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

                                  5445

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 23, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. LIFTON, CROUCH, LOPEZ, BARRETT -- read once and
  referred to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to  the  purchase
  of local food products by school districts

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 103 of the general municipal  law,
as  amended  by  chapter  269 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
follows:
  9. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of  this  section  to  the
contrary,  a  board  of  education  [may] SHALL, on behalf of its school
district, [separately purchase eggs,  livestock,  fish,  dairy  products
(excluding  milk), juice, grains, and species of fresh fruit and vegeta-
bles directly from New York State producers or growers, or  associations
of  producers and growers] REQUIRE THAT ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF ALL FOOD
PRODUCTS PURCHASED ARE GROWN, PRODUCED OR HARVESTED IN NEW YORK STATE OR
THAT ANY PROCESSING OF SUCH  FOOD  PRODUCTS  TAKE  PLACE  IN  FACILITIES
LOCATED WITHIN NEW YORK STATE, provided that:
  (a)  [such]  AN  association  of producers or growers THAT PRODUCES OR
GROWS EGGS, LIVESTOCK, FISH, DAIRY  PRODUCTS  (EXCLUDING  MILK),  JUICE,
GRAINS,  AND  SPECIES OF FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, is comprised of ten
or fewer owners of farms who  also  operate  such  farms  and  who  have
combined  to  fill  the order of a school district as herein authorized,
provided however, that a school district may apply to  the  commissioner
of education for permission to purchase from an association of more than
ten owners of such farms when no other producers or growers have offered
to sell to such school;
  (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;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03035-01-5
              

A. 5445                             2

  (c)]  UPON DETERMINATION BY A BOARD OF EDUCATION THAT THE COST OF SUCH
FOOD PRODUCTS IS NOT REASONABLY COMPETITIVE, THE SPECIFICATIONS  REQUIR-
ING  SUCH  PURCHASE SHALL BE WAIVED FOR THAT SPECIFIC FOOD PRODUCT UNTIL
THE NEXT CONTRACT FOR SUCH FOOD PRODUCT IS LET OUT FOR BID. FOR PURPOSES
OF THIS SUBDIVISION "REASONABLY COMPETITIVE" SHALL MEAN THAT THE COST OF
THE  NEW YORK STATE GROWN, PRODUCED, HARVESTED OR PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCT
DOES NOT EXCEED A COST PREMIUM OF TEN PERCENT ABOVE THE COST OF A COMPA-
RABLE PRODUCT THAT IS NOT GROWN, PRODUCED, HARVESTED OR PROCESSED IN NEW
YORK STATE.
  (C) UPON DETERMINATION BY A BOARD OF EDUCATION THAT SUCH FOOD PRODUCTS
ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITY FOR PURCHASING, THE  SPECIFICA-
TIONS  REQUIRING  SUCH  PURCHASE  SHALL BE WAIVED FOR THAT SPECIFIC FOOD
PRODUCT UNTIL THE NEXT CONTRACT FOR SUCH FOOD PRODUCT  IS  LET  OUT  FOR
BID.
  (D)  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  [the]  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 for any items so purchased do not exceed the prices of compara-
ble  local  farm  products 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 can  readily  access  information  in
accordance  with  the  farm-to-school  law; include provisions for situ-
ations when more than one producer or grower  seeks  to  sell  the  same
product  to a district 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; 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.
  S  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
academic school year commencing on or after July 1, 2015; provided that,
effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
tive date is authorized and directed to be  made  and  completed  on  or
before such effective date.