S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6733
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 18, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Education
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the general municipal law, in relation to facilitating
   school districts in purchasing local agricultural products
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraphs (b), (b-1) and (c) of subdivision 9 of section
 103 of the general municipal law, paragraphs (b) and (c) as amended  and
 paragraph  (b-1) as added by chapter 90 of the laws of 2017, are amended
 to read as follows:
   (b) [the amount that may be expended  by  a  school  district  in  any
 fiscal year for such purchases shall not exceed an amount equal to twen-
 ty  cents  multiplied  by  the  total  number of days in the school year
 multiplied by the total enrollment of such school district;
   (b-1) the amount that may be expended by a board of cooperative educa-
 tional services in any fiscal year for such purchases shall  not  exceed
 an  amount  equal to twenty cents multiplied by the total number of days
 in the school year  multiplied  by  the  number  of  students  receiving
 services by such board of cooperative educational services at facilities
 operated by a board of cooperative educational services;
   (c)]  all such purchases shall be administered pursuant to regulations
 promulgated by the commissioner of education. Such regulations shall: be
 developed in consultation  with  the  commissioner  of  agriculture  and
 markets  to accommodate and promote the provisions of the farm-to-school
 program established pursuant to subdivision five-b of section sixteen of
 the agriculture and markets law and subdivision  thirty-one  of  section
 three  hundred  five of the education law as added by chapter two of the
 laws of two thousand [two]  ONE;  ensure  that  the  prices  paid  by  a
 district  or  board of cooperative educational services for any items so
 purchased do not exceed the prices of  comparable  local  farm  products
 that  are  available  to districts through their usual purchases of such
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD03672-02-9

 A. 6733                             2
 
 items; ensure that all producers and  growers  who  desire  to  sell  to
 school districts or boards of cooperative educational services can read-
 ily  access  information  in  accordance  with  the  farm-to-school law;
 include  provisions for situations when more than one producer or grower
 seeks to sell the same product to a district  or  board  of  cooperative
 educational  services  to ensure that all such producers or growers have
 an equitable opportunity to do so in  a  manner  similar  to  the  usual
 purchasing  practices  of such districts or boards of cooperative educa-
 tional services; develop guidelines for approval of purchases  of  items
 from  associations  of  more than ten growers and producers; and, to the
 maximum extent practicable, minimize additional paperwork, recordkeeping
 and other similar requirements on both growers and producers and  school
 districts.
   §  2.  Section 103 of the general municipal law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 17 to read as follows:
   17. (A) WHEN A BOARD OF EDUCATION, ON BEHALF OF  A  SCHOOL  OR  SCHOOL
 DISTRICT, ADVERTISES AN OFFER FOR BIDS, IT MAY INCLUDE IN ITS SPECIFICA-
 TIONS LANGUAGE FAVORING LOCAL OR REGIONAL PROCUREMENT WHERE PROXIMITY TO
 THE  OFFEROR IS REASONABLY RELATED TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES OR
 THE PROVISION OF THE GOODS, INCLUDING THE  TYPE  OR  QUALITY  OF  GOODS,
 BEING SOUGHT.
   (B)  UPON A DETERMINATION BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ADVERTISING SUCH A
 BID THAT THE GOODS OR SERVICES INCLUDED IN SUCH AN OFFER ARE NOT  AVAIL-
 ABLE  LOCALLY  OR  REGIONALLY,  ANY LANGUAGE SPECIFYING PROXIMITY TO THE
 OFFEROR SHALL BE WAIVED UNTIL  THE  NEXT  CONTRACT  FOR  SUCH  GOODS  OR
 SERVICES IS LET OUT FOR BID.
   (C) IN THE EVENT THAT A BOARD OF EDUCATION RECEIVES NO ACCEPTABLE BIDS
 IT  MAY WAIVE THE LANGUAGE SPECIFYING PROXIMITY TO THE OFFEROR AND SHALL
 AWARD A CONTRACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH OTHER APPLICABLE STATUTES.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have  become  a  law.    Effective  immediately the addition, amendment,
 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
 of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made
 by the commissioner of the department  of  agriculture  and  markets  in
 consultation  with the commissioner of the department of education on or
 before such effective date.