Bill Text: NY A04160 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organizations impacted by COVID-19 to provide grants to eligible veterans service organizations to defray certain expenses of the organization including rent, utilities, scheduled mortgage payments, scheduled debt payments and other ordinary and necessary business expenses; makes an appropriation therefor.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to economic development [A04160 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A04160-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4160 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LEMONDES -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Economic Development AN ACT to amend chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting the New York urban development corporation act, in relation to establishing a COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organizations impacted by COVID-19; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Veterans 2 Service Organizations COVID-19 relief act". 3 § 2. Section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting the 4 New York urban development corporation act, is amended by adding a new 5 section 16-aaa to read as follows: 6 § 16-aaa. The COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service 7 organizations. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following 8 terms shall have the following meanings: 9 (a) Veterans service organization means an organization that is char- 10 tered under part B of subtitle II of title 36, United States Code, and 11 includes any local or area chapter, post, or other unit. 12 (b) Eligible veterans service organization means a veterans service 13 organization that experienced a forty percent or greater loss of gross 14 revenue during either the 2020 or 2021 tax year as compared to their 15 gross revenue during the 2019 tax year. 16 2. Establishment and purposes. The corporation shall establish a fund 17 to be known as the "veterans service organizations COVID-19 relief act 18 fund" and shall pay into such fund any monies made available to the 19 corporation for such fund from any source. The fund shall consist of 20 such amounts as may be appropriated. The corporation is authorized to 21 accept, as agent of the state, any gift, grant, devise or bequest, 22 whether conditional or unconditional, including but not limited to 23 federal grants, and to use monies made available for the program from EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01399-01-3A. 4160 2 1 any public or private source, for the purpose of implementing the 2 program. The corporation shall be entitled to recover from the monies 3 made available for the program its own necessary and documented costs 4 incurred in administering the program; provided, however, the sum that 5 may be recovered for the corporation's administrative costs shall not 6 exceed three percent of the monies made available for the program. The 7 monies held in or credited to the fund shall be expended solely for the 8 purposes set forth in this section. The corporation shall not co-mingle 9 the monies of such fund with any other monies of the corporation or any 10 monies held in trust by the corporation. 11 3. The COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organiza- 12 tions. (a) The corporation shall establish a grant program to be known 13 as the "COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organiza- 14 tions". The program shall provide grants, within appropriations and 15 funds designated therefor, to eligible veterans service organizations. A 16 grant made to a veterans service organization under this program shall 17 not exceed $50,000. 18 (b) An application for a grant shall be submitted in accordance with 19 such procedures as the corporation shall establish. The procedures 20 established by the corporation shall include a requirement that the 21 grant applicant include information to demonstrate the required forty 22 percentage loss or greater in gross revenue during the 2020 or 2021 tax 23 year, and a plan for the use of such grant. Any veterans service organ- 24 ization that receives a grant under this section may only use such grant 25 in accordance with the application plan submitted for the following 26 types of expenses of the organization: (i) rent; (ii) utilities; (iii) 27 scheduled mortgage payments; (iv) scheduled debt payments; or (v) other 28 ordinary and necessary business expenses, including maintenance costs, 29 administrative costs (including fees and licensing), state and local 30 taxes and fees, operating leases, and insurance payments. 31 4. Reporting requirements. The corporation shall submit a report to 32 the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the senate minority 33 leader, the speaker of the assembly, and the assembly minority leader on 34 or before the first of October, and annually thereafter, describing the 35 grants provided pursuant to this section and such other information as 36 the corporation may deem appropriate. 37 5. Rules and regulations. The corporation is hereby authorized to 38 promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the state adminis- 39 trative procedure act that are necessary to fulfill the purposes of this 40 section. Such rules and regulations must be completed within one hundred 41 eighty days after the effective date of this section. 42 § 3. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), is hereby appropri- 43 ated to the urban development corporation out of the moneys in the state 44 treasury in the general fund to the credit of the veterans service 45 organizations COVID-19 relief act fund established pursuant to section 46 16-aaa of the New York state urban development corporation act. 47 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
