Establishes a small business content creator matching pilot program; provides that the division of small business shall establish a pilot program to match small businesses that are looking for support with marketing and advertisement with content creators who can use their social media platforms to bring attention to the small businesses they are matched with.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9594
IN ASSEMBLY
January 21, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Small Business
AN ACT to amend the economic development law, in relation to establish-
ing a small business content creator matching pilot program; and
providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration there-
of
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 section 139-a to read as follows:
3 § 139-a. Small business content creator matching pilot program. 1.
4 For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the
5 following meanings:
6 (a) "content creator" means a person who creates material to be shared
7 publicly on a social media platform; and
8 (b) "small business" means a retail establishment that has annual
9 gross revenues of less than five million dollars and employs twenty-five
10 or fewer employees. For purposes of determining whether an entity quali-
11 fies as a small business, the revenues of any parent entity, any subsid-
12 iary entities, and any entities owned or controlled by a common parent
13 entity shall be aggregated.
14 2. (a) The division shall establish a pilot program to match small
15 businesses that are looking for support with marketing and advertisement
16 with content creators who can use their social media platforms to bring
17 attention to the small businesses they are matched with.
18 (b) The division shall engage in public outreach to assess the amount
19 of interest content creators and small businesses have in participating
20 in the program and shall post explanatory information about the program
21 on the division's website.
22 3. (a) The division shall develop an application for small business
23 enrollment in the pilot program established pursuant to subdivision two
24 of this section. Such application shall require small businesses wishing
25 to enroll in such program to submit the following information to the
26 division:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14036-01-5
A. 9594 2
1 (i) the name of the small business;
2 (ii) the address of the small business;
3 (iii) the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of an individual
4 associated with the small business who will serve as a point of contact
5 for purposes of such program;
6 (iv) the preferred method of communication;
7 (v) the hours of operation of the small business;
8 (vi) a general description of the small business, including type of
9 goods and products sold or services provided;
10 (vii) consent to share relevant business revenue and other information
11 to assist the division in determining program eligibility and assessing
12 the impact of the program; and
13 (viii) any other information deemed relevant by the division.
14 (b) The division shall develop an application for content creator
15 enrollment in the pilot program established pursuant to subdivision two
16 of this section. Such application shall require content creators wishing
17 to enroll in such program to submit the following information to the
18 division:
19 (i) name;
20 (ii) address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
21 (iii) social media platforms that the content creator posts publicly
22 on;
23 (iv) links to social media platforms that the content creator intends
24 to use as part of the program and the content creator's handle or user-
25 name on each such platform; and
26 (v) any other information deemed relevant by the division.
27 4. The division shall determine the duration of the enrollment period
28 for such program.
29 5. The division shall match content creators with small businesses
30 from the applicant pool based on the division's determination that such
31 content creator might be able to provide the marketing support the small
32 business is seeking.
33 6. Within thirty days after the end of such enrollment period, the
34 division shall notify each small business and each content creator that
35 submitted an application pursuant to this subdivision whether they have
36 been selected for participation in the program. The division shall noti-
37 fy each participant of their match and shall facilitate the connection
38 between matched content creators and small businesses. If the division
39 has rejected any applicants, the division shall notify such applicant
40 and provide an explanation for the rejection.
41 7. The pilot program established pursuant to subdivision two of this
42 section shall commence no later than one hundred eighty days after the
43 effective date of this section. The duration of such program shall be
44 one year.
45 8. No later than one year after the end of the pilot program estab-
46 lished pursuant to subdivision two of this section, the division shall
47 submit to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the
48 speaker of the assembly a report on such program. Such report shall
49 include, but need not be limited to, the following information:
50 (a) the cost of such program;
51 (b) the number of small businesses that participated in such program;
52 (c) the number of content creators who participated in such program;
53 (d) an analysis of the effect the program had on revenue of small
54 business participants;
55 (e) an analysis of the traits of content creators that led to
56 increased revenue for small business participants; and
A. 9594 3
1 (f) any challenges experienced by the division and any known chal-
2 lenges experienced by the participants during the course of such
3 program.
4 9. The division may promulgate rules necessary for the implementation
5 of this section.
6 10. This section shall not be construed as a warranty of the complete-
7 ness, accuracy, content, or fitness for any particular purpose of any
8 information generated by a content creator for a small business, nor are
9 any such warranties to be implied or inferred with respect to such
10 information. The state shall not be held liable for any deficiencies in
11 the completeness, accuracy, content, or fitness for any particular
12 purpose or use of information provided by any third party through the
13 pilot program established pursuant to this section. The state does not
14 guarantee any particular result to participants in such program.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
16 it shall have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed 3
17 years after such effective date.
