Bill Text: NY A02525 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "small business fairness act" to permit a business that has been ordered to cease or limit operations pursuant to an executive order due to a declared state disaster emergency to continue or resume operations if the products sold or services offered by the business are also available at a business that has not been required to cease or limit operations by the executive order or an order of the health department.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-17 - referred to small business [A02525 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A02525-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2525

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 17, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Small Business

        AN ACT to amend the executive law and the public health law, in relation
          to enacting the small business fairness act

          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 "small
     2  business fairness act".
     3    § 2. Section 29-a of the executive law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     4  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
     5    5.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of this section and any other
     6  special, general or local law to the  contrary,  a  person  operating  a
     7  business  that has been ordered to cease or limit operations pursuant to
     8  an executive order issued under this section due  to  a  declared  state
     9  disaster emergency may continue or resume operations if:
    10    (a)  the  products  sold  or services offered by the business are also
    11  available at a business that has not been required  to  cease  or  limit
    12  operations  by the executive order and the open business is operating at
    13  a physical location in the area affected by the order; and
    14    (b) the business that  was  required  to  limit  or  cease  operations
    15  complies  with  any  safety precautions that the order requires of busi-
    16  nesses that are permitted to continue operations.
    17    § 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 12-e  to
    18  read as follows:
    19    §  12-e.  Health  emergency order; limitations. 1. Notwithstanding the
    20  provisions of any other general, special or local law to the contrary, a
    21  person operating a business that has been  ordered  to  cease  or  limit
    22  operations  by a state or local public health official due to a declared
    23  emergency, an epidemic, a threatened epidemic, or the unusual prevalence
    24  of a dangerous communicable disease, may continue or  resume  operations
    25  if:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01448-01-5
        A. 2525                             2

     1    (a)  the  products  sold  or services offered by the business are also
     2  available at a business that has not been required  to  cease  or  limit
     3  operations by the order and the open business is operating at a physical
     4  location in the area affected by the order; and
     5    (b)  the  business  that  was  required  to  limit or cease operations
     6  complies with any safety precautions that the order  requires  of  busi-
     7  nesses that are permitted to continue operations.
     8    2.  As used in this section the term "order" includes a notice, stand-
     9  ard, rule, or regulation issued by the  department  or  a  local  public
    10  health agency.
    11    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.