§ 480. Declaration of purpose. The legislature finds and determines
that:

1. The public perception of the state's rural regions has been
characterized by inaccurate awareness or understanding; therefore many
existing laws, regulations, policies and programs have not completely
addressed the real needs of people living within the state's rural
environs.

2. The state's rural territory is vast in size, exceptionally diverse,
possesses abundant natural and cultural resources, and, together with
its economic, human and community resources, contributes greatly to the
quality and maintenance of life of all people of the state, and hence to
a healthier, more prosperous state.

3. The state's rural areas are decentralized and unique; their
enhancement and protection require special attention in order to
effectively address distinct rural conditions, needs, and strengths.

4. Improvement in the well-being of individuals and families in the
state's rural areas has, in many instances, been unbalanced, and
characterized by a growing inequality or relative deprivation.
Additionally, such indispensable community needs as transportation;
housing; public facilities; business and industry; education and
culture; governmental and environmental management; health and human
services; require further study and state action if proper responses to
unique rural needs are to be developed.

5. The state has demonstrated sensitivity to the needs of rural
localities and has attempted to preserve the viability and quality of
life in rural areas. Such commitments to rural preservation and
development have to be continued and broadened to encompass a wide range
of rural endeavors.

6. Federal, state, and local resources and individual effort available
to address rural needs are often isolated and limited to individual
symptoms of blight and deterioration. Related programs are frequently
inaccessible to rural residents they are designed to serve. The
placement of such programs within the various organizational structures
is indistinct and many rural localities have inadequate numbers of
managerial, professional or technical personnel to pursue such
assistance. Additionally, many public and private agencies also lack
adequate staffing to adapt programs and services to the special needs
and requirements of rural citizens and their environs. This situation
has contributed to a growing confusion and disintegrating force that
discourages coordinated individual policy and program development and
delivery of services intended to address the needs of rural localities
and citizens. Consequently, the energies and resources of the many
individual federal, state, and local, and public and private initiatives
that could help answer rural needs and capitalize on the strengths of
rural areas, are often frustrated or diminished in their effect.

7. An important role and challenge for state government, therefore, is
to get diverse groups to work together for the betterment of rural New
York, and to combine their efforts in imaginative ways to the end that
all regions of the state may always offer the highest possible quality
of life, cultural and material standards of living, without sacrificing
individual freedom or responsibility. The legislature believes that such
individual efforts can be significantly enhanced, and support and
sustain each other in the public interest; and many useful and
innovative responses to rural needs will be possible, if a more focused
and coordinated interdisciplinary approach for addressing rural problems
and opportunities is made available through state government.

8. The development of proper responses to rural needs, including the
capability to anticipate and respond to individual needs on a broad
scale, would also be promoted if a more sharply defined rural affairs
avenue within state government was made available to policymakers.
Specifically, the legislature seeks to amplify the efforts of existing
agencies and individuals who are interested in such rural policy areas
as human services and community life; health care; education; business,
economic development, and employment; agriculture; environment, land
use, and natural resources; transportation; community facilities,
housing, and community revitalization; local government and management.

9. No permanent state agency has been specifically created, empowered
and funded to promote, harmonize or assist such efforts of existing
agencies and individuals that address the unique needs, conditions, and
strengths of rural areas of the state. It is, therefore, the intent of
the legislature to create a state office of rural affairs. The agency
shall serve as a one-stop contact point for rural governments, service
providers, state and federal agencies, and for individuals interested in
rural policies and programs of the state; and strive to promote
cooperative and integrated efforts among such agencies and programs that
are designed to address rural needs; and shall recommend to the governor
and the legislature the suitable use of policies, programs, long-range
plans, laws and regulatory mechanisms in order to meet such needs.