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A08900 Summary:

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A08900 Floor Votes:

A08900 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8900--A
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 27, 2014
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced   by  M.  of  A.  PICHARDO,  CRESPO,  ROBINSON,  SCARBOROUGH,
          BUCHWALD, SEPULVEDA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.  HEASTIE,  SIMA-
          NOWITZ,  SKARTADOS,  SOLAGES, SWEENEY, THIELE, WEISENBERG -- read once
          and referred to the  Committee  on  Small  Business  --  reported  and
          referred  to  the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged,

          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in
          relation to creating the New York state innovative energy and environ-
          mental technology program
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
     2  declares  that  the success of innovative energy and environmental tech-
     3  nology-oriented businesses with growth potential  is  essential  to  the
     4  continued  economic health and security of New York state. It is further
     5  found that the development of new products to assist  mature  industries
     6  undergoing  dramatic changes or facing increasing international competi-

     7  tion with reducing energy costs and complying with  environmental  regu-
     8  lations,  can  serve to retain, and even increase, employment.  However,
     9  commercialization of these products  is  restrained  as  numerous  small
    10  businesses are limited by lack of early stage financing.
    11    Therefore,  the  legislature seeks to provide early stage funds, via a
    12  grants program, to stimulate the creation of a substantial number of new
    13  businesses and jobs in the energy and environmental sector.
    14    § 2. Section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of  1968,  constituting  the
    15  New York state urban development corporation act, is amended by adding a
    16  new section 16-x to read as follows:
    17    §  16-x. New York state innovative energy and environmental technology
    18  program. 1. Definitions. As used in this section,  the  following  words

    19  and terms shall have the following meanings:
    20    (a)  "Innovative  energy  technologies" shall mean all methods used to
    21  produce, distribute, conserve and store energy  by  methods  which  have
    22  significant  potential for commercialization, with emphasis on renewable
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02297-12-4
        A. 8900--A                          2
 
     1  energy sources including, but not limited to, solar, wind,  fuel  cells,
     2  advanced hydroelectric, and biomass power conversion technologies.
     3    (b)  "Innovative  environmental  technologies" shall mean technologies

     4  that advance sustainable development by reducing risk,  enhancing  cost-
     5  effectiveness,  improving  process efficiency, and creating products and
     6  processes that are environmentally beneficial or benign and  which  have
     7  significant  potential  for  commercialization.  Emerging  environmental
     8  technologies include, but are not  limited  to:  air,  water,  and  soil
     9  pollution  control;  solid and toxic waste management; site remediation;
    10  and environmental monitoring and recycling.
    11    (c) "Small businesses" shall mean an independently owned and  operated
    12  business  that  meets all of the following conditions: (i) headquartered
    13  in the state, and principal business operations located  in  the  state;

    14  (ii)  employs  one  hundred  or less persons, eighty percent of whom are
    15  employed within the state on a full-time basis; and  (iii)  involved  in
    16  developing innovative energy and environmental technologies.
    17    (d)  "Eligible costs" shall mean costs associated with working capital
    18  needs, the acquisition or upgrading of equipment, or leasehold  improve-
    19  ments necessary for commercialization of the product, device, technique,
    20  system  or  process; provided that no other source of funds is available
    21  under terms, interest rates, or other conditions that  would  allow  the
    22  project  to proceed successfully. Eligible costs shall exclude any costs
    23  incurred prior to the effective date of this section.

    24    2. The corporation is authorized, within available  appropriations  in
    25  the  empire  state  economic  development  fund  established pursuant to
    26  section sixteen-m of this act or from any other funds  appropriated  for
    27  the  purpose  set  out in this section, to award capital grants of up to
    28  one hundred thousand dollars to small businesses,  for  the  purpose  of
    29  encouraging and supporting innovative energy and environmental technolo-
    30  gy development and commercialization across the state. Such grants shall
    31  be  awarded on a competitive basis to small business applicants respond-
    32  ing to requests for proposals issued by the corporation.
    33    3. Grants and contracts made  by  the  corporation  pursuant  to  this
    34  section shall be subject to the following:

    35    (a) grants shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars per year;
    36    (b) the corporation may not enter into more than one grant per year to
    37  a small business; and
    38    (c)  grants  provided by the corporation may only be used for eligible
    39  costs.
    40    4.  Applications  for  grants  authorized  under  this  section  shall
    41  describe  the  product, device, technique, system or process which is to
    42  be developed, including:
    43    (a) a market assessment;
    44    (b) an explanation of its technical value;
    45    (c) measurable outcomes  resulting  from  its  manufacture  and  sale,
    46  including  the  estimated  number of jobs to be created and retained and
    47  the salary levels of such jobs;

    48    (d) an estimated timeline for bringing it  to  market,  with  proposed
    49  starting and completion dates and benchmarks; and
    50    (e)  a budget for its development and marketing that describes how the
    51  grant will be used, why the grant from the corporation is essential  and
    52  cannot  be obtained from other sources, and sources and amounts of other
    53  funds to be used in its development, marketing and distribution.
    54    5. The corporation shall, in consultation  with  the  New  York  state
    55  energy research and development authority and the department of environ-
        A. 8900--A                          3
 
     1  mental  conservation,  develop  criteria  to be used in evaluating grant
     2  applications. Such criteria shall include, but not be limited to:

     3    (a)  economic impact as measured by such variables as potential reven-
     4  ue, job creation, effect on the local economy,  global  competitiveness,
     5  and, purchases from in-state suppliers;
     6    (b) ability of the applicant to leverage other funds;
     7    (c) financial commitment of the applicant;
     8    (d) technical feasibility;
     9    (e)  likelihood  that  the economic benefits will be manifest within a
    10  six- to twelve-month period, but at most within three years; and
    11    (f) likelihood of the product, device, technique, system or process to
    12  result in improvements to public health, quality of life,  the  environ-
    13  ment, human or business performance or economic productivity.
    14    6.  The  corporation shall, on or before September first, two thousand

    15  sixteen and annually thereafter, submit a report to  the  governor,  the
    16  temporary  president  of  the senate and the senate minority leader, the
    17  speaker of the assembly, and the minority leader of  the  assembly,  the
    18  chairpersons  of  the senate finance committee and the assembly ways and
    19  means committee, and to any other member of the  legislature  requesting
    20  such  reports  on  the effectiveness and accomplishments of the New York
    21  state innovative energy and  environmental  technology  grants  program.
    22  Such  report shall include for each grant awarded, the name and location
    23  of the recipient, a  description  of  the  product,  device,  technique,
    24  system or process being commercialized, the amount and use of the grant,

    25  the  total  project  cost,  the impact of the project on the recipient's
    26  business, the number of jobs created or retained, and such other  infor-
    27  mation as the corporation shall deem appropriate.
    28    7.  Nothing  in this section shall require the corporation to disclose
    29  any matters involving confidential intellectual property or  work  prod-
    30  uct,  whether  patentable  or not, including any formula, plan, pattern,
    31  process, tool, mechanism, compound, procedure, production data or compi-
    32  lation of information, which is not patented, but which is known only to
    33  certain individuals who are using it to fabricate, produce  or  compound
    34  an  article  of trade or service having commercial value and which gives

    35  its user an opportunity to obtain a business advantage over  competitors
    36  who do not know it or use it.
    37    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.