Governor Should Reject Ten Economic Development Bills
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Updated January 3, 2019. Four of the bills have been signed by the Governor and the remaining six have been vetoed
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2018 Benefit Sweetener Scorecard (Updated 01/03/2019)When the legislative session ended on June 21, ten bills to expand economic development spending had been passed by both houses of the Legislature and will eventually end up on the Governor’s desk to sign or veto. Unfortunately, despite Senate passage, the Assembly did not advance a measure to create a database of deals to increase disclosure of economic development expenditures, nor did it adopt the State Comptroller’s Procurement Integrity Act, which would have brought additional controls onto the State’s economic development spending.
Until there is comprehensive reform of economic development programs, including transparent reporting on all current projects, no new programs should be created and no existing programs expanded. The ten bills from CBC’s Economic Development Scorecard that passed both houses should be rejected by the Governor.
| Category | Program (if existing) | Industry or geographic area impacted | Bill Numbers and Sponsors | Last Action | Description | Fiscal Impact, if Available ($ in Millions) |
| Expand Existing Program | Revolving Loan Funds | A8935 (Thiele) S7299 (Lavalle) | Signed by Governor 12/07/2018 | Lessens reporting requirements for ESD's revolving loan fund programs. | ||
| Expand Existing Program | New York State Incubators and Innovation Hot Spots | Start-ups | A10105 (Schimminger) S7961 (Ranzenhoffer) | Signed by Governor 8/24/2018 | Allows Hot Spot designation to extend beyond a certain timeframe; allows companies working with both an Innovation Hot Spot and a certified Incubator to receive Hot Spot tax benefits; and requires Incubator sponsors to utilize at least 85% of any associated awards for operation of the incubator. (Governor's Program Bill #167) | |
| Expand Existing Program | Empire State Commercial Production Tax Credit | Advertising | A10768 (Morelle) S8465 (Golden) | Signed by Governor 12/28/2018 | Extends the Empire State Commercial Production Tax Credit, currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2018. Capped at $7 million annually for five years, through 2023. | $7 |
| New Targeted Program | Microbusiness | A2804 (Thiele) S6855 (Bailey) | Vetoed by Governor 12/07/2018 | Creates microbusiness worker cooperatives, authorizes loans and loan subsidies. | ||
| New Targeted Program | Entrepreneurial Assistance Program | Minorities, women, people with a disability, dislocated workers, veterans | A2805 (Thiele) S3804 (Bailey) | Signed by Governor 12/07/2018 | Replaces Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers. | |
| New Targeted Program | Microbusiness | A3767 (Quart) S6892 (Kennedy) | Vetoed by Governor 12/07/2018 | Creates the Microenterprise Development Fund. | $1.5 | |
| New Targeted Program | Agriculture, rural areas | A4772C (Woerner) S4727A (Seward) | Vetoed by Governor 11/05/2018 | Provides tax credit to insurance corporations that invest in rural business growth funds; establishes the New York Agriculture and Rural Jobs Fund. | ||
| New Targeted Program | Manufacturing | A8292 (Seawright) S3362 (Krueger) | Vetoed by Governor 12/21/2018 | Establishes grant program to fund kitchen incubators/shared-use kitchen facilities established by nonprofit or government sponsors to support small-scale food manufacturing. | ||
| New Targeted Program | Dry cleaners and nail salons | A9524 (Kim) S7423 (Avella) | Vetoed by Governor 12/28/2018 | Provides grants and flexible financing programs to dry cleaning and nail specialty businesses to comply with codes and ventilation requirements. Effective after 90 days. | ||
| New Broad Program | A6175A (Schimminger) S622A (Boyle) | Vetoed by Governor 12/28/2018 | Authorizes ESD to develop a public awareness campaign promoting businesses located in New York State and publish a Buy New York Online Networking Directory. |