NY S06182

Establishes an apiary industry advisory committee with up to fifteen members appointed by the commissioner, including representatives from commercial beekeepers, part-time beekeepers, hobbyist beekeepers, horticulture/vegetable industry, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Service, serving three-year terms.

Creates a cooperative honeybee health improvement program requiring all beekeepers to register their managed colonies, location, and contact information annually with the commissioner; program is free to join with no registration fees.

Mandates that any business selling nucleus colonies ("NUCS") in New York must have annual department inspections to verify freedom from American Foulbrood and acceptable disease/parasite levels; operations with American Foulbrood are prohibited from selling NUCS for one year or until cleared.

Requires advance notice to beekeepers before apiary inspections; allows the commissioner to establish tolerance levels for diseases and parasites in hives; beekeeper information is confidential but may be released with 21 days written notice if necessary to implement program purposes.

Expands the definition of bee products eligible for agricultural tax benefits to include royal jelly, bee pollen, and propolis in addition to honey and beeswax; replaces "useful" bee population with "managed" bee population throughout the law.