§ 16-S — The upstate agricultural economic development fund and healthy food / healthy communities initiative

§ 16-s. The upstate agricultural economic development fund and healthy\nfood / healthy communities initiative. 1. The upstate agricultural\neconomic development fund and healthy food / healthy communities\ninitiative is hereby created. The corporation is authorized, within\navailable appropriations, to provide financial assistance in the form of\nloans, grants or contracts for services, to eligible entities as set\nforth in this subdivision to support the upstate revitalization fund to\nreduce the cost of financing the construction, expansion or renovation\nof agricultural economic development projects, to reduce the cost of\nagricultural inputs or to support activities related to the retention of\nexisting farmers or the recruitment of new farmers and to increase the\nnumber of food markets providing affordable and nutritious foods in\nunderserved areas.\n 2. Not-for-profit corporations, agricultural cooperative corporations,\npublic benefit corporations, municipalities and educational institutions\nserving rural areas shall be eligible to apply for support under this\nsubdivision for the following activities:\n (a) Support for local efforts to identify new agricultural economic\ndevelopment opportunities, and to organize industry-wide collaborative\nefforts designed to develop growth strategies for the agricultural\nindustry.\n (b) Support for local or regional activities designed to provide\nbusiness development and financial packaging assistance to new and\nexpanding agricultural economic development projects.\n (c) Development and delivery of programs to promote the retention of\nexisting farmers and to attract new farmers.\n (d) Feasibility studies to determine the projected local, national\nand/or international demand for the proposed crop or product to be\nfinanced pursuant to this section and the suitability of the land and\nclimate for such production.\n (e) Support for land acquisition and/or the construction, acquisition\nor expansion of buildings, machinery and equipment associated with a\nproject.\n (f) Loans can be provided by the corporation to agricultural\ncooperative corporations, not-for-profit corporations and public benefit\ncorporations for the purpose of providing low cost financing from such\nentities to projects for purposes described in this subdivision.\n (g) Such projects shall be consistent with the environmental\nprotection goals of the state.\n 3. Community development financial institutions, as defined by\nparagraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section sixteen-o of this act, shall\nbe eligible to apply for designation under this subdivision to perform\nthe duties of a program administrator for the healthy food / healthy\ncommunities initiative.\n (a) Program administrators will be required to enter into a contract\nwith the corporation for the following responsibilities:\n (i) raise matching capital to leverage state funds within three years\nof signing a contract with the corporation;\n (ii) report, at least annually, on the sources and amounts of funds\nraised;\n (iii) develop underwriting criteria; and\n (iv) process loans and grants for food markets.\n (b) Administrative costs of program administrators will be\nreimbursable as set forth in either rules and regulations issued in\naccordance with paragraph (d) of subdivision 5 of this section or in a\nrequest for proposal.\n (c) Eligible food markets are any entities in subparagraph (i) of this\nparagraph. Eligible food markets must demonstrate that their proposed\nproject will benefit an underserved area, as defined in subparagraph\n(ii) of this paragraph.\n (i) An eligible food market applicant may be a for-profit business\nenterprise (including a corporation, limited liability company, sole\nproprietor, cooperative or partnership), not-for-profit corporation,\nagricultural cooperative corporation, public benefit corporation,\nmunicipal corporation, regional market facility, or a food cooperative.\n (ii) An underserved area is defined as a low- or moderate-income\ncensus tract, an area of below average supermarket density or an area\nhaving a supermarket customer base with more than 50 percent living in a\nlow-income census tract.\n (iii) Eligible uses for funds from state grants and loans to food\nmarkets include:\n (A) pre-development costs for project feasibility, including\nprofessional fees, market studies and appraisals;\n (B) land assembly, including demolition and environmental remediation;\n (C) site development;\n (D) infrastructure improvements, including renovation, new\nconstruction or adaptive reuse; and\n (E) equipment purchases.\n (d) The program administrator shall review, and if appropriate\napprove, applications by food markets. The program administrator shall\nreview applications every other month for as long as funds remain\navailable in the loan pool. The program administrator shall review each\napplication to determine whether the proposed project is financially\nviable and demonstrates all of the following:\n (i) makes a positive impact on the local economy;\n (ii) increases revenues to the state, the host municipality, or the\nmarket region or creates a new agricultural economic development\nopportunity;\n (iii) adherence to sound land use principles;\n (iv) promotes community development by working in conjunction with\nother programs;\n (v) incorporates energy efficiency and green building principles; and\n (vi) to the maximum extent practicable, provides healthy, nutritious\nfood grown by sustainable agricultural practices.\n 4. Applications for assistance pursuant to this section, except for\nthe healthy foods / healthy communities initiative, shall be reviewed\nand evaluated pursuant to eligibility requirements and criteria set\nforth in rules and regulations promulgated by the upstate chairman, in\nconsultation with the commissioner of the department of agriculture and\nmarkets, and subject to approval by the board of directors of the\nupstate empire state development corporation. Approval of project\napplications shall be made by the upstate chairman, in consultation with\nthe commissioner of the department of agriculture and markets, subject\nto approval by the board of directors of the upstate empire state\ndevelopment corporation.\n 5. Applications to be the program administrator for the healthy food /\nhealthy communities initiative shall be reviewed and evaluated pursuant\nto eligibility requirements and criteria which may be set forth in\neither rules and regulations, a request for proposal or an application.\n (a) Applications shall identify at least one food access, health or\ncommunity development organization who will work with the program\nadministrator applicant to:\n (i) analyze market opportunities in underserved areas;\n (ii) recruit food market operators and developers;\n (iii) pre-qualify food market applications on non-financial criteria;\nand\n (iv) provide technical assistance with regard to operating grocery\nstores in low-income communities.\n (b) Administrative costs of the food access, health or community\ndevelopment organization will be reimbursable as set forth in rules and\nregulations issued in accordance with paragraph (d) of this subdivision\nor in a request for proposal.\n (c) Approval of at least one program administrator shall be made by\nthe upstate chairman, in consultation with the commissioner of the\ndepartment of agriculture and markets, subject to approval by the board\nof directors of the upstate empire state development corporation.\n (d) At his or her discretion, the upstate chairman of the corporation\nmay promulgate rules and regulations, in consultation with the\ncommissioner of the department of agriculture and markets, and subject\nto approval by the board of directors of the upstate empire state\ndevelopment corporation for the implementation of this section.\n 6. The corporation, in consultation with the commissioner of the\ndepartment of agriculture and markets, shall submit a report to the\ndirector of the budget, the temporary president of the senate, the\nspeaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate and the\nminority leader of the assembly on the investments and accomplishments\nof the upstate agricultural economic development fund. Such report shall\ninclude, but not be limited to, information on the number of jobs\ncreated and retained, levels of private sector investment, economic\nbenefit to the state and local economies and types of industries\ninvested in. Such report shall be submitted by July 1, 2009 and July\nfirst every year thereafter.\n 7. The corporation, in consultation with the commissioner of the\ndepartment of agriculture and markets, shall submit a report to the\ndirector of the budget, the temporary president of the senate, the\nspeaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate and the\nminority leader of the assembly evaluating the economic and social\nbenefits of the upstate agricultural economic development fund. Such\nevaluation shall be prepared by an entity or entities independent of the\ncorporation which shall be selected through a request for proposal\nprocess. Such evaluation shall be submitted by October 1, 2009 and\nOctober first every year thereafter.\n 8. The corporation is hereby authorized to promulgate rules and\nregulations in accordance with the state administrative procedure act as\nare necessary to fulfill the purposes of this section.\n 9. The provisions of section ten and subdivision 2 of section sixteen\nof this act shall not apply to assistance provided under this section.\n