Establishes a COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organizations impacted by COVID-19 to provide grants to eligible veterans service organizations to defray certain expenses of the organization including rent, utilities, scheduled mortgage payments, scheduled debt payments and other ordinary and necessary business expenses; makes an appropriation therefor.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9866
IN ASSEMBLY
April 19, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LEMONDES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Economic Development
AN ACT to amend chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting the New
York urban development corporation act, in relation to establishing a
COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organizations
impacted by COVID-19; and making an appropriation therefor
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Veterans
2 Service Organizations COVID-19 relief act".
3 § 2. Section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting the
4 New York urban development corporation act, is amended by adding a new
5 section 16-aaa to read as follows:
6 § 16-aaa. The COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service
7 organizations. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following
8 terms shall have the following meanings:
9 (a) Veterans service organization means an organization that is char-
10 tered under part B of subtitle II of title 36, United States Code, and
11 includes any local or area chapter, post, or other unit.
12 (b) Eligible veterans service organization means a veterans service
13 organization that experienced a forty percent or greater loss of gross
14 revenue during either the 2020 or 2021 tax year as compared to their
15 gross revenue during the 2019 tax year.
16 2. Establishment and purposes. The corporation shall establish a fund
17 to be known as the "veterans service organizations COVID-19 relief act
18 fund" and shall pay into such fund any monies made available to the
19 corporation for such fund from any source. The fund shall consist of
20 such amounts as may be appropriated. The corporation is authorized to
21 accept, as agent of the state, any gift, grant, devise or bequest,
22 whether conditional or unconditional, including but not limited to
23 federal grants, and to use monies made available for the program from
24 any public or private source, for the purpose of implementing the
25 program. The corporation shall be entitled to recover from the monies
26 made available for the program its own necessary and documented costs
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14958-01-2
A. 9866 2
1 incurred in administering the program; provided, however, the sum that
2 may be recovered for the corporation's administrative costs shall not
3 exceed three percent of the monies made available for the program. The
4 monies held in or credited to the fund shall be expended solely for the
5 purposes set forth in this section. The corporation shall not co-mingle
6 the monies of such fund with any other monies of the corporation or any
7 monies held in trust by the corporation.
8 3. The COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organiza-
9 tions. (a) The corporation shall establish a grant program to be known
10 as the "COVID-19 relief grant program for veterans service organiza-
11 tions". The program shall provide grants, within appropriations and
12 funds designated therefor, to eligible veterans service organizations. A
13 grant made to a veterans service organization under this program shall
14 not exceed $50,000.
15 (b) An application for a grant shall be submitted in accordance with
16 such procedures as the corporation shall establish. The procedures
17 established by the corporation shall include a requirement that the
18 grant applicant include information to demonstrate the required forty
19 percentage loss or greater in gross revenue during the 2020 or 2021 tax
20 year, and a plan for the use of such grant. Any veterans service organ-
21 ization that receives a grant under this section may only use such grant
22 in accordance with the application plan submitted for the following
23 types of expenses of the organization: (i) rent; (ii) utilities; (iii)
24 scheduled mortgage payments; (iv) scheduled debt payments; or (v) other
25 ordinary and necessary business expenses, including maintenance costs,
26 administrative costs (including fees and licensing), state and local
27 taxes and fees, operating leases, and insurance payments.
28 4. Reporting requirements. The corporation shall submit a report to
29 the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the senate minority
30 leader, the speaker of the assembly, and the assembly minority leader on
31 or before the first of October, and annually thereafter, describing the
32 grants provided pursuant to this section and such other information as
33 the corporation may deem appropriate.
34 5. Rules and regulations. The corporation is hereby authorized to
35 promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the state adminis-
36 trative procedure act that are necessary to fulfill the purposes of this
37 section. Such rules and regulations must be completed within one hundred
38 eighty days after the effective date of this section.
39 § 3. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), is hereby appropri-
40 ated to the urban development corporation out of the moneys in the state
41 treasury in the general fund to the credit of the veterans service
42 organizations COVID-19 relief act fund established pursuant to section
43 16-aaa of the New York state urban development corporation act.
44 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.