Bill Text: NY A08431 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the apiary industry advisory committee; defines terms; requires the commissioner of agriculture and markets to give a beekeeper advanced notice of any inspection of an apiary; establishes the cooperative honeybee health improvement program; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to agriculture [A08431 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A08431-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8431 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY June 18, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO -- (at request of the Department of Agri- culture and Markets) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law and the real property tax law, in relation to bee health and the beekeeping industry; and to repeal certain provisions of the agriculture and markets law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 169-d of the agriculture and markets law is 2 REPEALED. 3 § 2. Article 15 of the agriculture and markets law, as added by chap- 4 ter 166 of the laws of 1925, sections 173, 174, 175 and 175-b as amended 5 by chapter 430 of the laws of 1985, subdivision 9 of section 174 as 6 added by chapter 276 of the laws of 2000, section 175-c as amended by 7 chapter 310 of the laws of 1962 and section 175-d as added by chapter 8 398 of the laws of 1938, is amended to read as follows: 9 ARTICLE XV 10 BEE DISEASES 11 Section 173. Apiary industry advisory committee. 12 173-a. Definitions. 13 173-b. Eradication of bee diseases and certain insects affecting 14 bees. 15 173-c. Cooperative honeybee health improvement program. 16 174. Keeping of diseased and banned bees prohibited; existence 17 of disease to be reported. 18 175. [Transportation of bees and bee material.19175-b.] Rules and regulations. 20 [175-c] 175-a. Review by court. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09084-09-9A. 8431 2 1 [175-d.] 175-b. Violations; remedies. 2 § 173. Apiary industry advisory committee. 1. There is hereby estab- 3 lished within the department an apiary industry advisory committee which 4 shall consist of no more than fifteen members to be appointed by the 5 commissioner based on their experience and expertise in the apiary 6 industry. Of the members so appointed, at least two members shall repre- 7 sent each of the three sectors of the apiary industry, commercial beek- 8 eepers, part-time beekeepers and hobbyist beekeepers; at least one 9 member shall represent the horticulture or vegetable industry and one 10 member shall be an officer or employee of the Cornell cooperative exten- 11 sion service or the New York state college of agriculture and life 12 sciences at Cornell university. Members shall be appointed for a term of 13 three years and may serve until their successors are chosen provided, 14 however, that of the members first appointed, five shall serve for a 15 term of one year, five shall serve for a term of two years, and five 16 shall serve for a term of three years. Members shall serve without sala- 17 ry. The commissioner or his or her designee shall be the chairperson of 18 the committee. 19 2. The duties and responsibilities of the apiary industry advisory 20 committee shall include providing advice, comments and recommendations 21 to the commissioner regarding state government plans, policies and 22 programs affecting the apiary industry and such other matters as the 23 commissioner may request in relation to this article. 24 3. The advisory committee shall meet at least once annually, at times 25 and places set by the commissioner. 26 4. The commissioner may ask other individuals to attend the commit- 27 tee's meetings or work with it as needed. 28 § 173-a. Definitions. When used in this article: 29 1. "Apiary" shall mean any location used for raising honeybees or 30 producing honey or other bee related products. 31 2. "Colony" shall mean any production unit of bees. 32 3. "Nucleus colony or NUCS" shall mean a starter colony, consisting of 33 a laying queen and up to five frames of brood and bees. 34 4. "Beekeeper" shall mean any individual or entity that maintains 35 managed honeybees for profit, research, recreational, or educational 36 purposes. 37 § 173-b. Eradication of bee diseases and certain insects affecting 38 bees. The commissioner may cause inspections to be made of apiaries in 39 the state for the discovery of infectious, contagious or communicable 40 diseases and for the discovery of insects and parasitic organisms 41 adversely affecting bees, and for the discovery of species or subspecies 42 of bees which have been determined by him to cause injury, directly or 43 indirectly, to this state's [useful] managed bee population, crops, or 44 other plants. [He] The commissioner shall provide a beekeeper or such 45 beekeeper's designated agent with reasonable advance notice of any 46 inspection of an apiary. The commissioner may also cause investigations 47 to be made as to the best method for the eradication of diseases of 48 bees, insects or parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees, or for 49 the eradication of species or subspecies of bees which have been deter- 50 mined by [him] the commissioner to cause injury, directly or indirectly, 51 to this state's [useful] managed bee population, crops, or other plants 52 and [he] the commissioner may plan and execute appropriate methods for 53 such eradication. 54 The commissioner shall have access to all apiaries, structures, appli- 55 ances, buildings, vehicles, airplanes, vessels, places or premises where 56 bees or honey or comb used in apiaries may be[. He] and may open anyA. 8431 3 1 hive, colony, package or receptacle of any kind containing or which [he] 2 the commissioner has reason to believe contains any bees, comb, bee 3 products, used beekeeping appliances, or anything else which is capable 4 of transmitting contagious or infectious diseases of bees or which is 5 capable of harboring insects or parasitic organisms adversely affecting 6 bees, or species or subspecies of bees which have been determined by 7 [him] the commissioner to cause injury, directly or indirectly, to this 8 state's [useful] managed bee population, crops, or other plants. 9 § 173-c. Cooperative honeybee health improvement program. 1. In 10 support of the duties outlined in this article, as well as the goals and 11 objectives for pollinator protection; the commissioner shall create a 12 cooperative honeybee health improvement program which will require: 13 (a) All beekeepers shall provide to the commissioner the number of 14 managed colonies and the county in which each of these colonies is 15 located; and current contact information of the individual or individ- 16 uals responsible for the care of these bees. All beekeepers shall also 17 indicate whether they intend to sell nucleus colonies NUCS. This infor- 18 mation shall be updated and provided to the commissioner on an annual 19 basis. 20 (b) The department shall use this information to communicate the inci- 21 dence of infectious diseases and parasites at the county level to beek- 22 eepers and bee clubs and to notify beekeepers of the potential need for 23 the department to prohibit the movement or selling of diseased or 24 infested bees or require the destruction of such bees. The department 25 shall also use this information to establish the boundaries of disease 26 and parasite infestations in the area surrounding a confirmed disease or 27 parasite infestation. 28 (c) Any individual or business that intends to sell NUCS produced 29 within and offered for sale to other persons in New York must first have 30 an inspection of its apiaries, as authorized by section one hundred 31 seventy-three-b of this article, by the department which inspections 32 shall continue on an annual basis, so long as NUCS are offered for sale. 33 These inspections shall ascertain whether such beekeeper's apiaries are 34 free from American Foulbrood and whether levels of other infectious 35 diseases and parasites in the operation render the NUCS unfit for sale. 36 Any individual or business whose apiaries are found to be infested with 37 American Foulbrood, after laboratory confirmation, shall be prohibited 38 from selling NUCS for a period of one year, or until the apiaries are 39 inspected and laboratory results indicate they are found to be free from 40 American Foulbrood. 41 (d) No person shall knowingly transport, move, buy, sell, possess, 42 barter, offer for sale or barter, deliver, or offer for transportation 43 any species or subspecies of bees which have been determined by the 44 commissioner to cause injury, directly or indirectly, to the public 45 safety or to this state's managed bee population, crops, or other 46 plants; provided, however, that the commissioner may, at his or her 47 discretion, exempt the transportation, sale, possession, movement, or 48 delivery of such bees used for scientific or educational purposes under 49 such safeguards as deemed necessary by the commissioner. 50 (e) Every shipment of live bees in cages or packages without comb into 51 this state from another state or foreign country, shall be accompanied 52 by a permit issued by the commissioner, or by a certificate of freedom 53 from disease executed by an official of such state or foreign country 54 recognized by the commissioner. 55 (f) Every shipment of a colony of bees, used comb, used beekeeping 56 equipment, or live bees on comb into this state from another state orA. 8431 4 1 foreign country, shall be accompanied by a permit issued by the commis- 2 sioner or by a certificate of freedom from diseases and parasitic organ- 3 isms adversely affecting bees and from species or subspecies of bees 4 which have been determined by the commissioner to cause injury directly 5 or indirectly, to the public safety or to the state's managed bee popu- 6 lation, crops, or other plants; and certifying that a proper inspection 7 was made not earlier than sixty days preceding the date of shipment. 8 Such certificate shall be executed by the certifying official of such 9 state or foreign country. A duplicate of such certificate must be 10 received by the department before any such shipment enters the state. 11 Every transportation company that knowingly receives such shipment shall 12 immediately notify the commissioner thereof, giving the name and address 13 of the consignor or consignee. 14 2. The goals of the cooperative honeybee health improvement program 15 shall be to: 16 (a) document the health of the state's managed pollinator population, 17 including the presence of parasites, diseases, and environmental threats 18 to the state's population of managed pollinators; 19 (b) provide information on honeybee health to beekeepers, stakeholders 20 and academia to inform research and best management practices related to 21 pollinator health; 22 (c) document the annual population of managed pollinators in each 23 county within New York state; and 24 (d) collect contact information for each beekeeper to allow for better 25 communication among the department and beekeepers relating to the inci- 26 dence of parasites, disease and other health threats that could be tran- 27 smitted within the flight range of managed pollinators. 28 3. There shall be no fee or other registration cost for participation 29 in the cooperative honeybee health improvement program. 30 4. A beekeeper required to submit information to the commissioner 31 pursuant to this section may request that such information be exempted 32 from disclosure pursuant to subdivision five of section eighty-nine of 33 the public officers law. 34 § 174. Keeping of diseased and banned bees prohibited; existence of 35 disease to be reported. 1. No person shall keep in [his] such person's 36 possession or under [his] such person's care any colony of bees affected 37 with a contagious or infectious disease or infested by [insects] disease 38 or parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees, or by species or 39 subspecies of bees which have been determined by the commissioner to 40 cause injury, directly or indirectly, to the public safety or to this 41 state's [useful] managed bee population, crops, or other plants. Any 42 person who [knows that any bees owned or controlled by him are affected43with, or have been exposed to, any contagious or infectious disease,44insects or parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees, or by species45or subspecies of bees which have been determined by the commissioner to46cause injury, directly or indirectly, to this state's useful bee popu-47lation, crops, or other plants,] knows that any bees owned or controlled 48 by such person exceed disease or parasite tolerances or are a species or 49 subspecies of bees that have been determined by the commissioner to 50 cause injury, directly or indirectly, to the public safety or to this 51 state's managed bee population, crops, or other plants, such tolerances 52 and determinations to be established in regulation by the commissioner, 53 shall at once report such fact to the commissioner, stating all facts 54 known to [him] such person with reference to said contagion, infection, 55 or exposure. Information regarding allowable disease and parasiteA. 8431 5 1 tolerances and species and subspecies of bees shall be made available on 2 the department's website. 3 2. No person shall hide or conceal any bees or used beekeeping equip- 4 ment from [the inspector] department employees or officials or give 5 false information in any manner pertaining to this article. No person 6 shall resist, impede or hinder the commissioner or [his] the commission- 7 er's duly authorized representatives in the discharge of his or her or 8 their duties. 9 3. Whenever the commissioner or [his] the commissioner's duly author- 10 ized representatives shall determine that any colony of bees, bee mate- 11 rial, structures or appliances is infected with, or has been exposed to, 12 contagious or infectious diseases of bees, or is infested with or has 13 been exposed to insects or parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees, 14 or to species or subspecies of bees which have been determined by the 15 commissioner to cause injury, directly or indirectly, to this state's 16 [useful] managed bee population, crops, or other plants, said colonies 17 of bees and material, structures or appliances shall be immediately 18 placed under quarantine and a written notice thereof shall be served on 19 the owner or caretaker. No person shall move, tamper with, handle, or 20 otherwise disturb or molest or cause to be moved, tampered with, 21 handled, or otherwise disturbed or molested any colonies, materials, or 22 appliances so quarantined without a written permit from the commissioner 23 or [his] the commissioner's duly authorized representatives. 24 4. (a) All species and subspecies of bees which have been determined 25 by the commissioner to cause injury, directly or indirectly, to the 26 public safety shall be destroyed per commissioner order. 27 (b) A Beekeeper who received notification that he/she is prohibited 28 from selling NUCS as they have been deemed unfit for sale by laboratory 29 confirmation of American Foulbrood, may be ordered by the commissioner 30 to destroy such colonies. 31 (c) During the time specified in either such order authorized by this 32 subdivision, the quarantined colonies and equipment shall not be 33 removed, molested or tampered with except by written permission of the 34 commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized representative. No 35 damage shall be awarded to the owner for the loss of any apiary, bees, 36 hives, apiary appliance or bee product destroyed under the provisions of 37 this section or a regulation or order made in pursuance thereof. 38 4-a. All species and subspecies of bees determined by the commissioner 39 to cause injury to this state's [useful] managed bee population, crops, 40 or other plants and all bees, beehives, bee fixtures or appurtenances 41 infected with, or exposed to, contagious or infectious diseases of bees, 42 or infested with, or exposed to, insects or parasitic organisms adverse- 43 ly affecting bees, or with or to species or subspecies of bees which 44 have been determined by [him] the commissioner to cause injury, directly 45 or indirectly, to this state's [useful] managed bee population, crops, 46 or other plants, are hereby declared to be nuisances to be abated as 47 hereinafter described. 48 5. If any inspection made by the commissioner or [his] the commission- 49 er's duly authorized representative discloses that any apiary, appli- 50 ances, structures, colonies or comb constitute a nuisance within the 51 meaning of this section, the commissioner or [his] the commissioner's 52 duly authorized representatives may with the co-operation and consent of 53 the owner or person in charge immediately proceed to abate the nuisance 54 by destroying or treating such colonies and equipment, or he or she may 55 order the owner or person in charge to destroy or treat such colonies or 56 equipment as may be deemed advisable. In case the owner or person inA. 8431 6 1 charge will not consent to the abatement of the nuisance by immediate 2 destruction or treatment, the commissioner or [his] the commissioner's 3 duly authorized representative shall notify [in writing] the owner, 4 occupant or person in charge of the premises in writing that such 5 nuisance exists and order that the same be abated within five days after 6 a date which shall be specified in said order. Such order shall also 7 contain directions setting forth the method or methods which shall be 8 taken to abate the nuisance and shall be served upon the owner, occupant 9 or person in charge of the premises either personally or by registered 10 or certified mail. 11 6. [If the] A beekeeper who receives an order that directs the 12 destruction or treatment of any bees, hives, fixtures or appurtenances 13 [and the owner thereof considers himself to be aggrieved thereby, he] 14 deemed a nuisance or notification that such beekeeper is prohibited from 15 selling NUCS pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section one 16 hundred seventy-three-c of this article may, within five days from the 17 receipt of the order[, present to the commissioner a request for a18review. Written notice of such request must be served by mail upon the19commissioner] or notification, request a hearing thereon. The order or 20 notification shall advise the beekeeper of the right to such hearing, 21 the procedure to be followed and the manner in which the request may be 22 made to the commissioner. Upon receipt of such [notice] request, the 23 commissioner shall [cause an investigation to be made] give the beekeep- 24 er ten days' notice in writing of a hearing for the beekeeper to show 25 cause why the destruction, treatment or prohibition on selling by the 26 order or notification is not appropriate. The hearing shall be held on 27 the record. The request for a [review] hearing shall act to stay all 28 proceedings until [the matter has been investigated and] a final deter- 29 mination rendered by the commissioner. During the time specified in the 30 order and during any extended time [permitted by reason of such review], 31 pending such final determination, the quarantined colonies and equipment 32 shall not be removed, molested or tampered with except by written 33 permission of the commissioner or [his] the commissioner's duly author- 34 ized representative. No damage shall be awarded to the owner for the 35 loss of any apiary, bees, hives, apiary appliance, or bee product 36 destroyed under the provisions of this section or any regulation or 37 order made in pursuance thereof. 38 7. Persons keeping bees shall keep them in hives of such construction 39 that the frames and combs may be easily removed without damaging them 40 for examination of the brood for the purpose of determining whether 41 disease exists in the brood. 42 8. No person shall knowingly expose in any place to which bees have 43 access any bee product, hive or other apiary appliance in such manner 44 that contagious or infectious diseases of bees may be disseminated ther- 45 efrom. 46 9. The commissioner may promulgate rules and regulations to establish 47 appropriate tolerance levels for [insects] diseases or parasitic organ- 48 isms adversely affecting bees within hives, fixtures, structures or 49 appurtenances. Beehives conforming with such established tolerance 50 levels shall not be considered nuisances under this section. If upon 51 inspection a hive is found to exceed such tolerance levels, the commis- 52 sioner may consider such apiary to be a nuisance and may order the 53 destruction or treatment of the apiary as set forth in subdivisions 54 four, four-a, five and six of this section. 55 § 175. [Transportation of bees and bee material. 1. No person shall56transport, move, sell, barter, offer for sale or barter, deliver, orA. 8431 7 1offer for transportation any colony of bees, used comb, used beekeeping2material, or live bees unless it be within the beekeeper's own premises3without a permit from the commissioner, except that colonies of bees and4used beekeeping equipment which are not infected with or have not been5exposed to bee disease, and which are not infested with and have not6been exposed to insects or parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees,7or to species or subspecies of bees which have been determined by the8commissioner to cause injury, directly or indirectly, to this state's9useful bee population, crops, or other plants may be moved or trans-10ported without a permit provided that the commissioner has been notified11in writing of such intention not less than ten days before the bees and12equipment are moved.132. No person shall transport, move, buy, sell, possess, barter, offer14for sale or barter, deliver, or offer for transportation any species or15subspecies of bees which have been determined by the commissioner to16cause injury, directly or indirectly, to this state's useful bee popu-17lation, crops, or other plants, provided, that the commissioner may at18his discretion exempt the transportation, sale, possession, movement, or19delivery of such bees for scientific or educational purposes under such20safeguards as he may deem necessary.213. Every shipment of live bees in cages or packages without comb into22this state from another state or foreign country, shall be accompanied23by a permit issued by the commissioner, or by a certificate of freedom24from disease executed by an official of such state or foreign country25recognized by the commissioner.264. Every shipment of a colony of bees, used comb, used beekeeping27equipment, or live bees on comb into this state from another state or28foreign country, shall be accompanied by a permit issued by the commis-29sioner or by a certificate of freedom from disease, from insects and30parasitic organisms adversely affecting bees and from species or subspe-31cies of bees which have been determined by the commissioner to cause32injury directly or indirectly, to this state's useful bee population,33crops or other plants and certifying that a proper inspection was made34not earlier than sixty days preceding the date of shipment. Such certif-35icate shall be executed by an official of such state or foreign country36recognized by the commissioner. A duplicate of such certificate shall be37mailed to the commissioner before any such shipment enters this state.38Every transportation company upon receipt of such shipment shall imme-39diately notify the commissioner thereof, giving the name and address of40the consignor and consignee.41§ 175-b.] Rules and regulations. The commissioner is hereby author- 42 ized, after public hearing, to adopt, promulgate and issue such rules 43 and regulations as [he] the commissioner may deem necessary to carry out 44 and give full force and effect to the provisions of this article, 45 including, but not limited to, the designation of species or subspecies 46 of bees determined by him or her to cause injury, directly or indirect- 47 ly, to the public safety or to this state's [useful] managed bee popu- 48 lation, crops, or other plants. Such rules and regulations shall be 49 filed and open for public inspection at the principal office of the 50 department and shall have the force and effect of law. 51 [§ 175-c.] § 175-a. Review by court. The [action] final determination 52 of the commissioner on a [request for review] hearing as authorized by 53 subdivision six of section one hundred [seventy-five herein] seventy- 54 four of this article may be reviewed in the manner provided by article 55 seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules, provided, however, 56 that a stay shall not be granted by the court or a justice thereof pend-A. 8431 8 1 ing final determination of the matter except on notice to the commis- 2 sioner. The [decision] determination of the commissioner after a hear- 3 ing shall be final unless within thirty days from the receipt of written 4 notice thereof a proceeding is instituted to review the same. 5 [§ 175-d.] § 175-b. Violations; remedies. The commissioner may insti- 6 tute such action at law or in equity as may be necessary to enforce 7 compliance with any provision of this article or of any rule or regu- 8 lation promulgated thereunder and in addition to any other remedy 9 prescribed in article three of this chapter or otherwise may apply for 10 relief by injunction if necessary to protect the public interest or 11 abate a nuisance as defined in this article without alleging or proving 12 that an adequate remedy at law does not exist. Such application may be 13 made to the supreme court in any district or county as provided by the 14 civil practice act and the rules of practice of the court, or to the 15 supreme court in the third judicial district. 16 § 3. The subdivision heading and paragraph c of subdivision 9 of 17 section 301 of the agriculture and markets law, the subdivision heading 18 as amended by chapter 440 of the laws of 1993 and paragraph c as amended 19 by chapter 536 of the laws of 2008, are amended to read as follows: 20 "Gross sales [value]" means the proceeds from the sale of: 21 c. Honey, royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis and beeswax produced by 22 bees in hives located on [an otherwise qualified farm operation but23which does not independently satisfy the gross sales requirement] land 24 used in agricultural production in conjunction with the same or an 25 otherwise qualified farm operation; 26 § 4. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of section 483 of the real proper- 27 ty tax law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 28 read as follows: 29 (e) structures and buildings used in the production of honey, royal 30 jelly, bee pollen, propolis and beeswax including those structures and 31 buildings used for the storage of bees. For purposes of this section, 32 this shall not include those structures or buildings and portions there- 33 of used for the sale of maple syrup or sale of honey and beeswax. The 34 term "structures and buildings" shall not include silos, bulk milk tanks 35 or coolers, or manure storage, handling and treatment facilities as such 36 terms are used in section four hundred eighty-three-a of this title. 37 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 38 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 39 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 40 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 41 completed on or before such effective date.
