BILL NUMBER:S6638

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend chapter 122 of the laws of 2000, amending the environmental
conservation law relating to authorizing sweepstakes with respect to
subscriptions to "The Conservationist," in relation to the effectiveness
thereof

PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

The bill would extend for three years the Department of Environmental
Conservation's ("DEC") authority to conduct sweepstakes to increase
the number of "Conservationist" magazine subscribers.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would amend Chapter 122 of the Laws of 2000 to
extend through August 1, 2015 provisions applicable to Environmental
Conservation Law ("ECL") §3-0301(2)(y), which authorizes DEC to
engage in sweepstakes or contests intended to stabilize, improve or
otherwise increase the subscriber base of the "Conservationist"
magazine.

Section 2 of this bill provides for an immediate effective date.
              

EXISTING LAW:

DEC has authority to conduct sweepstakes under ECL §3-0301(2)(y);
however, pursuant to Chapter 122 of the laws of 2000, this authority
expires on August 1, 2012.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

DEC was originally granted authority to engage in sweepstakes to
increase the subscribers of the "Conservationist" magazine in 1995
(Chapter 548 of the Laws of 1995). This authority expired on August
1, 1999. Chapter 122 of the Laws of 2000 granted this authority until
August 1, 2003. Chapter 304 of the Laws of 2003, Chapter 269 of the
Laws of 2006 and Chapter 195 of the Laws of 2009 extended this
authority until August 1, 2006, August 1, 2009 and August 1, 2012,
respectively.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:

DEC publishes the "Conservationist", a New York State-focused magazine
that contains informative articles, photography and artwork. They
cover a broad range of environmental and natural history related
topics, including fishing, hiking, recreation, travel, hunting, and
nature studies.
Published six times a year, the "Conservationist" began in 1946
and has approximately 85,000 subscribers. Marketing research on
magazine promotion demonstrates that sweepstakes are the most
effective strategy to increase renewal and new subscriber response
rates. DEC conducted prior sweepstakes from February 1996 through May


1997 and during the period from March 2006 through July 2006, which
generated increased renewal rates. Through efforts at outdoor shows
and the New York State Fair, DEC has demonstrated that offering
sweepstakes/prize drawings increases the response rate for new
subscribers as well as for renewing subscribers. Although it is hard
to directly attribute any sweepstakes to specific promotional
performance, the overall renewal rate from all sources in 1996
increased by 6.0% over 1995 and in 2006 the renewal rate increased by
7.7% over 2005.

In order for DEC to sustain its high quality magazine product in a
cost-effective manner there needs to be sufficient subscribers to
create economies of scale for printing contract costs.
DEC dedicates all subscription revenues to a Special Revenue Other
fund to support magazine production costs. To maintain that fund and
produce a quality product for current and potential subscribers, DEC
needs continued authority to conduct sweepstakes with respect to the
"Conservationist".

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

In addition to increasing the renewal rates of current subscribers,
DEC projects that holding a sweepstakes could result in an increase
of approximately 5,000 new "Conservationist" subscribers and a
concomitant increase in revenue of $50,000 to the Conservation Fund,
a Special Revenue Other fund.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This bill would take effect immediately.