest products valued at under $50,000 without approval from the state comptroller.

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S2485-2011 Actions

• Feb 14, 2012: referred to agriculture
• Feb 14, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Feb 14, 2012: PASSED SENATE
• Feb 7, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Feb 6, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Jan 31, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.146
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE
• Jan 4, 2012: returned to senate
• Jan 4, 2012: died in assembly
• Mar 9, 2011: referred to agriculture
• Mar 8, 2011: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Mar 8, 2011: PASSED SENATE
• Feb 28, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Feb 15, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Feb 14, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.92
• Jan 24, 2011: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

S2485-2011 Meetings

Agriculture: Jan 31, 2012, Agriculture: Feb 14, 2011

S2485-2011 Calendars

Active List: Feb 14, 2012 , Active List: Mar 8, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Feb 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 7, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 13, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Feb 28, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 1, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 3, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 7, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 8, 2011

S2485-2011 Votes

S2485-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S2485

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 OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

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

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

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 9-0505 of the environmental conservation law is amended to
allow 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

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.11715 of 2010.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S2485-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    2485

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              January 24, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  LITTLE -- 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,
  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.

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD03573-01-1