Bill Text: NY A10607 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

New York Assembly Bill 10607 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Establishes a New York food supply working group to provide advice, guidance, and recommendations on New York's food supply and related supply chain logistics in the wake of COVID-19.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-5)

Status: (Passed) 2020-12-02 - approval memo.26 [A10607 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10607-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                        10607--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 5, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Lupardo,
          Barrett, Rozic, Griffin, Buttenschon, Stern, McDonald,  Cahill,  Woer-
          ner,  Magnarelli,  Dickens,  Thiele,  Seawright, Galef, Reyes, Stirpe,
          L. Rosenthal,  Fahy,  Simon,  Gottfried,  Lifton,  Crouch,  McDonough,
          Tague,  Palmesano, Manktelow) -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Agriculture --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to estab-
          lishing a New York food supply working group

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

     1    Section 1. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
     2  adding a new subdivision 51 to read as follows:
     3    51.  (a)  Establish, in coordination with the commissioner of economic
     4  development, a New York food supply working  group  to  provide  advice,
     5  guidance, and recommendations on improving the resiliency and self-reli-
     6  ance  of  the  state's farm and food supply and the related supply chain
     7  logistics to address food shortages, food waste, and  the  inability  to
     8  get  New  York  farm  goods  to markets that occurred as a result of the
     9  Covid-19 pandemic, with the goal of creating permanent solutions  beyond
    10  the  state  of  emergency  to reflect the changing wholesale, retail and
    11  consumer marketplace.
    12    (b) The commissioners shall work with the food  supply  working  group
    13  which  shall  include, but not be limited to, representatives, including
    14  small and family-owned businesses, of:
    15    (i) farmers;
    16    (ii) food processors including, but not limited  to,  dairy,  produce,
    17  meat, and beverage processors;
    18    (iii)  retail  food  businesses  including, but not limited to, retail
    19  food stores and direct farm-to-consumer businesses;
    20    (iv) the food service industry including, but not limited to,  restau-
    21  rants and institutional foodservice;
    22    (v) food wholesalers and distributors;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16636-03-0

        A. 10607--A                         2

     1    (vi)  food  transporters including, but not limited to, direct-to-con-
     2  sumer transporters serving retail food stores, foodservice, and farmers;
     3    (vii) labor organizations and workers from the farm and food industry;
     4    (viii)  emergency  food providers including, but not limited to, food-
     5  banks;
     6    (ix) academic experts in  food  production,  marketing,  distribution,
     7  food safety, and consumers;
     8    (x) federal agencies with responsibility for food production, process-
     9  ing, marketing, and safety; and
    10    (xi)  any  other  representatives  of  agriculture, the food industry,
    11  economic development, or any other state agencies the  commissioners  of
    12  agriculture and markets and of economic development deem necessary.
    13    (c)  The working group shall convene on or before May first, two thou-
    14  sand twenty-one, for the purpose of roundtable  meetings  which  may  be
    15  held  in different regions of the state. The agenda and meeting informa-
    16  tion shall be made available to the public in advance and all such meet-
    17  ings shall be open to, or accessible to, the public.  Such meetings  may
    18  include,  among  other  things,  consideration  of the following issues,
    19  especially as they relate to state or federal emergencies:
    20    (i) the need to strengthen the resiliency  and  self-reliance  of  the
    21  state's  farm  and  food  supply  and related supply chain logistics, to
    22  prevent food shortages and food waste, and to overcome hurdles  involved
    23  in getting agricultural products to markets and consumers; and
    24    (ii) the need for changes to, and development of, new state and feder-
    25  al  laws,  rules,  policies, and programs to address, and provide incen-
    26  tives for, the goal of strengthening and improving the state food supply
    27  in a manner that benefits  New  York  farms,  businesses,  workers,  and
    28  consumers.
    29    (d)  The  working group shall provide a written report of its findings
    30  identifying any proposed recommendations and guidance to  the  governor,
    31  the  speaker  of the assembly, and the temporary president of the senate
    32  on or before December first, two thousand twenty-one, and shall  publish
    33  such report on the department's website.
    34    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.