§ 396-F — Sale of blind made products

§ 396-f. Sale of blind made products. (1) Declaration of policy and\nstatement of purpose. The protection of blind persons and organizations\nestablished to aid blind persons in the sale of blind made products and\nthe prevention of misrepresentations in connection with the sale of\nblind made products are declared to be a matter of state concern.\n (2) Definitions. The following words or phrases, as used in this\nsection shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise\nrequires:\n (a) "Blind" shall mean a person having central visual acuity not to\nexceed 20/200 in the better eye, with correcting lenses, or visual\nacuity greater than 20/200, but with a limitation in the field of\nvision, such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an\nangle no greater than twenty degrees.\n (b) "Blind made products" shall mean the goods, wares and merchandise\nin the manufacture of which not less than seventy-five per cent of the\ntotal hours of direct labor is performed by a blind person or persons.\n (c) "Manufacture" shall mean the preparation, processing and\nassemblying of goods, wares or merchandise intended for resale and shall\ninclude the manufacture of component materials.\n (d) "Direct labor" shall mean all work required for the manufacture of\nblind made products, but shall not include time spent in the\nsupervision, administration, inspection and shipping of such product,\nnor shall it include work by blind persons consisting solely of the\npackaging of goods, wares and merchandise not manufactured by blind\npersons. However, nothing in this section shall preclude preferred bid\nstatus for the value added portion of any product that has been in part\nor solely packaged or assembled by blind or other severely handicapped\npersons.\n (e) "Commission" shall mean the New York State commission for the\nvisually handicapped.\n (3) Registration requirement. Any person engaged in the manufacture or\ndistribution of blind made products shall apply to the commission on\nforms provided by it for a registration and authorization to use an\nofficial imprint, stamp, symbol or label, designed or approved by the\ncommission, to identify goods and articles as being blind made products.\nThe commission shall investigate each application, to assure that such\nperson is actually engaged in the manufacture or distribution of blind\nmade products. The commission may register, without investigation,\nnonresident persons upon proof that they are recognized and approved by\nthe state of their residence or organization pursuant to a law of such\nstate imposing requirements substantially similar to those prescribed\npursuant to this section.\n (4) Identification of blind made products. No goods or articles made\nin this or any other state shall be displayed, advertised, offered for\nsale or sold in this state upon a representation that the same are blind\nmade products unless the same are identified as such by label, imprint,\nstamp or symbol designed or approved by the commission.\n (5) Violations. Any person who shall willfully either:\n (a) use or employ an imprint, stamp, symbol or label designed or\napproved by the commission or an imitation thereof without having\nregistered with the commission or\n (b) who shall directly or indirectly by any means represent that the\ngoods, wares or merchandise are blind made products when in fact such is\nnot the case, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.\n