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S03546 Summary:

S03546 Actions:

S03546 Committee Votes:

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S03546 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          3546
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    January 31, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
          and Commissions
 
        AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in
          relation  to  enacting the food retail establishment subsidization for
          healthy communities (FRESH Communities) act

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "food retail establishment  subsidization  for  healthy  communities
     3  act".
     4    § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that the lack of access
     5  to  fresh  foods  is  a  problem  of growing concern in many communities
     6  across the state. Substantial increases in urban land values and  rents,
     7  limited  access to financing and other economic pressures have left many
     8  lower-income residents in urban and rural areas underserved by supermar-
     9  kets and other food retail establishments. The resulting lack of  access
    10  to  a variety of fresh food retailers makes it more difficult and expen-
    11  sive for these residents to maintain a nutritionally balanced  diet  and
    12  leads  to  increased  public  health  costs, dilutes the value of public
    13  assistance for food purchases, leads to greater travel times and  energy
    14  expenditures  to  obtain fresh food, and deprives the state's farmers of
    15  markets for their products. Providing access to financial assistance for
    16  urban and rural supermarkets in  underserved  areas  will  remedy  these
    17  adverse conditions, create employment opportunities and help to revital-
    18  ize and stabilize currently underserved neighborhoods.
    19    §  3. Subdivision 1 of section 16-m of section 1 of chapter 174 of the
    20  laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban  development  corpo-
    21  ration act, is amended by adding a new paragraph (p) to read as follows:
    22    (p)  Loans,  loan  guarantees,  interest subsidies and grants to busi-
    23  nesses, municipalities, not-for-profit corporations or local development

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08542-01-3
        S. 3546                             2
 
     1  corporations for the purpose of attracting,  maintaining  or  permitting
     2  the  expansion  of food retail establishments in underserved areas.  The
     3  corporation shall consider the economic viability of the project and the
     4  potential  impact on the community when evaluating applications for such
     5  loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies and grants.  The  corporation
     6  shall  establish  performance  indicators  to assess the progress of the
     7  projects receiving monies pursuant to the authorization provided in this
     8  paragraph, and track and publish this information on its website.    For
     9  purposes  of  this  paragraph,  "underserved areas" shall include low or
    10  moderate-income census tracts, areas of below average supermarket densi-
    11  ty or having a supermarket customer base with more  than  fifty  percent
    12  living  in low-income census tracts, or other areas demonstrated to have
    13  significant access limitations due to travel distance, as determined  by
    14  the  corporation,  and "food retail establishments" shall include super-
    15  markets and other grocery retailers that operate on a self-service basis
    16  and sell a minimum percentage, as  determined  by  the  corporation,  of
    17  produce,  meat,  poultry, seafood, baked goods and/or dairy products and
    18  which:
    19    (i) participate in the New York grown and certified program;
    20    (ii) accept payment  from  electronic  benefit  transfer  through  the
    21  supplemental  nutrition  assistance  program  and  through  the  special
    22  supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children;
    23    (iii) do not charge a membership fee; and
    24    (iv) hire residents living within a twenty mile radius of such  retail
    25  food establishment.
    26    § 4.  This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
    27  the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however that the
    28  urban  development  corporation  shall be immediately authorized to take
    29  any and all actions  necessary  to  fully  implement  the  provision  of
    30  section three of this act on or before such effective date; and provided
    31  further,  that  the  amendments to section 16-m of the urban development
    32  corporation act made by section three of this act shall not  affect  the
    33  expiration of such section and shall be deemed to expire therewith.