Bill Text: NY S01692 | 2021-2022 | 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 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SMALL BUSINESS [S01692 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S01692-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1692

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 14, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Commerce, Economic  Devel-
          opment and Small Business

        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 470. GrowNY pilot program.
     6    § 470. 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

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04239-01-1

        S. 1692                             2

     1  economic benefit to the community and conform to the  program  criteria.
     2  Contracted  entities shall not limit services offered under this program
     3  to members of such entity and shall seek to provide  economic  gardening
     4  services  to  every  eligible  business  that  meets the criteria of the
     5  program.
     6    (c) Contracted entities shall coordinate their efforts with the  local
     7  New  York State Small Business Development Center or other lead economic
     8  development organizations in counties and cities within  the  region  of
     9  the contracted entity and shall establish a referral system and linkages
    10  to existing area small business assistance programs and financing sourc-
    11  es.
    12    3.  A  contracted entity administering the pilot program shall provide
    13  technical assistance for eligible businesses which includes, but is  not
    14  limited to:
    15    (a) Access to affordable information services and consulting services,
    16  including  information  on markets, customers, and competitors, business
    17  databases, geographic information systems,  internet  and  social  media
    18  strategies,  business to business referrals, and search engine optimiza-
    19  tion;
    20    (b) Development of business  connections,  including  interaction  and
    21  exchange   among  business  owners  and  resource  providers,  including
    22  colleges and universities, trade  associations,  think  tanks,  academic
    23  institutions,  business  roundtables,  financial  service  and workforce
    24  development providers, peer-to-peer  learning  sessions,  and  mentoring
    25  programs;
    26    (c) Assistance in developing a listing of shovel ready sites currently
    27  available to the needs of the business;
    28    (d)  Assistance in understanding state laws and regulations applicable
    29  to such business;
    30    (e) Any other form of consultation and technical assistance  that  may
    31  be  provided  to  the  eligible business to assist with its business and
    32  marketing needs.
    33    4. (a) This program shall be targeted at emerging  growth  businesses,
    34  known as second stage companies. To be eligible for assistance under the
    35  pilot  program, a business must be a for-profit, privately held business
    36  that employs at least  five  persons,  but  not  more  than  ninety-nine
    37  persons, has maintained its principal place of business in the state for
    38  at  least  the  previous two years, and generates at least seven hundred
    39  fifty thousand dollars, but not more  than  fifty  million  dollars,  in
    40  annual  revenue.  The  commissioner  shall  have  the  authority to make
    41  exceptions to these provisions at his or her sole discretion.
    42    (b) A contracted entity administering the pilot program, in  selecting
    43  the  eligible businesses to receive assistance, shall actively reach out
    44  to businesses in more than one industry  cluster  and,  to  the  maximum
    45  extent  practicable,  shall  choose  businesses  that are geographically
    46  distributed throughout the region with the greatest  potential  for  job
    47  growth.
    48    5.  (a)  A  business receiving assistance under the pilot program must
    49  enter into an agreement with the  contracted  entity  administering  the
    50  program  to  establish  the business' commitment to participation in the
    51  pilot program. The arrangement must require,  at  a  minimum,  that  the
    52  business:
    53    (i)  attend  a minimum number of meetings between the business and the
    54  contracted entity administering the pilot program. Such  meetings  shall
    55  be held at the convenience of the business;

        S. 1692                             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-two 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.
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