§ 235-A — New York state biodiversity research institute

§ 235-a. New York state biodiversity research institute. 1. The New\nYork state biodiversity research institute is hereby created within the\nNew York state museum within the education department. The purposes of\nthe institute shall include:\n (a) advising the governor, governmental agencies, the regents, and the\nlegislature on matters relating to biodiversity in New York state;\n (b) fostering, pursuing and sponsoring collaborative biological and\necological research;\n (c) increasing understanding of biodiversity research and conservation\nneeds in New York by establishing and reporting on what is known and\nwhat is not known about the biological diversity of the state;\n (d) identifying priority needs for biodiversity research and inventory\nwork within New York that currently are not receiving adequate\nattention, and identifying public or private entities that are best\nsituated to address such needs, thereby leading to better coordination\nof biodiversity research efforts in the state;\n (e) promoting awareness of existing and new sources of biodiversity\ninformation and biodiversity expertise among planners, policy makers,\nand resource managers;\n (f) educating elected officials, governmental agencies, and the\ngeneral public on biodiversity issues through such means as it may\ndetermine;\n (g) organizing and sponsoring meetings on biodiversity topics;\n (h) encouraging the establishment of networks of collaborating\nscientists engaged in related aspects of biodiversity research;\n (i) raising sensitivity to biodiversity concerns among state and local\ngovernment agencies, and serving as a forum for enhanced interagency\ninformation sharing and cooperation;\n (j) recommending priority activities for funding through the state\nland biodiversity stewardship account, created pursuant to section\nninety-seven-oo of the state finance law;\n (k) assisting the commissioners of environmental conservation and\nparks, recreation and historic preservation in conducting reviews,\npursuant to section 3-0302 of the environmental conservation law and\nsubdivision eighteen of section 3.09 of the parks, recreation and\nhistoric preservation law, of lands currently in state ownership, to\nidentify lands and waters that harbor plants, animals, and ecological\ncommunities that are rare in New York state;\n (l) assisting the commissioner of parks, recreation and historic\npreservation in identifying ecologically significant sites within state\nparks and historic sites that are candidates for park preserve or park\npreservation area designation pursuant to article twenty of the parks,\nrecreation and historic preservation law; and\n (m) assisting the commissioner of environmental conservation in\nidentifying lands of ecological significance, currently in state\nownership, to recommend to the governor and the legislature for\ndedication to the state nature and historical preserve trust pursuant to\narticle forty-five of the environmental conservation law.\n 2. Definitions. When used in this section, the following terms shall\nmean:\n (a) "Biodiversity" or "biological diversity" means the total variety\nof living organisms found in the state, and the natural processes that\nsupport them; and\n (b) "Institute" shall mean the New York state biodiversity research\ninstitute created pursuant to subdivision one of this section.\n 3. Research programs. The institute shall foster, pursue and sponsor\noriginal systematic and ecological research, field studies, and\ninventories of biological collections that are designed to:\n (a) increase the information base pertaining to plant, animal,\nbiological community, and ecosystem occurrences in the state, including\ndescriptions, collections and catalogs of fauna and flora, plant and\nanimal life-cycle requirements and characteristics, the dynamics of\necological processes, and the status of rare plants, animals, and\nbiological communities;\n (b) detect, document, and interpret patterns and changes in the flora\nand fauna of the state, including expansions, losses, and introductions\nof species;\n (c) explore and foster the gathering of data in poorly known or\nvulnerable areas of the state; and\n (d) investigate techniques designed to conserve, protect, and manage\nbiodiversity.\n 4. Education and information transfer programs. The institute shall\nfoster the collection, transfer, and application of biodiversity\ninformation in the state by:\n (a) fostering access, compatibility, interchange, and synthesis of\ndata among biological information systems maintained by public entities,\nacademic and research institutions, and private organizations;\n (b) employing advanced technology to coordinate for ease of use the\nscattered biological collection resources of the state;\n (c) promoting adherence to accepted standards for biodiversity\nresearch, including quality control for the collection of voucher\nspecimens and data, and protocols for responsible collection policies;\nand\n (d) supporting the preparation and publication of interpretative works\nthat draw upon biological collection resources.\n 5. Biennial reports. The institute shall prepare and submit a report\non or before January first, nineteen hundred ninety-five and every two\nyears thereafter to the governor, the regents, and the legislature\ndescribing programs undertaken or sponsored by the institute, the status\nof knowledge regarding the state's biodiversity, and research needs\nrelated thereto.\n 6. Executive committee. The institute shall be guided by an executive\ncommittee. Members of the committee shall be from varying backgrounds\nwith members selected from the stewardship community, from the\nscientific community, as well as from government service. Such committee\nshall consist of seventeen members including the commissioner, the\ncommissioner of environmental conservation, the commissioner of parks,\nrecreation and historic preservation, the chancellor of the state\nuniversity of New York or their designees, seven at large members\nappointed by the governor, one of whom shall be chairperson, two members\nappointed by the temporary president of the senate, one member appointed\nby the minority leader of the senate, two members appointed by the\nspeaker of the assembly and one member appointed by the minority leader\nof the assembly. Appointed members shall serve for a term of three\nyears, provided that such members may be reappointed. The executive\ncommittee shall:\n (a) adopt policies, procedures, and criteria governing the programs\nand operations of the institute;\n (b) recommend to the governor and legislature appropriate actions to\nidentify, manage and conserve exemplary occurrences of common ecological\ncommunities on state-owned lands. An "exemplary occurrence of a common\necological community" shall mean a representative, high quality example\nof a given ecological community type, characterized by a distinctive\nassemblage of interacting plant and animal populations;\n (c) develop and implement the research, education and information\ntransfer programs of the institute;\n (d) identify and rate proposals for biodiversity research;\n (e) identify and rate proposals for biodiversity stewardship;\n (f) submit to the director of the budget, and the chairpersons of the\nsenate finance committee and the assembly ways and means committee on\nthe first day of October nineteen hundred ninety-three and on or before\nAugust first in each year thereafter, a budget request for the\nexpenditure of funds available from the biodiversity stewardship and\nresearch fund, for the purposes established by section ninety-seven-oo\nof the state finance law;\n (g) meet publicly at least twice a year. The committee shall widely\ndisseminate notice of its meetings at least two weeks prior to each\nmeeting. The commissioners of environmental conservation, education and\nparks, recreation and historic preservation and the chancellor of the\nstate university shall aid in such dissemination.\n 7. Scientific working group. The executive committee shall appoint a\nscientific working group composed of not more than fifteen individuals\nrepresenting governmental agencies (including a biologist from the\ndepartment of environmental conservation), academic or research\ninstitutions, educational organizations, the forest products industry\nand non-profit conservation organizations. Members of the scientific\nworking group shall have knowledge and expertise in biodiversity\nconservation and research and shall serve for a term of three years,\nprovided, however that members may be reappointed for more than one term\nat the discretion of the executive committee. The scientific working\ngroup shall make recommendations to the executive committee with respect\nto:\n (a) the identification of priority biodiversity research needs in the\nstate;\n (b) the development and implementation of the institute's research,\neducation, and information transfer programs;\n (c) the allocation and expenditure of funds from the biodiversity\nstewardship and research fund created pursuant to section\nninety-seven-oo of the state finance law;\n (d) identification and rating of proposals for biodiversity research;\nand\n (e) identification and rating of proposals for biodiversity\nstewardship.\n 8. Institute director. The institute shall have a director who shall\nbe appointed by the executive committee and shall after appointment be\nan employee of the state museum and science service. The institute\ndirector shall serve at the pleasure of the executive committee. The\ninstitute director shall serve as chief administrative officer of the\ninstitute and provide the necessary support for the executive committee.\n 9. Compensation. The members of the executive committee and the\nscientific working group shall serve without additional compensation,\nbut shall be eligible to receive reimbursement for their actual and\nnecessary expenses from the biodiversity stewardship and research fund\nestablished by section ninety-seven-oo of the state finance law,\nprovided however, members of the executive committee representing state\nagencies may receive reimbursement for their actual and necessary\nexpenses from their respective agencies. Members of the executive\ncommittee and scientific working group shall be considered state\nemployees for the purposes of sections seventeen and nineteen of the\npublic officers law.\n 10. Memorandum of understanding. The education department, the\ndepartment of environmental conservation, and the office of parks,\nrecreation and historic preservation shall enter into a written\nmemorandum of understanding to facilitate the appropriate implementation\nof the biodiversity research institute and the goals, responsibilities,\nand programs established by this section.\n