ALBANY — A bill to provide relief to farm buildings from potentially costly building code regulations was recently signed into law by Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The bill was a priority issue for New York Farm Bureau this year and was necessary to stop new Department of State regulations that took effect this past January.

It was sponsored in the Senate by Sens. James Seward, R-Milford, and James Wright, R-Watertown and in the Assembly by Assemblyman Bill Magee, D-Nelson. While not the broad based exemption that New York Farm Bureau originally sought and which was passed by the Legislature, the final language provides an immediate solution by exempting farm buildings used for agricultural purposes from inspections for compliance with the fire safety and property maintenance code.

The result will be that while farms will still need to comply with applicable provisions of the code, they will not be inspected for compliance of most farm buildings.

New York Farm Bureau believes this is a short-term solution to the issue and will be working with the Department of State to address many areas within the building code that do not recognize the unique nature of agricultural buildings.

Along with exempting agricultural buildings used solely for agricultural purposes from the inspections, the legislation also:

- Clarified agriculture’s long-standing exemption from the construction code.

- States that the Department of State needs to consult with the Department of Agriculture & Markets on any building code interpretation impacting agriculture.