Bill Text: NY A10266 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts the "small business emergency recovery act of 2020"; requires the executive to direct all unallocated settlement funds that are reserved in the "economic uncertainties" fund and any further settlement money that may be received by the state to small business relief purposes consistent with the intent of the "small business emergency recovery act of 2020" (Part A); establishes the small business and not-for-profit recovery loan program; defines terms; loan eligibility; eligible uses of funding; loan forgiveness (Part B); provides that in the years two thousand twenty through two thousand twenty-four, the empire state film production credit shall first be used to provide assistance to small businesses negatively impacted during the emergency declaration relating to the COVID-19 outbreak (Part C); authorizes the executive to repurpose all monies of the New York state urban development corporation, the environmental facilities corporation, the dormitory authority of the state of New York, the New York state energy research and development authority and all other state resources as identified and needed by the executive to fully fund programs created by the small business emergency recovery act of 2020 (Part D); grants an automatic extension for small businesses affected by an emergency declaration (Part E); provides a regulatory amnesty period for small businesses (Part F); and relates to the effectiveness of provisions of law relating to New York state bag waste reduction act (Part G).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 42-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-04-08 - referred to small business [A10266 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A10266-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10266 IN ASSEMBLY April 8, 2020 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BARCLAY, ASHBY, BLANKENBUSH, BRABENEC, BYRNE, BYRNES, CROUCH, DeSTEFANO, DiPIETRO, FINCH, FITZPATRICK, FRIEND, GARBARINO, GIGLIO, GOODELL, HAWLEY, JOHNS, KOLB, LALOR, LAWRENCE, LiPETRI, MALLIOTAKIS, MANKTELOW, McDONOUGH, MIKULIN, B. MILLER, M. L. MILLER, MONTESANO, MORINELLO, NORRIS, PALMESANO, PALUMBO, RA, REILLY, SALKA, SCHMITT, SMITH, SMULLEN, STEC, TAGUE, WALCZYK, WALSH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Small Business AN ACT in relation to requiring the executive to direct all unallocated settlement funds that are reserved in the "economic uncertainties" fund and any further settlement money that may be received by the state to small business relief purposes consistent with the intent of the "small business emergency recovery act of 2020" (Part A); to amend the urban development corporation act, in relation to establishing the small business and not-for-profit recovery loan program (Part B); to amend the tax law, in relation to providing that in the years two thousand twenty through two thousand twenty-four, the empire state film production credit shall first be used to provide assistance to small businesses negatively impacted during the emergency declaration relating to the COVID-19 outbreak (Part C); authorizes the executive to repurpose all monies of the New York state urban development corpo- ration, the environmental facilities corporation, the dormitory authority of the state of New York, the New York state energy research and development authority and all other state resources as identified and needed by the executive to fully fund programs created by the small business emergency recovery act of 2020 (Part D); to amend the tax law, in relation to granting an automatic extension for small businesses affected by an emergency declaration (Part E); authorizes the commissioner of the department of economic development to develop and implement a regulatory amnesty period for small businesses (Part F); and to amend part H of chapter 58 of the laws of 2019 amending the environmental conservation law, the alcoholic beverage control law and the state finance law, relating to establishing guidelines for bag waste reduction, in relation to the effectiveness thereof (Part G); The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16074-03-0A. 10266 2 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "small business emergency recovery act of 2020". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature seeks to provide immediate 4 assistance to small businesses and employees impacted by the COVID-19 5 outbreak. The pandemic COVID-19, which threatens human lives here in New 6 York and around the globe, has created a public health emergency that 7 has begun to severely impact our state economy, engulfing our small 8 businesses, gutting New York's financial health, and shaking the 9 national economy as a whole. New York state is home to 608,351 small 10 businesses in New York state and these businesses employ 54% of the 11 state's workforce, or nearly 4.2 million individuals. 12 The legislature recognizes New York's small business owners and 13 employees are the backbone of our state economy and the legislature must 14 act boldly to address the negative impacts of the business sector shut- 15 down. According to a recent poll by the National Federation of Independ- 16 ent Businesses, 76% of its members have been negatively impacted by 17 COVID-19. With the mandate to keep 100% of the non-essential workforce 18 home, many small businesses have had to close their doors with no indi- 19 cation of when they will be able to reopen. For some, it may mean they 20 never get to reopen, and the long-term impact of the shutdown on the 21 economy is unclear. It is imperative that the legislature provides imme- 22 diate assistance to small businesses and employees as they try to manage 23 the devastating impact of the COVID-19 virus and the interruption of 24 their business operations. The small business emergency recovery act of 25 2020 will offer fiscal relief and protections for small businesses and 26 their employees, while mitigating the risk of businesses being forced to 27 permanently close their doors and further harm the local and state econ- 28 omies. 29 It is therefore the intent of the legislature to implement measures to 30 assist New York's small businesses navigate these uncharted waters and 31 provide financial assistance in the way of loans, grants and tax relief. 32 The legislature recognizes that extraordinary times call for extraor- 33 dinary measures and therefore is directing that settlement money 34 received from financial or banking institutions, which in the past have 35 been used for reoccurring costs for capital programs or to cover gaps in 36 Financial Plan operations, to be used to help the state fight the 37 economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 virus; these remaining 38 settlement monies are cash funds that can be used immediately to meet 39 the needs of our struggling small businesses. In addition to directing 40 the use of settlement monies, the small business emergency recovery act 41 of 2020 directs the urban development corporation to create a zero-in- 42 terest loan program, which features 50% loan forgiveness for businesses 43 and not-for-profits that return to 2019 employment levels. The act 44 repurposes the New York state film production tax credit to provide tax 45 relief for small businesses and authorizes the executive to access all 46 monies available within certain state agencies and authorities for the 47 purposes consistent with this act. Finally, the act provides automatic 48 extensions for tax filings and exemption from fees, fines and penalties 49 to small businesses impacted by this public health emergency. 50 § 3. This act enacts into law major components of legislation which 51 are necessary to implement the small business emergency recovery act of 52 2020. Each component is wholly contained within a Part identified as 53 Parts A through G. The effective date for each particular provision 54 contained within such Part is set forth in the last section of such 55 Part. Any provision in any section contained within a Part, including 56 the effective date of the Part, which makes a reference to a section "ofA. 10266 3 1 this act", when used in connection with that particular component, shall 2 be deemed to mean and refer to the corresponding section of the Part in 3 which it is found. Section five of this act sets forth the general 4 effective date of this act. 5 PART A 6 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other law, rule and regulation to the 7 contrary, the executive shall immediately direct all unallocated settle- 8 ment funds that are reserved in the "economic uncertainties" fund and 9 any further settlement money that may be received by the state to small 10 business relief purposes consistent with the intent of the "small busi- 11 ness emergency recovery act of 2020". 12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 13 PART B 14 Section 1. Section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting 15 the New York state urban development corporation act, is amended by 16 adding a new section 16-bb to read as follows: 17 § 16-bb. Small business and not-for-profit recovery loan program. (1) 18 The corporation shall establish a fund to be known as the "small busi- 19 ness and not-for-profit recovery loan fund" and shall pay into such fund 20 any monies made available to the corporation for such fund from any 21 source. The monies held in or credited to the fund shall be expended 22 solely for the purposes set forth in this section. The corporation shall 23 not commingle the monies of such fund with any other monies of the 24 corporation or any monies held in trust by the corporation. 25 (2) The corporation shall allocate any monies made available for such 26 fund for the purpose of making zero interest loans to small businesses 27 and small not-for-profit organizations. 28 (3) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the 29 following meanings: 30 (a) "Small business" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 31 one hundred thirty-one of the economic development law. Such small busi- 32 ness must be a resident in this state, independently owned and operated, 33 not dominant in its field and employs one hundred or less persons; 34 (b) "Small not-for-profit organization" means a not-for-profit organ- 35 ization that employs one hundred or less persons; 36 (c) "Grace period" means the three hundred sixty-five day period after 37 a small business or small not-for-profit receives a recovery loan under 38 this section. 39 (4) The corporation may make zero interest loans to businesses or 40 organizations negatively affected by COVID-19 pandemic, provided: 41 (a) The business or organization has provided to the corporation proof 42 that such business or organization suffered a loss in revenue. 43 (b) The amount of the loan shall not exceed twenty-five thousand 44 dollars and shall be for a period of four years. 45 (c) The loan agreement shall not (i) require repayment during the 46 grace period, or (ii) charge interest on the principal amount. 47 (d) The loan agreement shall require that the affected business or 48 organization repay the loan in full not later than three years after the 49 end of the grace period. The loan agreement shall not contain a fee or 50 penalty for the prepayment or early payment of the loan. 51 (5) Small business and not-for-profit recovery loans may be used for 52 any operating and capital expenses, including but not limited to:A. 10266 4 1 payroll, marketing, inventory, insurance, employee assistance, training, 2 and any state or local taxes and fees. 3 (6) Any time during the grace period or the three-year repayment peri- 4 od, participating small businesses and small not-for-profits shall be 5 eligible to have fifty percent of the principal loan forgiven if they 6 meet or exceed their two thousand nineteen employment levels. The corpo- 7 ration shall coordinate with the department of labor and the department 8 of taxation and finance to verify eligibility. 9 (7) (a) The corporation shall maintain records in the regular course 10 of administration of the small business and not-for-profit recovery loan 11 program, including a record of loans issued and of payments made under 12 this section. The corporation shall regularly review such records to 13 determine total loans issued and identify duplicative applications. 14 (b) The corporation may terminate any loan if the eligible entity 15 misrepresents any information pertaining to the application or fails to 16 comply with any requirements of this section in connection with the 17 underlying loan. 18 (8) The corporation shall establish all necessary rules and regu- 19 lations for small business and small not-for-profit participation. Such 20 rules and regulations shall include but not be limited to a simplified 21 application form and any additional information as the corporation may 22 require. 23 (9) Within twenty-eight days of receipt of an application pursuant to 24 this section, the corporation shall either approve or reject such appli- 25 cation. 26 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 27 PART C 28 Section 1. Paragraph 4 of subdivision (e) of section 24 of the tax 29 law, as amended by chapter 683 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read 30 as follows: 31 (4) Additional pool 2 - The aggregate amount of tax credits allowed in 32 subdivision (a) of this section shall be increased by an additional four 33 hundred twenty million dollars in each year starting in two thousand ten 34 through two thousand twenty-four provided however, seven million dollars 35 of the annual allocation shall be available for the empire state film 36 post production credit pursuant to section thirty-one of this article in 37 two thousand thirteen and two thousand fourteen, twenty-five million 38 dollars of the annual allocation shall be available for the empire state 39 film post production credit pursuant to section thirty-one of this arti- 40 cle in each year starting in two thousand fifteen through two thousand 41 twenty-four and five million dollars of the annual allocation shall be 42 made available for the television writers' and directors' fees and sala- 43 ries credit pursuant to section twenty-four-b of this article in each 44 year starting in two thousand twenty through two thousand twenty-four. 45 This amount shall be allocated by the governor's office for motion 46 picture and television development among taxpayers in accordance with 47 subdivision (a) of this section. If the commissioner of economic devel- 48 opment determines that the aggregate amount of tax credits available 49 from additional pool 2 for the empire state film production tax credit 50 have been previously allocated, and determines that the pending applica- 51 tions from eligible applicants for the empire state film post production 52 tax credit pursuant to section thirty-one of this article is insuffi- 53 cient to utilize the balance of unallocated empire state film post 54 production tax credits from such pool, the remainder, after such pendingA. 10266 5 1 applications are considered, shall be made available for allocation in 2 the empire state film tax credit pursuant to this section, subdivision 3 twenty of section two hundred ten-B and subsection (gg) of section six 4 hundred six of this chapter. Also, if the commissioner of economic 5 development determines that the aggregate amount of tax credits avail- 6 able from additional pool 2 for the empire state film post production 7 tax credit have been previously allocated, and determines that the pend- 8 ing applications from eligible applicants for the empire state film 9 production tax credit pursuant to this section is insufficient to 10 utilize the balance of unallocated film production tax credits from such 11 pool, then all or part of the remainder, after such pending applications 12 are considered, shall be made available for allocation for the empire 13 state film post production credit pursuant to this section, subdivision 14 thirty-two of section two hundred ten-B and subsection (qq) of section 15 six hundred six of this chapter. The governor's office for motion 16 picture and television development must notify taxpayers of their allo- 17 cation year and include the allocation year on the certificate of tax 18 credit. Taxpayers eligible to claim a credit must report the allocation 19 year directly on their empire state film production credit tax form for 20 each year a credit is claimed and include a copy of the certificate with 21 their tax return. In the case of a qualified film that receives funds 22 from additional pool 2, no empire state film production credit shall be 23 claimed before the later of the taxable year the production of the qual- 24 ified film is complete, or the taxable year immediately following the 25 allocation year for which the film has been allocated credit by the 26 governor's office for motion picture and television development. 27 Provided, however, in the years two thousand twenty through two thousand 28 twenty-four, such credit shall first be used to provide assistance to 29 small businesses negatively impacted during the emergency declaration 30 relating to the COVID-19 outbreak. For the purposes of this section, a 31 small business shall be deemed to be one which is resident in this 32 state, independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field and 33 employs one hundred or less persons. This credit may be used against any 34 operating and capital expenses, including but not limited to: payroll, 35 marketing, inventory, insurance, employee assistance, training, and any 36 state or local taxes and fees. The credit under this subdivision shall 37 be allowed against the taxes imposed by articles nine-A and twenty-two 38 of this chapter. If the amount of the credit under this subdivision for 39 any taxable year exceeds the taxpayer's tax for such year, the excess 40 shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded as 41 provided by law. 42 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 43 PART D 44 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the 45 contrary, the executive is hereby authorized to repurpose all monies of 46 the New York state urban development corporation, the environmental 47 facilities corporation, the dormitory authority of the state of New 48 York, the New York state energy research and development authority and 49 all other state resources as identified and needed by the executive to 50 fully fund programs created by this act. 51 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 52 PART EA. 10266 6 1 Section 1. Section 657 of the tax law is amended by adding a new 2 subsection (d) to read as follows: 3 (d) Automatic extension for small businesses affected by an emergency 4 declaration. An automatic extension shall be granted to taxpayers during 5 a declared emergency relating to the COVID-19 outbreak. Such extension 6 shall be granted for filing a tax return or paying a tax otherwise 7 required on April fifteenth, two thousand twenty. The length of such 8 extension shall be one hundred eighty days from April fifteenth, two 9 thousand twenty. Subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to 10 persons granted an extension pursuant to this subsection. No penalties 11 or interest shall be assessed or imposed upon a taxpayer during an 12 extension granted pursuant to this subsection. For the purposes of this 13 section, a small business shall be deemed to be one which is resident in 14 this state, independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field 15 and employs one hundred or less persons. 16 § 2. Section 213 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivision 17 4 to read as follows: 18 4. Automatic extension for small businesses affected by an emergency 19 declaration. An automatic extension shall be granted to taxpayers during 20 a disease outbreak related declared emergency. Such extension shall be 21 granted for filing a tax return or paying a tax required by this arti- 22 cle. The length of such extension shall be one hundred eighty days from 23 the date on which such filing or payment would otherwise be due. No 24 penalties or interest shall be assessed or imposed upon a taxpayer 25 during an extension granted pursuant to this subdivision. For the 26 purposes of this section, a small business shall be deemed to be one 27 which is resident in this state, independently owned and operated, not 28 dominant in its field and employs one hundred or less persons. 29 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 30 PART F 31 Section 1. The commissioner of the department of economic development 32 shall develop and implement a "regulatory amnesty" period to allow for 33 small businesses to remedy rules or regulation violations before any 34 violations or sanctions are levied. Such regulatory amnesty period must 35 be at least six months. If a small business remedies the violation with- 36 in the time period established by the commissioner, such business shall 37 not be subjected to fines or penalties. 38 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 39 PART G 40 Section 1. Section 5 of part H of chapter 58 of the laws of 2019 41 amending the environmental conservation law, the alcoholic beverage 42 control law, and the state finance law, relating to establishing guide- 43 lines for bag waste reduction, is amended to read as follows: 44 § 5. This act shall take effect [March 1,] September 1, 2020. 45 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 46 § 4. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 47 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 48 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 49 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 50 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 51 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 52 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent ofA. 10266 7 1 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 2 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 3 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that 4 the applicable effective date of Parts A through G of this act shall be 5 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.