NY Educ L § 235-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 1 - General Provisions Article 5 - University of the State of New York Part 1 - General Organization 235-A - New York State Biodiversity Research Institute.

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