Add S391-t, Gen Bus L; amd SS198 & 201, Ag & Mkts L
Provides for the labeling of raw agriculture commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock produced with genetic engineering; defines terms; imposes penalties for false labels and misbranding; sets forth exemptions.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3525E
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general business law and the agri-
culture and markets law, in relation to the labeling of genetically
engineered foods
PURPOSE:
To require the labeling of genetically engineered foods and other
consumable products made from genetically engineered materials.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Sets forth the legislative intent.
Section 2: Defines genetically engineered foods and provides for
exemptions from labeling under certain circumstances.
Sections 3 and 4: Makes conforming changes to the Agriculture and
Markets Law.
Section 5: Provides the Severability clause Section 6: Sets forth the
effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
In the past decade, genetic engineering has enabled the development of
new foods and crops. Genetic engineering is a process which allows for
the altering of the genetic material contained in an organism to change
the characteristics the organism will display as it develops. The
introduction of these new genes is no longer limited to genes from simi-
lar species, as the genes from animals or other plant species can be
added to create new character traits within a particular organism. The
genes are generally introduced into the cells of the organism with the
use of viruses; antibiotic-resistant genes, and bacteria. The emergence
of these new crops has initiated debate among countries, scientists.,
farmers, and environmentalists.
A variety of plants are being grown that, contain genetically modified
organisms, including corn, canola, cotton, wheat, apples and strawber-
ries. It has been estimated that 60-70% of packaged grocery products
contain some genetically modified organism ingredients. Consumers
should be provided the information necessary to make informed decisions
when choosing food products for their families. This legislation
requires that the information be provided through product labeling.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2012: A1367
2010: ASOO
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect twenty-four months after it shall have become
a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the department of
agriculture and markets shall adopt any rules and regulations necessary
to implement this act, including, but not limited to, creating and main-
taining a list, which shall be made available to the public at no cost,
of raw agricultural commodities that are produced with genetic engineer-
ing; provided, further, that the department of agriculture and markets
is not authorized to create any exemptions beyond those provided for in
paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section 391-t of the general busi-
ness law as added by section two of this act and paragraph (d) of subdi-
vision fifteen of section 201 of the agriculture and markets law as
added by section four of this act; provided further, this act shall
remain in effect until such time as a comprehensive federal system
requiring mandatory labeling of foods and food products manufactured or
produced using genetic engineering is implemented, provided however that
nothing contained herein shall prevent the State from exercising any
concurrent authority authorized by federal law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3525--E
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, PEOPLES-STOKES, JAFFEE, DINOWITZ,
THIELE, KEARNS, SEPULVEDA, ROBERTS, MOYA, LAVINE, COLTON, COOK, MILL-
MAN, GALEF, KELLNER, ENGLEBRIGHT, MAGNARELLI, SIMOTAS, SCHIMEL, STECK,
BENEDETTO, PERRY, QUART, CLARK, CAMARA, MILLER, P. LOPEZ, SKARTADOS,
ABINANTI, WEPRIN, OTIS, GOLDFEDER, MOSLEY, ORTIZ, ROZIC, BROOK-KRASNY
-- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, BRENNAN, BRINDISI,
CERETTO, CURRAN, CYMBROWITZ, FAHY, FARRELL, GLICK, HEASTIE, HEVESI,
JACOBS, JOHNS, LENTOL, LIFTON, MARKEY, MONTESANO, PAULIN, RA, RIVERA,
RODRIGUEZ, SWEENEY, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and
Protection in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amend-
ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
-- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported and
referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the general business law and the agriculture and markets
law, in relation to the labeling of genetically engineered foods
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that
2 New York state consumers have the right to know whether the foods they
3 purchase have been produced with genetic engineering so they can make
4 informed purchasing decisions.
5 Further the legislature finds that:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02306-25-4
A. 3525--E 2
1 (a) Currently, there is no federal law that requires food producers to
2 identify whether foods were produced with genetic engineering. At the
3 same time, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not
4 require safety studies of such foods;
5 (b) Identification of foods produced with genetic engineering can
6 provide a critical method for tracking effects of consuming foods
7 produced with genetic engineering;
8 (c) More than sixty countries, including key United States trading
9 partners, have laws mandating disclosure of genetically engineered
10 foods. Identifying foods produced with genetic engineering will help
11 protect our state's export market;
12 (d) A variety of genetically engineered crops are commercially culti-
13 vated and sold in the United States, including corn, canola, sugar
14 beets, soybean, cotton, alfalfa, and papaya. It has been estimated that
15 70-80% of packaged grocery products contain some materials derived from
16 these genetically engineered crops;
17 (e) Without disclosure, consumers with certain dietary restrictions
18 may unknowingly consume such food in violation of such dietary
19 restrictions;
20 (f) Preserving the identity, quality, and reliability of agricultural
21 products is of prime importance to our state's fiscal health;
22 (g) The cultivation of genetically engineered crops can cause serious
23 environmental impacts;
24 (h) It is the intent of this act to ensure that New York consumers and
25 farmers are fully and reliably informed about whether the food and seed
26 they purchase and eat were produced with genetic engineering so they may
27 choose for themselves whether to purchase and eat or use such food and
28 seed;
29 (i) It is the intent of this act only to regulate the labeling of
30 seed, seed stock, and food for human consumption offered for retail sale
31 within New York State.
32 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 391-t
33 to read as follows:
34 § 391-t. Genetically engineered foods; required labeling. 1. Defi-
35 nitions. As used in this section, the term:
36 (a) "Department" means the state department of agriculture and
37 markets.
38 (b) "Distributor" means a person or business engaged in any method of
39 distributing or transporting a food or food product from one place to
40 another.
41 (c) "Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions of
42 other substances without itself being destroyed or altered upon
43 completion of the reactions.
44 (d) "Genetically engineered," or "genetically modified," or any deriv-
45 ative of those words, as applied to any food for human consumption or
46 seed means produced from or with an organism or organisms with genetics
47 altered materially through the application of:
48 (i) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including but not limited to
49 recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques and the direct
50 injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles; or
51 (ii) the fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcomes
52 natural physiological, reproductive, or recombinant barriers and that
53 are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection.
54 For purposes of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, "in vitro nucleic
55 acid techniques" include, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA or RNA
56 techniques that use vector systems, and techniques involving the direct
A. 3525--E 3
1 introduction into the organisms of hereditary materials prepared outside
2 the organisms such as biolistics, microinjection, macro-injection,
3 chemoporation, electroporation, microencapsulation, and liposome fusion.
4 (e) "Manufacturer" means a person or business engaged in the
5 production or processing of seed, seed stock, or any food product.
6 (f) "Medical food" means a food that is formulated to be consumed or
7 administered enterally under the supervision of a physician and that is
8 intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition
9 for which distinctive nutritional requirements, based on recognized
10 scientific principles, are established by medical evaluation.
11 (g) "Processed food" means any food other than a raw agricultural
12 commodity, including any food produced from a raw agricultural commodity
13 that has been subject to processing such as canning, smoking, pressing,
14 cooking, freezing, dehydration, fermentation, or milling.
15 (h) "Processing aid" means:
16 (i) a substance that is added to a food during the processing of the
17 food but is removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged
18 in its finished form;
19 (ii) a substance that is added to a food during processing, is
20 converted into constituents normally present in the food, and does not
21 significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in
22 the food; or
23 (iii) a substance that is added to a food for its technical or func-
24 tional effect in the processing but is present in the finished food at
25 insignificant levels and does not have any technical or functional
26 effect in that finished food.
27 (i) "Raw agricultural commodity" means any plant, animal, or fungi
28 grown or produced for human food-use purposes.
29 (j) "Retailer" means a person or business engaged in selling food from
30 individuals or businesses to the end-user.
31 2. Labeling of genetically engineered seed and food. (a) Any food for
32 human consumption, seed, or seed stock offered for retail sale in New
33 York is misbranded if it is entirely genetically engineered or partially
34 produced with genetic engineering and that fact is not disclosed as
35 follows:
36 (i) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is not separately
37 packaged or labeled, the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or
38 any other derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", or "GMO",
39 or a derivative of those phrases, shall be placed on the container used
40 for packaging, holding, and/or transport in a clear and conspicuous
41 manner by the manufacturer, and maintained by the distributor, and
42 displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the retail store shelf or
43 bin in which such commodity is offered for sale by the retailer.
44 (ii) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is separately
45 packaged or processed food containing some products of genetic engineer-
46 ing, the manufacturer must label the food, in a clear and conspicuous
47 manner on the package of such food, with the words "Produced with Genet-
48 ic Engineering" or any other derivative of those words, the initials
49 "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those phrases.
50 (iii) In the case of any seed or seed stock, the manufacturer or other
51 entity responsible for producing the seed must label the seed or seed
52 stock container, the sales receipt, and any other reference to identifi-
53 cation, ownership, or possession, in a clear and conspicuous manner with
54 the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other derivative of
55 those words, the initials "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those
56 phrases.
A. 3525--E 4
1 (b) This section shall not be construed to require either the listing
2 or identification of any ingredients that were genetically engineered,
3 nor that the phrase "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other
4 derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a deriva-
5 tive of those phrases be placed immediately preceding any common name or
6 primary product descriptor of a food.
7 (c) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely
8 because it includes one or more materials produced with genetic engi-
9 neering is not misbranded provided that the genetically engineered mate-
10 rials in the aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one
11 percent of the total weight of the processed food.
12 (d) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following:
13 (i) Food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely from, an animal
14 that has not itself been produced with genetic engineering, regardless
15 of whether the animal has been fed with any food produced with genetic
16 engineering or treated with any drug or vaccine that has been produced
17 with genetic engineering;
18 (ii) A raw agricultural commodity, processed food, or seed that has
19 been grown, raised, produced, or derived without the knowing and inten-
20 tional use of genetically engineered seed or food. To be included within
21 the exclusion under this paragraph, the person or entity responsible for
22 complying with this subdivision with respect to a raw agricultural
23 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock must obtain, from whomev-
24 er sold the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed
25 stock to that person, a written statement, which may be included on an
26 invoice that may be in an electronic form, that the raw agricultural
27 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock: (1) has not been know-
28 ingly or intentionally produced with genetic engineering; and (2) has
29 been segregated from, and has not been knowingly or intentionally
30 commingled with foods or seeds that may have been produced with genetic
31 engineering;
32 (iii) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely
33 because one or more of the processing aids or enzymes used in its
34 production were produced with or derived from genetic engineering;
35 (iv) Any alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation by the alco-
36 holic beverage control law;
37 (v) Food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled, marketed, and
38 offered for sale as "organic" pursuant to the federal Organic Foods
39 Production Act of 1990, 7 U.S.C. 6501, et seq. as amended from time to
40 time, and the National Organic Program regulations promulgated pursuant
41 thereto by the United States Department of Agriculture;
42 (vi) Food that is not packaged for sale and that either: (i) is a
43 processed food prepared and intended for immediate human consumption or
44 (ii) is served, sold, or otherwise provided in any restaurant, food
45 facility, or food retailer that is engaged in the sale of food prepared
46 and intended for immediate human consumption; or
47 (vii) Medical food.
48 3. Violations. (a) Any person, firm, corporation, or other legal enti-
49 ty violating this section shall be subject to the penalties for false
50 labels and misrepresentations as set forth in section three hundred
51 ninety-two-b of this article, provided however that a retailer shall not
52 be subject to the penalties under section three hundred ninety-two-b of
53 this article unless (i) the retailer is the manufacturer of the genet-
54 ically engineered raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or
55 seed stock and sells the genetically engineered raw agricultural commod-
A. 3525--E 5
1 ity, processed food, seed, or seed stock under a brand it owns or (ii)
2 the retailer's failure to label was knowing and willful.
3 (b) Any person or entity who violates the requirements of this section
4 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand
5 dollars per day, per product.
6 4. Notice of violation. In any case where there has been a final
7 determination by the department, of a violation of any of the provisions
8 of this section, the department shall make available to the public,
9 without charge, the following information:
10 (a) the name and business address of the violator;
11 (b) the date or dates of inspection of the violator's premises by the
12 department;
13 (c) the violation that was determined to have occurred, including the
14 name of the product; and
15 (d) the amount of the penalty that was assessed by the department.
16 5. Third-party protection; reliance on written statement. A distribu-
17 tor or retailer that sells a raw agricultural commodity, processed food,
18 seed, or seed stock that has been produced with genetic engineering that
19 fails to make the disclosure required pursuant to subdivision two of
20 this section, is not subject to financial liability in any civil action
21 to enforce this section if the distributor or retailer relied on the
22 written statement obtained under subdivision two of this section
23 provided by the manufacturer stating that the raw agricultural commod-
24 ity, processed food, seed, or seed stock is not subject to the disclo-
25 sure requirements under this section.
26 § 3. Section 198 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
27 adding a new subdivision 12 to read as follows:
28 12. The term: (a) "Distributor" means a person or business engaged in
29 any method of distributing or transporting a food or food product from
30 one place to another.
31 (b) "Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions of
32 other substances without itself being destroyed or altered upon
33 completion of the reactions.
34 (c) "Genetically engineered," or "genetically modified," or any deriv-
35 ative of those words, as applied to any food for human consumption or
36 seed means produced from or with an organism or organisms with genetics
37 altered materially through the application of:
38 (i) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including but not limited to
39 recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques and the direct
40 injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles; or
41 (ii) the fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family that overcomes
42 natural physiological, reproductive, or recombinant barriers and that
43 are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection.
44 For purposes of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, "in vitro nucleic
45 acid techniques" include, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA or RNA
46 techniques that use vector systems and techniques involving the direct
47 introduction into the organisms of hereditary materials prepared outside
48 the organisms such as biolistics, microinjection, macro-injection,
49 chemoporation, electroporation, microencapsulation, and liposome fusion.
50 (d) "Manufacturer" means a person or business engaged in the
51 production or processing of seed, seed stock, or any food product.
52 (e) "Medical food" means a food that is formulated to be consumed or
53 administered enterally under the supervision of a physician and that is
54 intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition
55 for which distinctive nutritional requirements, based on recognized
56 scientific principles, are established by medical evaluation.
A. 3525--E 6
1 (f) "Processed food" means any food other than a raw agricultural
2 commodity, including any food produced from a raw agricultural commodity
3 that has been subject to processing such as canning, smoking, pressing,
4 cooking, freezing, dehydration, fermentation, or milling.
5 (g) "Processing aid" means:
6 (i) a substance that is added to a food during the processing of the
7 food but is removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged
8 in its finished form;
9 (ii) a substance that is added to a food during processing, is
10 converted into constituents normally present in the food, and does not
11 significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in
12 the food; or
13 (iii) a substance that is added to a food for its technical or func-
14 tional effect in the processing but is present in the finished food at
15 insignificant levels and does not have any technical or functional
16 effect in that finished food.
17 (h) "Raw agricultural commodity" means any plant, animal, or fungi
18 grown or produced for human food-use purposes.
19 (i) "Retailer" means a person or business engaged in selling food from
20 individuals or businesses to the end-user.
21 § 4. Section 201 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
22 adding a new subdivision 15 to read as follows:
23 15. (a) Any food for human consumption, seed, or seed stock offered
24 for retail sale in New York is misbranded if it is entirely genetically
25 engineered or partially produced with genetic engineering and that fact
26 is not disclosed as follows:
27 (i) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is not separately
28 packaged or labeled, the words "produced with genetic engineering" or
29 any other derivative of those words, the initials "GE", "GM", or "GMO",
30 or a derivative of those phrases, shall be placed on the container used
31 for packaging, holding, and/or transport in a clear and conspicuous
32 manner by the manufacturer, and maintained by the distributor, and
33 displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the retail shelf or bin
34 in which such commodity is offered for sale by the retailer.
35 (ii) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity that is separately
36 packaged or processed food containing some products of genetic engineer-
37 ing, the manufacturer must label the food, in a clear and conspicuous
38 manner on the package of such food, with the words "Produced with Genet-
39 ic Engineering" or any other derivative of those words, the initials
40 "GE", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those phrases.
41 (iii) In the case of any seed or seed stock, the manufacturer or other
42 entity responsible for producing the seed must label the seed or seed
43 stock container, the sales receipt, and any other reference to identifi-
44 cation, ownership, or possession, in a clear and conspicuous manner with
45 the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any other derivative of
46 those words, the initials "GE,", "GM", "GMO", or a derivative of those
47 phrases.
48 (b) This subdivision shall not be construed to require either the
49 listing or identification of any ingredients that were genetically engi-
50 neered, nor that the phrase "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or any
51 other derivative of those words, the initials "GE," "GM", "GMO", or a
52 derivative of those phrases be placed immediately preceding any common
53 name or primary product descriptor of a food.
54 (c) Any processed food that would be subject to this section solely
55 because it includes one or more materials produced with genetic engi-
56 neering is not misbranded provided that the genetically engineered mate-
A. 3525--E 7
1 rials in the aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one
2 percent of the total weight of the processed food.
3 (d) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following:
4 (i) Food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely from, an animal
5 that has not itself been produced with genetic engineering, regardless
6 of whether the animal has been fed with any food produced with genetic
7 engineering or treated with any drug or vaccine that has been produced
8 with genetic engineering;
9 (ii) A raw agricultural commodity, processed food, or seed that has
10 been grown, raised, produced, or derived without the knowing and inten-
11 tional use of genetically engineered seed or food. To be included within
12 the exclusion under this paragraph, the person or entity responsible for
13 complying with paragraph (a) of this subdivision with respect to a raw
14 agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock must obtain,
15 from whomever sold the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed,
16 or seed stock must obtain, from whomever sold the raw agricultural
17 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock to that person, a written
18 statement, which may be included on an invoice that may be in an elec-
19 tronic form, that the raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed,
20 or seed stock: (1) has not been knowingly or intentionally produced with
21 genetic engineering; and (2) has been segregated from, and has not been
22 knowingly or intentionally commingled with foods or seeds that may have
23 been produced with genetic engineering;
24 (iii) Any processed food that would be subject to this subdivision
25 solely because one or more of the processing aids or enzymes used in its
26 production were produced with or derived from genetic engineering;
27 (iv) Any alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation by the alco-
28 holic beverage control law;
29 (v) Food that has been lawfully certified to be labeled, marketed, and
30 offered for sale as "organic" pursuant to the federal Organic Foods
31 Production Act of 1990, 7 U.S.C. 6501, et seq. as amended from time to
32 time, and the National Organic Program regulations promulgated pursuant
33 thereto by the United States Department of Agriculture;
34 (vi) Food that is not packaged for sale and that either: (i) is a
35 processed food prepared and intended for immediate human consumption or
36 (ii) is served, sold, or otherwise provided in any restaurant, food
37 facility, or food retailer that is engaged in the sale of food prepared
38 and intended for immediate human consumption; or
39 (vii) Medical food.
40 (e)(i) Any person, firm, corporation, or other legal entity violating
41 this section shall be subject to the penalties for false labels and
42 misrepresentations as set forth in section three hundred ninety-two-b of
43 the general business law, provided however that a retailer shall not be
44 subject to the penalties under section three hundred ninety-two-b of the
45 general business law unless (1) the retailer is the manufacturer of the
46 genetically engineered raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed,
47 or seed stock and sells the genetically engineered raw agricultural
48 commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock under a brand it owns or
49 (2) the retailer's failure to label was knowing and willful.
50 (ii) Any person or entity who violates the requirements of this
51 section shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thou-
52 sand dollars per day, per product.
53 (f) In any case where there has been a final determination by the
54 department, of a violation of any of the provisions of this subdivision,
55 the department shall make available to the public, without charge, the
56 following information:
A. 3525--E 8
1 (i) the name and business address of the violator;
2 (ii) the date or dates of inspection of the violator's premises by the
3 department;
4 (iii) the violation that was determined to have occurred, including
5 the name of the product; and
6 (iv) the amount of the penalty that was assessed by the department.
7 (g) A distributor or retailer that sells a raw agricultural commodity,
8 processed food, seed, or seed stock that has been produced with genetic
9 engineering that fails to make the disclosure required pursuant to
10 section three hundred ninety-one-t of the general business law, is not
11 subject to financial liability in any civil action to enforce this
12 section if the distributor or retailer relied on the written statement
13 obtained under subdivision two of section three hundred ninety-one-t of
14 the general business law provided by the manufacturer stating that the
15 raw agricultural commodity, processed food, seed, or seed stock is not
16 subject to the disclosure requirements under such section.
17 § 5. Severability clause. If any provision of this act or its applica-
18 tion to any person, legal entity, or circumstance is held invalid, the
19 remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
20 persons, legal entity or circumstances shall not be affected.
21 § 6. This act shall take effect twenty-four months after it shall have
22 become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the depart-
23 ment of agriculture and markets shall adopt any rules and regulations
24 necessary to implement this act, including, but not limited to, creating
25 and maintaining a list, which shall be made available to the public at
26 no cost, of raw agricultural commodities that are produced with genetic
27 engineering; provided, further, that the department of agriculture and
28 markets is not authorized to create any exemptions beyond those provided
29 for in paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 391-t of the general
30 business law as added by section two of this act and paragraph (d) of
31 subdivision 15 of section 201 of the agriculture and markets law as
32 added by section four of this act; this act shall remain in effect until
33 such time as a comprehensive federal system requiring mandatory labeling
34 of raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock
35 produced with genetic engineering is implemented, provided however that
36 nothing contained herein shall prevent the state from exercising any
37 concurrent authority authorized by federal law; provided that the
38 commissioner of agriculture and markets shall notify the legislative
39 bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of a
40 comprehensive federal system requiring mandatory labeling of raw agri-
41 cultural commodities, processed foods, seed, and seed stock produced
42 with genetic engineering in order that the commission may maintain an
43 accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws
44 of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions
45 of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public
46 officers law.
