Bill Text: NY A07106 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the department of agriculture and markets to facilitate and expand an initiative to promote opportunities for farm ownership to farmers who are black, indigenous and people of color; requires the department to submit an annual report to the governor and the legislature regarding such initiative.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to agriculture [A07106 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A07106-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7106

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     April 22, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Agriculture

        AN  ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to requir-
          ing the department of agriculture and markets to facilitate and expand
          an initiative to promote opportunities for farm ownership  to  farmers
          who are black, indigenous and people of color

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Legislative intent and findings. The legislature finds that
     2  black, indigenous and people of color farmers make up approximately 2.1%
     3  of all farmers in New York state. Using data from the 2017 census,  that
     4  means  that only 1,228 out of 57,865 farmers were black, indigenous, and
     5  people of color. It is the intent of the legislature  to  diversify  the
     6  profession  of  farming within the state and to encourage black, indige-
     7  nous, and people of color to pursue farm ownership.
     8    § 2. Section 16 of the agriculture  and  markets  law  is  amended  by
     9  adding a new subdivision 52 to read as follows:
    10    52.  Facilitate  and  expand, with financial and technical support, an
    11  initiative to promote opportunities for farm ownership  to  farmers  who
    12  are  black, indigenous and people of color. The department shall promote
    13  a consistent demand of products and services from farmers who are black,
    14  indigenous, and people of color and re-establish opportunities for  farm
    15  ownership  for  such farmers. A report shall be provided annually to the
    16  governor and the legislature detailing information  including,  but  not
    17  limited  to, the type of initiatives undertaken, the funding distributed
    18  by region, the percentage of farms  owned  by  farmers  who  are  black,
    19  indigenous,  and  people  of  color  by region, and the various products
    20  distributed to and from each region.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    22  have become a law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09865-01-1