Bill Text: NY A01891 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Provides for expanded ownership in design professional corporations by employee stock ownership plans and non-licensed employees.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-03 - substituted by s5261b [A01891 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A01891-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1891--C

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO, THIELE, SANTABARBARA, STECK, FAHY, WOER-
          NER  -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LAWLER, McDONOUGH, B. MILLER --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education -- commit-
          tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and  recom-
          mitted  to  said  committee  -- recommitted to the Committee on Higher
          Education in accordance with Assembly Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to  said  committee  -- again reported from said committee with amend-
          ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the business corporation law, in relation  to  providing
          for expanded ownership in design professional corporations by employee
          stock ownership plans and non-licensed employees

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph  (b-1)  of  section
     2  1503  of  the  business  corporation law, as added by chapter 550 of the
     3  laws of 2011, are amended to read as follows:
     4    (i) greater than seventy-five percent of  the  outstanding  shares  of
     5  stock  of  the corporation are owned by design professionals and an ESOP
     6  (or ESOPs) with greater than seventy-five percent of the  plan's  voting
     7  trustees  or  greater  than seventy-five percent of the plan's committee
     8  members being design professionals,
     9    (ii) an ESOP, either in part or in its entirety, shall not  constitute
    10  part  of  the  greater than seventy-five percent owned by design profes-
    11  sionals unless greater than seventy-five percent of  the  plan's  voting
    12  trustees  or  greater  than seventy-five percent of the plan's committee
    13  members are design professionals,
    14    § 2. Subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (b) of  section  1507  of
    15  the  business  corporation  law,  as added by chapter 550 of the laws of
    16  2011, are amended to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02875-06-2

        A. 1891--C                          2

     1    (i) greater than seventy-five percent of  the  outstanding  shares  of
     2  stock  of  the corporation are owned by design professionals and an ESOP
     3  (or ESOPs) with greater than seventy-five percent of the  plan's  voting
     4  trustees  or  greater  than seventy-five percent of the plan's committee
     5  members being design professionals,
     6    (ii)  an ESOP, either in part or in its entirety, shall not constitute
     7  part of the greater than seventy-five percent owned  by  design  profes-
     8  sionals  unless  greater  than seventy-five percent of the plan's voting
     9  trustees or greater than seventy-five percent of  the  plan's  committee
    10  members are design professionals,
    11    § 3. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of section 1514 of the business
    12  corporation law, as added by chapter 550 of the laws of 2011, is amended
    13  to read as follows:
    14    (i)  greater  than  seventy-five  percent of the outstanding shares of
    15  stock of the corporation are and were owned by design professionals  and
    16  an  ESOP (or ESOPs) with greater than seventy-five percent of the plan's
    17  voting trustees or greater  than  seventy-five  percent  of  the  plan's
    18  committee members being design professionals,
    19    § 4. Paragraph (a) of section 1505 of the business corporation law, as
    20  amended  by  chapter  550  of  the  laws  of 2011, is amended to read as
    21  follows:
    22    (a) (i) Each shareholder, employee or agent of a professional  service
    23  corporation  and  a  design  professional  service  corporation shall be
    24  personally and fully liable and accountable for any negligent or  wrong-
    25  ful act or misconduct committed by him or by any person under his direct
    26  supervision  and control while rendering professional services on behalf
    27  of such corporation.
    28    (ii) An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) owning greater than twen-
    29  ty-five percent of the  outstanding  shares  of  a  design  professional
    30  service  corporation  organized under paragraph (b-1) of section fifteen
    31  hundred three of this article shall be  under  the  supervision  of  the
    32  regents  of the university of the state of New York, shall register with
    33  the department of education and shall be issued a  certificate  granting
    34  such  ESOP  the  authority  to  hold shares of such corporations.   Such
    35  certificate shall be subject to professional  misconduct  provisions  as
    36  set  forth  in article one hundred thirty of the education law. In addi-
    37  tion, the failure to maintain an active registration with the department
    38  of education shall  also  subject  such  certificate  to  discipline  as
    39  provided  above.    The secretary of state shall be the designated agent
    40  for service of process in any disciplinary matter involving a registered
    41  employee stock ownership plan.
    42    (iii) Any such employee stock ownership plan shall not  influence,  or
    43  attempt  to  influence any decisions that fall within a licensee's scope
    44  of practice.
    45    § 5. This act shall take effect two years after it shall have become a
    46  law.
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