What's happening
This bill allows New York school districts to favor local agricultural products in purchases and removes spending caps for such purchases.
Why it matters
Empowers school districts to prioritize local agriculture. By explicitly allowing preference for local or regional products in procurement bids, the bill can direct more school food spending toward nearby farms and producers, potentially supporting local economies and reducing transportation costs or environmental impact.
Removes previous fiscal caps on local food purchases. Eliminating the cap on how much districts can spend on local products means schools are no longer restricted to a low per-student, per-day expenditure limit. This could enable the purchase of higher-quality or larger quantities of local foods.
Maintains fair competition and transparency. The bill ensures that regulations will give all interested local producers equitable access to bid for school contracts and requires that prices for local products remain competitive with those already available to the district, helping to prevent price inflation or favoritism while expanding access.
Includes flexibility when local options aren’t available. If suitable local or regional products or services are not available, the bill allows districts to waive local preference requirements, ensuring that procurement isn’t stalled and schools can still obtain necessary goods or services without delay.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let Schools Buy Local Food
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Print number 7011a
- Amend and recommit to education
- Referred to education
- Reference changed to education
- Referred to local governments
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Let Schools Buy Local Food
In Senate Committee · Local Government · Sponsor Patty Ritchie
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7011--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 29, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments -- reference changed to the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law to facilitate school districts in purchasing local agricultural products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, 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 twenty 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 educational 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06734-03-8
A. 7011--A 2
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 items; ensure that all producers and growers who desire to sell to school districts or boards of cooperative educational services can readily 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 educational 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 specifications 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 available 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; provided however, that 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.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.