STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2901
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law and the tax law, in relation to estab-
lishing the New York entrepreneur program act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "New York entrepreneur program act".
3 § 2. Article 5 of the education law is amended by adding a new part
4 2-A to read as follows:
5 PART II-A
6 NEW YORK ENTREPRENEUR PROGRAM ACT
7 Section 286. New York entrepreneur program established; definitions.
8 286-a. Oversight.
9 286-b. Loan deferrals and job creation.
10 286-c. Tax credit for supporting businesses.
11 § 286. New York entrepreneur program established; definitions. 1.
12 There is hereby established a New York entrepreneur program under the
13 purview of the regents and the board for any startup business located at
14 any of the city university of New York's community colleges. Such
15 program shall provide access to technology to a select group of startup
16 entrepreneurs helping them create businesses that grow New York state's
17 economy. The program shall not provide business loans to the partic-
18 ipants.
19 2. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have
20 the following meanings:
21 (a) "Board" shall mean the board of trustees of the city university of
22 New York.
23 (b) "Participant" shall mean any college graduate accepted to the
24 program.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04452-01-9
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1 (c) "Program" shall mean the New York entrepreneur program established
2 pursuant to this section.
3 (d) "Regents" shall mean the board of regents of the state university.
4 (e) "School" shall mean any college within the state university or the
5 city university of New York.
6 (f) "Startup business" shall mean an entrepreneurial idea supported by
7 a business plan that a potential participant prepares when applying to
8 the program.
9 (g) "Supporting business" shall mean any person, firm, corporation,
10 partnership or other business entity which assists a startup business
11 during the five year period during which such startup business is part
12 of the program.
13 3. The regents shall promulgate such rules and regulations as they see
14 fit to implement the provisions of this article.
15 § 286-a. Oversight. 1. (a) The regents, in consultation with the board
16 for any startup business to be located at any of the city university of
17 New York's community colleges, shall select participants' startup busi-
18 nesses based on the quality of their business proposal, experience and
19 ability to obtain outside financing.
20 (b) Such program shall accept a maximum of three hundred participants
21 but shall not accept more than fifty participants into the program in
22 any year.
23 2. In addition to the loan deferral set forth in section two hundred
24 eighty-six-b of this article, the regents and the board for any startup
25 business located at any of the city university of New York's community
26 colleges shall provide for participants, during their five years of
27 participation in the program:
28 (a) free housing within the limits established by the regents; and
29 (b) access to school resources, including, but not limited to faculty
30 and technology.
31 3. (a) The regents and the board for any startup business located at
32 any of the city university of New York's community colleges, at the
33 recommendation of a school may terminate a participant's or startup
34 business' participation in the program.
35 (b) The regents shall establish an appeals process for terminated
36 participants and startup businesses to appeal such decisions.
37 4. (a) The progress of each startup business shall be monitored by the
38 regents, the school at which the participants operating such startup
39 business reside, a school-affiliated supervising officer or professor
40 and the board for any startup business located at any of the city
41 university of New York's community colleges.
42 (b) The regents or the board for any startup business located at any
43 of the city university of New York's community colleges shall compensate
44 such school-affiliated supervising officers or professors and the
45 regents may compensate other professors who take time to mentor partic-
46 ipants upon the request of a participant.
47 5. The regents and the board for any startup business located at any
48 of the city university of New York's community colleges shall maximize
49 the flexibility and minimize the burdens imposed by extensive paperwork
50 and filing procedures while maintaining the accountability of startups
51 and the program.
52 § 286-b. Loan deferrals and job creation. 1. Upon entering the
53 program, each participant will begin a five year period during which
54 time the state university, or the city university of New York for any
55 startup business located at any of the city university of New York's
56 community colleges, shall pay the minimum monthly payment on any student
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1 loans such participant has outstanding until either (a) the participant
2 exits the program before the end of such five year period, or (b) the
3 participant completes five years in the program when upon such time he
4 or she shall be evaluated against the job creation criteria in subdivi-
5 sions two and three of this section.
6 2. After five years, startups that have created a certain number of
7 jobs within New York state shall have a maximum of three participants'
8 loans fully paid off by the state pursuant to the schedule set forth in
9 subdivision three of this section.
10 3. Number of full-timePercentage of loan
11 employees (excludingpaid off per year
12 participants)
13 310%
14 415%
15 520%
16 6+25%
17 § 286-c. Tax credit for supporting businesses. 1. The commissioner of
18 taxation and finance shall grant a credit against any tax due under the
19 provisions of articles nine, nine-A and twenty-two of the tax law in an
20 amount equal to the amount specified by the regents in any tax credit
21 voucher issued by such regents pursuant to subdivision two of this
22 section.
23 2. The regents shall establish a system of tax credit vouchers for
24 supporting businesses allowing the use of equipment essential to the
25 function or growth of any startup business. Such vouchers may be used as
26 a credit against any of the taxes to which such supporting business is
27 subject and which are enumerated in subdivision one of this section.
28 The amount of the tax credit voucher shall equal the price to rent such
29 equipment.
30 § 3. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 44 to read as
31 follows:
32 § 44. New York entrepreneur program credit. (a) General. A taxpayer
33 subject to tax under article nine, nine-A or twenty-two of this chapter
34 shall be allowed a credit against such tax pursuant to the provisions
35 referenced in subdivision (d) of this section. The credit (or pro rata
36 share of earned credit in the case of a partnership) shall equal the
37 amount specified by the regents pursuant to section two hundred eighty-
38 six-c of the education law.
39 (b) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the term "startup
40 business" shall mean an entrepreneurial idea supported by a business
41 plan that a potential participant prepares when applying to the New York
42 entrepreneur program established pursuant to section two hundred eight-
43 y-six of the education law.
44 (c) Reporting requirements. A taxpayer wishing to claim a credit under
45 this section shall annually certify to the commissioner the rental value
46 of equipment used by startup businesses that such taxpayer supported.
47 (d) Cross-references. For application of the credit provided for in
48 this section, see the following provisions of this chapter:
49 (1) Article 9: Section 187-t.
50 (2) Article 9-A: Section 210-B, subdivision 53.
51 (3) Article 22: Section 606, clause (xliv) of subparagraph (B) of
52 paragraph one of subsection (i) and subsection (jjj).
53 § 4. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 187-t to read as
54 follows:
55 § 187-t. New York entrepreneur program credit. A taxpayer shall be
56 allowed a credit to be computed as provided in section forty-four of
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1 this chapter, against the tax imposed by this article. Provided, howev-
2 er, that the amount of such credit allowed against the tax imposed by
3 section one hundred eighty-four of this article shall be the excess of
4 the amount of such credit over the amount of any credit allowed by this
5 section against the tax imposed by section one hundred eighty-three of
6 this article. In no event shall the credit under this section be allowed
7 in an amount which will reduce the tax payable to less than the applica-
8 ble minimum tax fixed by section one hundred eighty-three of this arti-
9 cle. If, however, the amount of the credit allowed under this section
10 for any taxable year reduces the tax to such amount, the excess shall be
11 treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in accord-
12 ance with the provisions of section six hundred eighty-six of this chap-
13 ter. Provided, however, the provisions of subsection (c) of section one
14 thousand eighty-eight of this chapter notwithstanding, no interest shall
15 be paid thereon.
16 § 5. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
17 sion 53 to read as follows:
18 53. New York entrepreneur program credit. A taxpayer shall be allowed
19 a credit, to be computed as provided in section forty-four of this chap-
20 ter, against the tax imposed by this article. In no event shall the
21 credit provided herein be allowed in an amount which will reduce the tax
22 payable to less than the fixed dollar minimum amount prescribed in para-
23 graph (d) of subdivision one of section two hundred ten of this article.
24 However, if the amount of credit allowed under this subdivision for any
25 taxable year reduces the tax to such amount, any amount of credit thus
26 not deductible in such taxable year shall be treated as an overpayment
27 of tax to be credited or refunded in accordance with the provisions of
28 section one thousand eighty-six of this chapter. Provided, however, the
29 provisions of subsection (c) of section one thousand eighty-eight of
30 this chapter notwithstanding, no interest shall be paid thereon.
31 § 6. Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (i) of section 606
32 of the tax law is amended by adding a new clause (xliv) to read as
33 follows:
34 (xliv) New YorkAmount of credit under subdivision
35 entrepreneur programfifty-three of section two hundred
36 credit under subsection (jjj)ten-B
37 § 7. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection
38 (jjj) to read as follows:
39 (jjj) New York entrepreneur program credit. A taxpayer shall be
40 allowed a credit to be computed as provided in section forty-four of
41 this chapter, against the tax imposed by this article. If the amount of
42 the credit allowed under this subsection for any taxable year shall
43 exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, the excess shall be treated as
44 an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in accordance with the
45 provisions of section six hundred eighty-six of this article, provided,
46 however, that no interest shall be paid thereon.
47 § 8. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
48 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
49 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
50 tation of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made on or
51 before such date.
