NY Assembly Agriculture Chair Magee, Ethics & the NY Farm Bureau

What would you think if you saw the Chairman of your State Assembly Agricultural Committee staffing the trade fair booth for Monsanto or Dow Chemical or a big pharmaceutical firm that made antibiotics used for growth promotants on factory farms? Would it give you pause if he were handing out literature for one of the largest agribusiness lobbyist firms in the state capital?  And, what if this agribusiness entity or lobbying firm had business pending before the Assembly Agriculture Committee?

At this year’s New York State Fair (August 27-September 9th) in Syracuse, NY, Agriculture Committee Chairman William Magee was photographed manning the booth for the New York Farm Bureau, an organization that lobbies the state legislature on virtually every bill that affects the profits of New York’s large factory farms and CAFOs.

The New York Farm Bureau (NYFB) is no small organization. It has a $22 million dollar war chest (mostly in Treasury bonds and securities), and millions of dollars in annual member dues and other income. It uses those funds to advance the interests of New York’s large CAFOs and factory farms.

A bill pending before the State Assembly (A.08163) was referred to Mr. Magee’s Agriculture Committee this past May where it has sat ever since. The bill would ban the use of hen battery cages, veal crates and pig gestation crates in New York State by the end of 2014. It is similar to California’s Proposition 2 from last year. (Read more about it at www.ab8163.com) While California permits statewide initiatives and propositions, New York does not. The bill must work its way through the legislature, and that means through Mr. Magee’s Agriculture Committee.

The New York Farm Bureau vocally opposes this bill. It has printed its opposition over and over again in its Grassroots newsletter and it is lobbying the Agriculture Committee to solidify opposition to the bill.

According to the New York Farm Bureau, it believes that Magee will not support the legislation. New York Farm Bureau Government Relations Director Julie Suarez says, “New York agricultural producers shouldn’t be too worried.” And according to Farm & Dairy News, with Magee in charge of the Agriculture Committee, New York farmers may “breathe a sigh of relief.”

It is no wonder that factory farms and big agribusiness think that they can relax and let Magee take care of them. Agribusiness has taken care of Magee for many years. The New York Farm Bureau has been paying thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to the “Friends of Bill Magee.” Magee has  taken money from Monsanto. Magee is happy to take money, lots of money, from a New York Law firm named Bond, Schoeneck & King. The firm boasts twelve attorneys in its Agribusiness Department and is a registered lobbyist for companies involved in livestock waste management, seed distribution, and big dairy.

Environmental, animal rights, public health and other groups have been working to support passage of Assembly Bill 8163. With William Magee in charge of the Agriculture Committee, proponents of the bill face an uphill battle. Most proponents believe that the bill will die in Magee’s Committee and never reach the full Assembly where passage may be likely. The bill has vast public support. In a way, William Magee stands between the activists’ efforts to reform factory farming in New York and the Farm Bureau’s efforts to preserve the profits of big agriculture.

So, why is Mr. Magee working at the New York Farm Bureau booth so disturbing?  New York has a funny thing called a Legislative Ethics Commission. The Commission’s duties include the investigation and enforcement of various provisions of the Public Officers Law.

Section 74 is called the Code of Ethics. Section 74(3)(f) precludes a member of the legislature from acting in a manner that would give the impression that any person or entity unduly enjoys the legislator’s favor in the performance of his official duties. Section 74(3)(h) precludes a member of the legislature from purusing conduct that gives rise to suspicion among the public that he is likely to be engaged in acts in violation of his public trust.

So, think about it. If Magee sat at Monsanto’s booth at a trade show and handed out Monsanto literature, and if Monsanto was lobbying Mr. Magee’s Agriculture Committee on pending litigation involving let’s say — genetically modified seeds, it would be a clear violation of the Code of Ethics. Fact is, in New York, the New York Farm Bureau’s influence dwarfs the influence of Monsanto many times over. In fact, the former chief lobbyist (Patrick Hooker) for the New York Farm Bureau was recently elevated to head the New York State Agricultural Commission.  

To those working for passage of Assembly Bill 8163, Mr. Magee’s “working” the NYFB booth at the state fair certainly gave both the “impression” and the “suspicion” that the NYFB unduly enjoyed the benefits of Mr. Magee’s status as Agriculture Chairman in a manner that is violative of New York’s Legislative Code of Ethics.