STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4533 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 16, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Libraries and Education Technology AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation to establishing a public library revolving loan fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 273-b 2 to read as follows: 3 § 273-b. Public library revolving loan program. 1. The commissioner 4 shall establish and maintain a public library revolving loan program to 5 provide loans to libraries and library systems for the purposes desig- 6 nated in this part. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the 7 contrary, state financial assistance in the form of a loan may be 8 provided for up to fifty percent of the approved costs (excluding feasi- 9 bility studies, plans or similar activities) of eligible projects for 10 capital construction by an eligible public, free association or Indian 11 library, or by a public, school or reference and research library 12 resource system, as provided in this section. In areas of high need, as 13 defined in regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to 14 subdivision eleven of this section, a loan of up to seventy-five percent 15 of approved costs (excluding feasibility studies, plans or similar 16 activities) may be approved by the commissioner. A library or library 17 system may submit an application for state financial assistance for 18 eligible projects as provided in this section. 19 2. The commissioner, after review of the programmatic and fiscal needs 20 and resources of the project and the library or library system, shall 21 make a determination, subject to the restrictions, limitations, respon- 22 sibilities and requirements of this section, as to the amount of state 23 financial assistance that the library or library system may receive for 24 any amount up to and including the amount of five hundred thousand 25 dollars. Any financial assistance may be provided from the public EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09556-01-3A. 4533 2 1 library revolving loan fund established pursuant to section ninety-one-e 2 of the state finance law. Interest in any such loan shall be set at two 3 points below the prime rate. Eligible projects shall include: 4 a. construction of a new facility for library purposes; 5 b. improvement, expansion or rehabilitation of a building for library 6 purposes; 7 c. improvement, expansion or rehabilitation of existing building or 8 buildings to provide for handicapped accessibility; 9 d. such other projects of substantive character as are in keeping with 10 the spirit and intent of this section. 11 No project shall be considered eligible if it is approved for financ- 12 ing from any other state assistance program, excepting aid for library 13 construction awarded pursuant to section two hundred seventy-three-a of 14 this article. 15 3. Each application for financial assistance shall be submitted to the 16 commissioner by the board of trustees of the library or library system. 17 Each application shall: 18 a. demonstrate that adequate operating support and resources will be 19 available at the completion of the project to provide an improved or 20 increased level of service; 21 b. contain verification in such form as may be acceptable to the 22 commissioner that the remaining cost of the project, exclusive of state 23 financial assistance, has been or will be obtained; 24 c. demonstrate that the project will be completed promptly and in 25 accordance with the application; 26 d. either demonstrate that the operation of the organization will be 27 made more economical or efficient as a consequence of approval or demon- 28 strate that health and safety concerns will be repaired or access to 29 handicapped provided; 30 e. demonstrate that the project will be conducted in accordance with 31 applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations; 32 f. demonstrate that, where appropriate, competitive bidding procedures 33 will be followed as required by law, or provide such other evidence of 34 competition as shall be satisfactory to the commissioner; 35 g. provide an assessment of the useful life of the project, and such 36 recommendation, analysis of needs or feasibility studies as may be 37 required by the commissioner provided, however, that for the purposes of 38 this section the term "useful life" shall mean such method of calculat- 39 ing the worth of a project and the amount of annual depreciation neces- 40 sary for effecting contracts under this section as the commissioner 41 shall require after consultation with the state comptroller and upon 42 approval by the state division of the budget; 43 h. demonstrate that the project will comply with the requirement of 44 article fifteen-A of the executive law relating to the participation by 45 minority group members and women; 46 i. provide such other information as may be required by the commis- 47 sioner. 48 4. Each library or library system may submit no more than one applica- 49 tion annually. Any other provision of this section to the contrary 50 notwithstanding, no library outlet shall receive state financial assist- 51 ance under this section for more than one year in any consecutive three- 52 year period. 53 5. Any other provision of law or of this section to the contrary 54 notwithstanding, state financial assistance shall not be provided pursu- 55 ant to this section until the commissioner has:A. 4533 3 1 a. considered the useful life of the eligible project as such term is 2 defined in paragraph g of subdivision three of this section; 3 b. determined the amount of state financial assistance to be provided; 4 and 5 c. executed an agreement to provide such assistance. Such agreement 6 shall be executed by the commissioner and the library or library system. 7 Any such agreement shall provide for the creation of a lien or other 8 security interest or such other guarantee as shall be satisfactory to 9 the commissioner to assure repayment of financial assistance provided 10 under this section. Such agreement shall assure that the length of a 11 loan shall not exceed the useful life of the project and shall include, 12 in addition to such other provisions as the council may require, the 13 following: 14 (i) the amount of financial assistance, the terms and conditions upon 15 which it is provided, the useful life of the eligible project and the 16 method of depreciating the eligible project for purposes of the repay- 17 ment provisions of the agreement; 18 (ii) a requirement that, upon a finding by the commissioner that a 19 project has not been completed, or has not been completed in accordance 20 with the terms of the agreement, the outstanding balance of financial 21 assistance provided in the form of a loan shall be repaid to the commis- 22 sioner by the guarantor, provided that upon a showing of good cause by 23 the organization the commissioner shall grant an extension of up to 24 ninety days from the date of such finding to allow the library or 25 library system to complete the project in accordance with the terms of 26 the agreement, and further provided that the commissioner shall provide 27 no more than two such extensions from the date of such finding to allow 28 the library or library system to complete the project in accordance with 29 the terms of the agreement. 30 6. In any case in which state financial assistance is provided the 31 following shall be included in the agreement: a requirement that the 32 library or library system shall obtain, in addition to such other secu- 33 rity as may be required by the commissioner or by other provisions of 34 law, an undertaking or surety bond from any person or entity which has 35 contracted to perform work on an approved project to assure the faithful 36 performance of such project and/or a labor and/or material bond as may 37 be appropriate. 38 7. Any lien, security interest or guarantee established created under 39 the provisions of subdivision five or six of this section shall be in 40 addition to any other rights or obligations of the commissioner under 41 the provisions of the lien law or any other law. 42 8. The commissioner shall cause to be filed and to be recorded in the 43 office of the county clerk in the county where the subject property is 44 situated any lien or other security interest as may be required to 45 assure repayment of financial assistance in accordance with the 46 provisions of this section. The department of law shall provide such 47 assistance as the commissioner may require to create and perfect any 48 such liens or other security interests. 49 9. In approving applications pursuant to this section, the commission- 50 er shall seek to insure that sixty percent of the funds appropriated 51 pursuant to this section shall be made available in such a manner as to 52 insure that the ratio of the amount received within each public library 53 system to the whole of the financial assistance made available pursuant 54 to this subdivision is no greater than the ratio of the population of 55 such public library system to the population of the state. Any funds 56 made available pursuant to this section which, by December thirty-firstA. 4533 4 1 of the year in which this section shall have become a law, and October 2 thirty-first of each year thereafter, are declined by or which cannot be 3 used by such libraries or library systems, as determined by the commis- 4 sioner, shall be made available to other eligible libraries or library 5 systems for eligible projects. 6 10. In the event an eligible library or library system fails to make a 7 payment on a loan or fails to make any other payment required under the 8 provisions of this section, the commissioner shall inform the comp- 9 troller of such failure and of the amount overdue, which amount the 10 comptroller may recover from any payments due from the state to the 11 eligible organization, including local assistance payments. 12 11. The commissioner shall adopt guidelines within one hundred eighty 13 days of the effective date of this section, and shall promulgate rules 14 and regulations not later than September first, two thousand twenty- 15 three as are necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this 16 section. In addition to any other requirements set forth by this 17 section, the commissioner shall establish procedures for the recoupment 18 of financial assistance provided in the event that a project is not 19 completed or not completed as proposed by the applicant library or 20 library system. Copies of such rules and regulations shall be provided 21 at least sixty days prior to the time they shall be effective to the 22 senate finance committee and the assembly ways and means committee. 23 12. The commissioner shall report to the governor, the temporary pres- 24 ident of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chairs of the 25 senate finance committee and assembly ways and means committee not later 26 than January fifteenth of each year concerning the amounts appropriated 27 and expended pursuant to this section, the number of applications 28 received, the total amount of financial assistance requested, the total 29 number of applications funded, the amount of funding provided, and such 30 other information as the chair shall deem appropriate, including any 31 recommendations for program improvement, recommendations for increasing 32 the total amount of funding from state and non-state sources available 33 to increase total funds for projects available to the libraries and 34 library systems of this state, in particular for rural and minority 35 communities, and identification of and proposals for removing barriers 36 or limits faced by communities in accessing the program or in maximizing 37 use of funds provided hereunder. 38 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 91-e to 39 read as follows: 40 § 91-e. Public library revolving loan fund. 1. There is hereby estab- 41 lished in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commission- 42 er of taxation and finance a special fund to be known as the "public 43 library revolving loan fund". 44 2. The public library revolving loan fund shall consist of all monies 45 appropriated, credited, or transferred thereto from the general fund or 46 any other source pursuant to law, including the repayment of loans 47 provided to municipalities pursuant to section two hundred seventy- 48 three-b of the education law. 49 § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.