Bill Text: NY A03451 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows for the division for small-business to advise on matters affecting micro-enterprises consisting of fewer than five employees; establishes the main street center grant program to create main street centers in each of the counties in New York state, with the exception of the five boroughs of New York city; and requires the secretary of state to receive all rule-making documents in electronic format and to create an online publication of the state register.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-07 - enacting clause stricken [A03451 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A03451-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 3451 2015-2016 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y January 22, 2015 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SCARBOROUGH, LUPARDO, COLTON, COOK, WEPRIN, ROBINSON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Small Business AN ACT to amend the economic development law, the New York state urban development corporation act, the executive law and the state adminis- trative procedure act, in relation to assisting small businesses in this state THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of section 134 of the 2 economic development law, subdivision 7 as added by chapter 547 of the 3 laws of 1976, subdivision 8 as amended and subdivision 11 as added by 4 chapter 361 of the laws of 2009, subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 490 5 of the laws of 1993, subdivision 10 as added by chapter 543 of the laws 6 of 2002 and subdivision 12 as amended by chapter 16 of the laws of 2014, 7 are amended to read as follows: 8 7. review pending legislation affecting small-businesses and report 9 its findings to the commissioner; [and] 10 8. initiate and encourage small-business education programs in general 11 and to coordinate with the functions of the office of general services 12 an information and outreach program directed toward informing small-bu- 13 sinesses in the state of procedures necessary for competing for state 14 purchases and to coordinate with the functions of every state agency, 15 department or authority described in section one hundred thirty-nine-g 16 of the state finance law, pursuant to subdivision (b) of section one 17 hundred thirty-nine-g of the state finance law, an information and 18 outreach program directed toward informing small-businesses in the state 19 of procedures necessary for competing for state contracts, including 20 without limitation educating small contractors about surety bonding 21 requirements on state contracts, and identifying resources available to 22 such contractors in obtaining their first bond and in increasing their EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08042-01-5 A. 3451 2 1 bonding capacity, including but not limited to the federal small busi- 2 ness administration bond guarantee program[.]; 3 9. ADVISE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COMMISSIONER ON MATTERS 4 AFFECTING MICRO-ENTERPRISES CONSISTING OF FEWER THAN FIVE EMPLOYEES; 5 10. the commissioner and the commissioners of agriculture and markets 6 and the office of general services shall initiate and encourage small- 7 business education programs and coordinate with the functions of the 8 office of general services, pursuant to subdivision (b) of THE FORMER 9 section one hundred sixty-one-b of the state finance law, an information 10 and outreach program directed toward informing eligible businesses in 11 the state of procedures necessary for competing for purchases of food 12 products pursuant to THE FORMER section one hundred seventy-four-a of 13 the state finance law and subdivision eight-a of section one hundred 14 three of the general municipal law, and to coordinate with the functions 15 of every state agency or department described in subdivision (b) of 16 section one hundred thirty-nine-g of the state finance law, an informa- 17 tion and outreach program directed toward informing eligible businesses 18 in the state of procedures necessary for competing for contracts for the 19 purchase of food products pursuant to THE FORMER section one hundred 20 seventy-four-a of the state finance law and subdivision eight-a of 21 section one hundred three of the general municipal law[.]; 22 [10.] 11. conduct a survey of all business incubators in the state and 23 assess the need for additional incubator facilities to nurture the 24 growth and development of small businesses[.]; 25 [11.] 12. provide assistance to small business in the state, and 26 facilitate access to programs serving small business, to ensure that 27 such businesses benefit, as needed, from technical, managerial, finan- 28 cial, and general business assistance; training; marketing; organization 29 and personnel skill development; project management assistance; technol- 30 ogy assistance; bond and insurance education assistance; and other busi- 31 ness development assistance. In addition, either independently or in 32 conjunction with other state agencies: 33 (a) develop a clearinghouse of information on programs and services 34 provided by entities that may assist such businesses; and 35 (b) seek to maximize utilization by small businesses of available 36 federal resources including but not limited to federal grants, loans, 37 loan guarantees, surety bonding guarantees, technical assistance, and 38 programs and services of the federal small business administration[.]; 39 AND 40 [12.] 13. compile an annual report on the state of small businesses, 41 particularly those with twenty-five employees or less which shall be 42 known as micro-businesses under this subdivision. The commissioner 43 shall, on or before June first, two thousand fourteen and annually ther- 44 eafter, submit to the governor, the temporary president of the senate 45 and the speaker of the assembly a report that shall include, but not be 46 limited to, the following information for each calendar year: 47 (a) the growth and economic trends of small businesses which may be 48 categorized by various small business sizes and/or sectors; 49 (b) an analysis of relevant and available employment, statistical and 50 economic data of the various small business sectors throughout New York 51 state, which may be categorized by various small business sizes; 52 (c) suggestions to improve the efficiency of existing loan programs; 53 (d) suggestions to improve small business growth; 54 (e) statistical and economic analysis of the state of small businesses 55 by various small business sizes and/or sectors; and A. 3451 3 1 (f) identification and review of the local and state regulations, 2 fines and penalties particular to small businesses which may be categor- 3 ized by various small business sizes and/or sectors. 4 The division shall collaborate with other state and local agencies to 5 develop the annual report. The office shall maintain and publish such 6 information on the small business directory webpage in a manner that 7 allows individuals to search the report by name, date, or type of 8 statistics. The format of the annual report shall be developed in 9 consultation with various small business owners to ensure the informa- 10 tion collected, analyzed, and published for the purposes of this subdi- 11 vision is representative of all small businesses in the state. 12 S 2. Section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968 constituting the New 13 York state urban development corporation act is amended by adding a new 14 section 16-x to read as follows: 15 S 16-X. MAIN STREET CENTER GRANT PROGRAM. 1. THE CORPORATION SHALL 16 ADMINISTER A STATEWIDE PROGRAM TO CREATE MAIN STREET CENTERS IN EACH OF 17 THE COUNTIES IN NEW YORK STATE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FIVE BOROUGHS 18 OF NEW YORK CITY. 19 2. EACH COUNTY MAIN STREET CENTER SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A 20 MATCHING GRANT OF UP TO ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TOWARD THE CREATION 21 OF THE COUNTY CENTER IF THE COUNTY DESIGNATES THE EQUIVALENT OF A FULL- 22 TIME EMPLOYEE TO THE MAIN STREET DEVELOPMENT EFFORT. THE GRANTS MAY BE 23 USED FOR FACADE RENOVATION AND INTERIOR REHABILITATION. 24 3. EACH CENTER SHALL HOUSE A COMPREHENSIVE LIBRARY OF MAIN STREET 25 PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE TO BE LOANED. 26 4. EACH CENTER SHALL DEVELOP A CENTRAL DATABASE OF ALL STATE AND 27 FEDERAL GRANT RESOURCES. THE CORPORATION SHALL ASSIST LOCALITIES IN 28 IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL SOURCES OF FUNDING AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSIST- 29 ANCE REGARDING GRANT PROCUREMENT. 30 5. EACH CENTER SHALL DEVELOP GUIDELINES TO ASSIST LOCALITIES IN ENSUR- 31 ING THAT FACADE RENOVATIONS ARE DONE IN A MANNER THAT RESPECTS THE 32 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BUILDING TO BE RENOVATED AND HELPS TO ENHANCE THE 33 HISTORIC INTEGRITY OF THE MAIN STREET DISTRICT. 34 S 3. The executive law is amended by adding two new sections 102-a and 35 149-a to read as follows: 36 S 102-A. RULE-MAKING DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 1. 37 ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN, ALL RULE-MAKING DOCU- 38 MENTS SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT. 39 THE SECRETARY OF STATE SHALL MAKE SUCH DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE WITHOUT 40 CHARGE TO THE PUBLIC ELECTRONICALLY, AND SHALL DISSEMINATE SUCH DOCU- 41 MENTS WITHOUT CHARGE TO INTERESTED PARTIES BY VARIOUS MEANS, INCLUDING 42 AT A MINIMUM THROUGH ONE OR MORE ELECTRONIC MAILING LISTS, RSS FEEDS, 43 AND ANY OTHER TECHNOLOGIES DETERMINED BY THE SECRETARY TO BE EFFECTIVE 44 IN PROVIDING TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE ACCESS TO RULE-MAKING INFORMATION. AT 45 LEAST ONE SUCH MEANS SHALL UTILIZE A RULES TRACKER PROGRAM OR SIMILAR 46 PROGRAM THAT ENABLES A USER TO CUSTOMIZE THE RULE-MAKING INFORMATION 47 THAT WILL BE PROVIDED. 48 2. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM "RSS" OR "RICH SITE 49 SUMMARY" SHALL MEAN A FORMAT FOR DELIVERING REGULARLY CHANGING WEB 50 CONTENT. 51 S 149-A. ONLINE PUBLICATION OF STATE REGISTER. 1. THE SECRETARY OF 52 STATE SHALL PUBLISH AN ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE STATE REGISTER ON ITS 53 WEBSITE AND SHALL MAKE IT AVAILABLE WITHOUT CHARGE ONLINE. 54 2. THE INTERNET HOME PAGE OF EVERY STATE AGENCY THAT ADOPTS RULES AND 55 REGULATIONS OR PUBLISHES NOTICES IN THE STATE REGISTER SHALL MAINTAIN A 56 LINK TO THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE STATE REGISTER. A. 3451 4 1 S 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 6-a of section 202 of the state 2 administrative procedure act, as amended by chapter 171 of the laws of 3 1994, is amended to read as follows: 4 (a) An agency shall transmit a copy of any rule making notice prepared 5 pursuant to this article to the governor, the temporary president of the 6 senate, the speaker of the assembly, THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE, 7 THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE ASSEMBLY, the administrative regulations 8 review commission and the office of regulatory and management assistance 9 at the time such notice is submitted to the secretary of state for 10 publication in the state register. Such transmittal shall include the 11 complete rule text, regulatory impact statement, regulatory flexibility 12 analysis, rural area flexibility analysis, or revisions thereof, and any 13 other information submitted to the secretary of state pursuant to this 14 article. 15 S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.