NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5102
SPONSOR: Peoples-Stokes TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the state finance law, in relation to
solicitation of available New York food products
PURPOSE OF BILL: To establish guidelines that will assist state agen-
cies with the procurement of New York food products.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Subdivision four of section 165 of the
State Finance Law would be amended as follows: Paragraph (a) would add a
new subparagraph (i) to require that all solicitations for purchases of
food by state agencies include the list of New York food products devel-
oped by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets pursuant to para-
graph (b) and a notice that such New York State food products are avail-
able in sufficient quantities for competitive purchasing.
Paragraph (d) would be amended to authorize the Commissioners of General
Services and Agriculture and Markets to develop regulations to: estab-
lish guidelines to increase purchases of New York food products; publish
the guidelines on the Office of General Services (OGS) website; and,
provide for monitoring and implementation of subdivision four.
Paragraph (f) would be amended to require that successful bidders review
the list of New York. Sate food products and report to the procuring
agency their total food products and processed food products procured
under such contracts, by specific type with the dollar value, identify-
ing New York State food products, and, those products procured from
outside of New York State that were listed as available from New York by
the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets.
Paragraph (g) is amended to require that the Commissioner of General
Services report to the governor and legislature on the implementation of
subdivision four by December first of each year. The report must include
the aggregate of the information reported to agencies in paragraph (f).
JUSTIFICATION: Current law authorizes OGS to require that all or some
of the food purchased by the State is gown, produced, harvested or proc-
essed in New York State and requires the Commissioner of Agriculture and
Markets to provide a listing of available, competitively-priced food
products grown, produced or harvested in New York. Although this law has
been in effect for more than two decades it is unclear as to how effec-
tively it is used by State agencies to purchase local foods. There is
little to no -reporting, or evidence, that agencies or successful
bidders are making an effort to buy locally gown, even when they are
available at a competitive price.
The citizens of New York actively support local agriculture by using
their purchasing power at farmers' markets, restaurants, other food
retailers and increasingly at institutions such as schools and universi-
ties. The State Legislature has also clearly expressed its intention
that the power of State purchasing be used to support the State's farm-
ers and food producers and small food businesses, This bill would make
clear to procurement officials, vendors seeking to sell food to the
State, farmers and business owners that New York intends to make this
law work. Tracking State agencies' purchases would be beneficial to help
the State and food vendors to identify how food dollars are being spent
now, opportunities for additional purchases of local foods by the State,
and opportunities for producers to begin, or expand, production of foods
that are being procured elsewhere.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A10206 of 2012
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effecting ninety days.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5102
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 20, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to solicitation of
available New York food products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs a, d, f and g of subdivision 4 of section 165 of
2 the state finance law, as amended by chapter 137 of the laws of 2008,
3 are amended to read as follows:
4 a. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, when letting
5 contracts for the purchase of food products on behalf of facilities and
6 institutions of the state, solicitation specifications of the office of
7 general services and any other agency, department, office, board or
8 commission may require provisions that mandate that all or some of the
9 required food products are grown, produced or harvested in New York
10 state, or that any processing of such food products take place in facil-
11 ities located within New York state.
12 (i) All such solicitations for the purchase of food products shall
13 include the list of food products developed by the commissioner of agri-
14 culture and markets pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision; and
15 (ii) notice that such food products are available in sufficient quan-
16 tities for competitive purchasing and that the list was developed to
17 assist the state in increasing purchases of New York state food
18 products.
19 d. The commissioner, and the commissioner of agriculture and markets,
20 [may] shall issue [such] regulations [as they deem necessary and proper]
21 for the implementation of this subdivision, including but not limited
22 to:
23 (i) establishing guidelines that will assist agencies in increasing
24 their use and purchase of New York state food products;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09009-01-3
A. 5102 2
1 (ii) publishing such purchasing guidelines on the office of general
2 services website, disseminating such guidelines to agencies and training
3 contracting personnel on implementing such guidelines; and
4 (iii) providing for monitoring of implementation.
5 f. (i) With each offer, the offerer shall certify that the food
6 products provided pursuant to that solicitation will be in conformity
7 with the provisions of the percentage required to meet or exceed the
8 requirements in the solicitation specifying that all or some of the food
9 products be grown, produced, or harvested within New York state or that
10 any processing of such food products take place in facilities located
11 within New York state.
12 (ii) Any successful offerer who fails to comply with the provisions of
13 this subdivision, at the discretion of such agency, board, office or
14 commission, shall forfeit the right to bid on contracts let under the
15 provisions of this subdivision for a period of time to be determined by
16 the commissioner and the commissioner of agriculture and markets.
17 (iii) Every successful offerer shall:
18 (1) review the list of New York state food products developed pursuant
19 to paragraph b of this subdivision to determine whether any such
20 products are being provided under their contracts;
21 (2) report to the procuring agency all of the food products and proc-
22 essed food procured under such contracts, categorized by specific type,
23 together with the dollar value of each such type procured under such
24 contract, to the extent practicable and known to such vendor; and
25 (3) for each such type of food product or processed food included on
26 the list of New York state food products, report to the procuring agen-
27 cy, to the extent practicable and known to such vendor:
28 (a) any such New York state food product procured under such contract,
29 together with the dollar value of each such type procured under such
30 contract;
31 (b) any such food product from outside of New York state procured
32 under such contract during its listed New York state availability peri-
33 od, together with the dollar value of each such type procured under such
34 contract; and
35 (c) any other such food product from outside of New York state or
36 processed food from facilities outside of New York state procured under
37 such contract from outside New York state, together with the dollar
38 value of each such type procured under such contract.
39 g. No later than December first of each year the commissioner shall
40 annually report to the governor and legislature on the implementation of
41 this subdivision. Such report shall include, at minimum:
42 (i) a description of the office's efforts to improve and increase the
43 tracking of information relating to New York state food procured by
44 agencies; and
45 (ii) the information collected pursuant to paragraph f of this subdi-
46 vision, compiled to provide the following, disaggregated by food product
47 and processed food:
48 (a) the total dollar value of New York state food products procured by
49 agencies;
50 (b) the total dollar value of food products from outside of New York
51 state procured by agencies during their listed New York state availabil-
52 ity periods; and
53 (c) the total dollar value of all other food products from outside of
54 New York state and processed food from facilities outside of New York
55 state.
A. 5102 3
1 h. The commissioner and the commissioner of agriculture and markets,
2 shall advise and assist the chancellor of the state university of New
3 York in extending the benefits of the provisions of this subdivision to
4 the university and shall modify any regulations or procedures heretofore
5 established pursuant to this subdivision, in order to facilitate such
6 participation.
7 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
8 have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the
9 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
10 for the implementation of this act on its effective date is authorized
11 and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
