Bill Text: NY A02995 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the GrowNY pilot program, an economic gardening pilot program within the department of economic development to stimulate investment in the state economy by providing technical assistance for expanding businesses in the state.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to economic development [A02995 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A02995-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2995 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 1, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GALLAHAN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Economic Development AN ACT to amend the economic development law, in relation to establish- ing an economic gardening pilot program within the department of economic development The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The economic development law is amended by adding a new 2 article 24 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 24 4 GROWNY PROGRAM 5 Section 460. GrowNY pilot program. 6 § 460. GrowNY pilot program. 1. (a) There is hereby created within the 7 department the GrowNY pilot program. The purpose of the pilot program is 8 to stimulate investment in the state economy by providing technical 9 assistance for expanding businesses in the state. 10 (b) The department is authorized and directed to promulgate all neces- 11 sary rules and regulations required to implement the GrowNY pilot 12 program. 13 2. (a) The department shall contract with regional non-profit economic 14 development entities to administer the pilot program under this section. 15 The department shall award competitive grants of up to five hundred 16 thousand dollars a year for a period of up to five years to each entity 17 that demonstrates the ability to implement the pilot program in their 18 region, has an outreach plan, and has the ability to provide counseling 19 services, access to technology and information, marketing services and 20 advice, business management support, and other similar services. 21 (b) Contracts with selected economic development entities shall be for 22 a period of five years and shall be reevaluated by the department every 23 twelve months to ensure such entities continue to provide a positive 24 economic benefit to the community and conform to the program criteria. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00138-01-3A. 2995 2 1 Contracted entities shall not limit services offered under this program 2 to members of such entity and shall seek to provide economic gardening 3 services to every eligible business that meets the criteria of the 4 program. 5 (c) Contracted entities shall coordinate their efforts with the local 6 New York State Small Business Development Center or other lead economic 7 development organizations in counties and cities within the region of 8 the contracted entity and shall establish a referral system and linkages 9 to existing area small business assistance programs and financing sourc- 10 es. 11 3. A contracted entity administering the pilot program shall provide 12 technical assistance for eligible businesses which includes, but is not 13 limited to: 14 (a) Access to affordable information services and consulting services, 15 including information on markets, customers, and competitors, business 16 databases, geographic information systems, internet and social media 17 strategies, business to business referrals, and search engine optimiza- 18 tion; 19 (b) Development of business connections, including interaction and 20 exchange among business owners and resource providers, including 21 colleges and universities, trade associations, think tanks, academic 22 institutions, business roundtables, financial service and workforce 23 development providers, peer-to-peer learning sessions, and mentoring 24 programs; 25 (c) Assistance in developing a listing of shovel ready sites currently 26 available to the needs of the business; 27 (d) Assistance in understanding state laws and regulations applicable 28 to such business; 29 (e) Any other form of consultation and technical assistance that may 30 be provided to the eligible business to assist with its business and 31 marketing needs. 32 4. (a) This program shall be targeted at emerging growth businesses, 33 known as second stage companies. To be eligible for assistance under the 34 pilot program, a business must be a for-profit, privately held business 35 that employs at least five persons, but not more than ninety-nine 36 persons, has maintained its principal place of business in the state for 37 at least the previous two years, and generates at least seven hundred 38 fifty thousand dollars, but not more than fifty million dollars, in 39 annual revenue. The commissioner shall have the authority to make 40 exceptions to these provisions at his or her sole discretion. 41 (b) A contracted entity administering the pilot program, in selecting 42 the eligible businesses to receive assistance, shall actively reach out 43 to businesses in more than one industry cluster and, to the maximum 44 extent practicable, shall choose businesses that are geographically 45 distributed throughout the region with the greatest potential for job 46 growth. 47 5. (a) A business receiving assistance under the pilot program must 48 enter into an agreement with the contracted entity administering the 49 program to establish the business' commitment to participation in the 50 pilot program. The arrangement must require, at a minimum, that the 51 business: 52 (i) attend a minimum number of meetings between the business and the 53 contracted entity administering the pilot program. Such meetings shall 54 be held at the convenience of the business;A. 2995 3 1 (ii) report investment, revenue, and job creation and retention data 2 in the manner prescribed by the contracted entity administering the 3 pilot program; and 4 (iii) provide non-proprietary financial data in the manner prescribed 5 by the contracted entity administering the program. 6 (b) The regional non-profit economic development entity or the 7 contracted entity administering the pilot program shall report the 8 information to the department on an annual basis. 9 6. A contracted entity administering the pilot program is authorized 10 to promote the general business interests or industrial interests of the 11 state. 12 7. The department shall review the progress of the contracted entity 13 administering the pilot program at least once every twelve months and 14 shall determine whether the contracted entity is meeting its contractual 15 obligations for administering the pilot program. The department may 16 terminate and rebid a contract if the contracted entity does not meet 17 its contractual obligations. 18 8. By March thirty-first, two thousand twenty-four and annually there- 19 after, the department shall submit a report to the governor, the tempo- 20 rary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority 21 leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly which 22 describes in detail the progress of the GrowNY pilot program. The report 23 shall include, but is not limited to, the number of businesses receiving 24 assistance, the number of full-time equivalent jobs created or retained 25 as a result of the assistance, if any, and the aggregate amount of wages 26 paid to such employees. 27 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
