Section 3.23. New York state conservation corps

1. A New York state
  conservation corps (hereafter referred to as  the  "corps")  within  the
  office is hereby established for the following purposes:
    a. To protect air, fish, forest, land, water and wildlife;
    b.  To  help  maintain  and improve botanical gardens, historic sites,
  libraries, museums, parks, parkways, refuges,  trails,  zoos  and  other
  recreational investments;
    c. To aid agricultural, fishing, forestry and tourist industries;
    d.  To  provide  jobs  and  job  training for young unemployed men and
  women, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, to act as a stepladder
  to permanent employment;
    e. To foster co-operation among civilian and governmental agencies  in
  order to educate the public about state resources;
    f. To reinforce the "I Love New York" campaign;
    g.  To  take  advantage  of  the  capital investment in facilities and
  equipment already in place from the programs of youth  and  young  adult
  and civilian conservation corps paid for by federal dollars;
    h.  To  educate  the  participants  about  our natural environment and
  cultural heritage, teach first  aid  and  disaster  procedures,  and  to
  otherwise encourage them to further their education; and
    i.  To  do such other projects which provide disaster relief, increase
  energy conservation, improve fire prevention, beautify highways, control
  insects and rodents, upgrade public lands, and revitalize urban areas.
    2.  The  office  is  authorized  to  provide  for  the  use  of  state
  appropriations as are available for such purposes:
    a. To coordinate corps participants in doing projects on land owned by
  the  state  or  by  a municipality or by an Indian nation, or activities
  taking place at nonproject sites when appropriate; and
    b. To enter into agreements  with  any  municipal  corporation,  state
  agency, not-for-profit organization or Indian nation which will agree to
  do projects consistent with this section.
    3. The corps shall consist of the following components:
    a. Summer: for youth enrollees, aged fourteen--eighteen;
    b.    Seasonal:   for   unemployed   young   adult   enrollees,   aged
  sixteen--twenty-four;
    c.    Non-residential:    for    young    adult    enrollees,     aged
  sixteen--twenty-four;
    d. Residential: for young adult enrollees, aged eighteen--twenty-five;
    e.  Volunteer: for interested persons of any age who are members of an
  organized group which has proper leadership and insurance;
    f. Crew Leader: for young adults, aged eighteen and over;
    g. Staff: for adults, aged twenty-one and up, who are needed  for  the
  few positions enrollees or crew leaders cannot fill; and
    h. Director: for adults, aged twenty-five and up, who are in charge of
  local or state projects, residential camps, or overall program of corps.
    4.  The  following  minimum standards and requirements shall apply for
  all projects funded pursuant to the provisions of this section:
    a.  Enrollees and crew leaders shall be  paid  at  rates  set  by  the
  office, and may have incentive steps up to twice the rate of the federal
  minimum wage;
    b.  The distribution of projects should as much as practicable reflect
  the population of the state as a whole, the usage of  qualifying  sites,
  the  population  of  and  unemployment rates among the target age group,
  except for special needs arising from disasters  caused  by  man  and/or
  nature;
    c.  Applicants  for  summer  and  seasonal enrollee positions shall be
  chosen for interview by random methods;

    d. Local operators shall  match  funds  received  from  the  state  by
  providing  for twenty percent local share of project costs consisting of
  cash or in kind services;
    e.  No  participant  in the corps shall displace or be substituted for
  existing employees;
    f. No individual may be  an  enrollee  in  the  corps  for  more  than
  twenty-four months of accumulated service;
    g. All residential camps shall be operated by the office;
    h.  Projects  will  receive preference which provide for the most long
  term benefits to the public, meaningful work, work experiences, and  are
  labor intensive;
    i.  A  corps  member must be a citizen or lawful permanent resident or
  lawfully admitted alien;
    j. Applicants for seasonal enrollee positions shall be unemployed;
    k.  Special  consideration  shall  be  given  to  the  recruitment  of
  enrollees  who are economically, socially, physically, and educationally
  disadvantaged;
    l. Volunteers may not be used for hazardous duties or law  enforcement
  work;
    m.  Program  funds  may  be  expended to provide for services or costs
  incidental to the utilization of volunteers,  including  transportation,
  supplies, lodging, recruiting, training and supervision;
    n.  Volunteers  shall  not  be deemed to be employees, except for tort
  claims relating to compensation for work injuries;
    o. The corps may do work at federal sites;
    p. The corps will help support the empire state games, the state fair,
  and other events consistent with this section;
    q. The corps  will  help  the  department  of  commerce,  the  Olympic
  regional  development  authority,  the Adirondack park agency, and local
  agencies in their tourist development activities;
    r. The office shall whenever possible  coordinate  program  activities
  with other youth sections of the office, department of labor, department
  of  environmental  conservation,  the  division  for  youth, agencies or
  programs operating pursuant to the Federal job training partnership act,
  department of social services, department of education, and local  youth
  agencies;
    s.  Of  the sums appropriated to carry out this section for any fiscal
  year from state and/or federal and/or private sources:
    (i) not less than fifty percent shall  go  to  local  governments  and
  not-for-profit groups,
    (ii) not less than ten percent shall be spent on summer component,
    (iii)  not  less  than  twenty-five percent of state projects shall be
  operated by the department of environmental conservation,
    (iv) not less than ten percent of state projects shall be operated  by
  Indian nations;
    (v) not less than fifty percent of state projects shall be operated by
  the office;
    t.  Educational opportunities for corps participants shall be enhanced
  by:
    (i) the provision of training and reference materials,  both  internal
  and from other state or federal sources,
    (ii)  arranging  with  educational  institutions  for  the awarding of
  academic credit for competencies developed,
    (iii) encouraging corps members to continue studies during non-working
  hours to complete high school equivalency diploma or college courses  or
  job skill training;

    u.  The  office  shall coordinate educational, recruiting and training
  materials of the corps with the departments of education,  environmental
  conservation and labor and the division for youth; and
    v.  The  corps shall take advantage of the services available from the
  state university of New York, local community colleges and school boards
  and the University of New York.
    5. The office may accept supplementary public  and  private  funds  to
  assist in meeting the costs of operating the corps.
    6.  The  commissioner  shall prepare an annual report on the corps and
  submit such report to the legislature.
    7. The office shall promulgate  such  rules  and  regulations  as  are
  necessary  and  appropriate  and shall establish the corps as a separate
  bureau within the office.
    8. The commencement of the  corps  and  other  provisions  under  this
  section  shall  be  contingent  upon  the availability of federal and/or
  state moneys appropriated for such purposes.
    9.  a.  There  shall  be  an  advisory  council  consisting   of   the
  commissioners   of   the   office,   the   department  of  environmental
  conservation, the department of labor, and the department  of  education
  and  the  director of the division for youth, and ten additional members
  to be appointed by the governor; three upon the  recommendation  of  the
  temporary  president of the senate, three upon the recommendation of the
  speaker of the assembly, two upon the  recommendation  of  the  minority
  leader  of  the  senate, and two upon the recommendation of the minority
  leader of the assembly. Each member of the advisory council shall  serve
  a  term  of  three  years. The commissioner shall be the chairman of the
  advisory council.
    b. The advisory council shall:
    (i) identify and review issues and current state policies and programs
  which directly or indirectly affect the corps and make recommendations;
    (ii)  assist  the  commissioner  as  to  planning,  development,   and
  management of the corps;
    (iii) review implementation and make recommendations regarding the law
  creating the corps;
    (iv) provide assistance as requested by the chairman; and
    (v) assist in the development of the annual report.