Establishes a nonprofit news media jobs grant program within the newspaper and broadcast media jobs program to provide grants to support certain nonprofit media organizations which increase employees.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9285
IN SENATE
February 25, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Commerce, Economic Devel-
opment and Small Business
AN ACT to amend the economic development law, in relation to the newspa-
per and broadcast media jobs program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 492 of the economic development
2 law, as amended by section 1 of part J of chapter 59 of the laws of
3 2025, is amended and a new subdivision 14 is added to read as follows:
4 10. "Net employee increase" means an increase of at least one full-
5 time employee between the average starting full-time employment and the
6 average ending full-time employment of an eligible business entity or
7 nonprofit organization, as defined by the department.
8 14. "Eligible nonprofit news media organization" means an organization
9 that:
10 (a) is a public television or radio corporation as defined under
11 section two hundred thirty-six of the education law or is organized and
12 operated as a nonprofit organization exempt from state income tax under
13 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; and
14 (b) is in good standing with the New York secretary of state and all
15 relevant state agencies; and
16 (c) meets the requirements of an "eligible business" and operates
17 within an "eligible industry" as defined in this article and would
18 otherwise be eligible for a newspaper and broadcast media jobs tax cred-
19 it if not for its nonprofit status.
20 § 2. Section 496 of the economic development law, as added by section
21 2 of part AAA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as
22 follows:
23 § 496. Powers and duties of the commissioner. 1. The commissioner
24 shall promulgate regulations establishing [an] application [process]
25 processes and eligibility criteria, that will be applied consistent with
26 the purposes of this article, so as not to exceed the annual [cap] caps
27 on tax credits and grants set forth in [section] sections four hundred
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14882-01-6
S. 9285 2
1 ninety-five and four hundred ninety-nine of this article which, notwith-
2 standing any provisions to the contrary in the state administrative
3 procedure act, may be adopted on an emergency basis.
4 2. The commissioner shall, in consultation with the department of
5 taxation and finance, develop a certificate of tax credit that shall be
6 issued by the commissioner to eligible businesses. Such certificate
7 shall contain such information as required by the department of taxation
8 and finance. The commissioner shall also develop a grant award certif-
9 icate that shall be issued to eligible nonprofit news media organiza-
10 tions. Such certificate shall specify the exact amount of the grant
11 awarded.
12 3. The commissioner shall solely determine the eligibility of any
13 applicant applying for entry into the program and shall remove any busi-
14 ness entity or nonprofit organization from the program for failing to
15 meet any of the requirements set forth in section four hundred ninety-
16 three or four hundred ninety-eight of this article, or for failing to
17 meet the requirements set forth in subdivision one of section four
18 hundred ninety-four of this article or subdivision one of section five
19 hundred of this article.
20 § 3. The economic development law is amended by adding four new
21 sections 497, 498, 499 and 500 to read as follows:
22 § 497. Nonprofit news media jobs grant program. 1. There is hereby
23 established in the state treasury a special fund to be known as the
24 "nonprofit news media jobs formula grant fund".
25 2. Subject to appropriation by the legislature, monies in the fund
26 shall be used solely for the purpose of awarding grants to eligible
27 nonprofit news media organizations as provided in this article, in a
28 manner equivalent to the application of tax credits to commercial media
29 organizations, except that the grants shall be applied for the employ-
30 ment of qualifying journalists at the eligible nonprofit news media
31 organization.
32 3. Any unexpended balance remaining in the fund at the end of any
33 fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain avail-
34 able for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.
35 § 498. Grant eligibility criteria. To be eligible for a grant under
36 this article, a nonprofit organization shall:
37 1. Be an eligible nonprofit news media organization as defined in
38 section four hundred ninety-two of this article;
39 2. Operate predominantly in an eligible industry and be located within
40 the state of New York;
41 3. Demonstrate with data on subscribers or digital traffic to have an
42 audience that is at least thirty-three percent located within the state
43 of New York over the previous calendar year; and
44 4. Demonstrate that the organization has been operating for at least
45 one year prior to the year for which it is applying for a grant.
46 § 499. Nonprofit news media jobs grant. 1. A nonprofit organization
47 that meets the eligibility requirements of section four hundred ninety-
48 eight of this article, and meets any additional eligibility criteria as
49 articulated in regulations established pursuant to this section, and
50 demonstrates a net qualifying journalist employee increase, may be
51 eligible to receive a grant equal to five thousand dollars per each
52 full-time net employee increase as defined in section four hundred nine-
53 ty-two of this article. A nonprofit organization may not receive in
54 excess of twenty thousand dollars in grants under this program.
55 2. A nonprofit organization that meets the eligibility requirements of
56 section four hundred ninety-eight of this article, and meets any addi-
S. 9285 3
1 tional eligibility criteria as articulated in regulations established
2 pursuant to this section, may be eligible to claim a grant equal to
3 fifty percent of annual wages of an eligible employee. The calculation
4 of such a grant shall only be applied to up to fifty thousand dollars in
5 wages paid annually per eligible employee. A nonprofit organization may
6 not receive in excess of three hundred thousand dollars in grants under
7 this program.
8 3. The total amount of grants awarded by the commissioner pursuant to
9 this article may not exceed fifteen million dollars for each year the
10 grants are available, plus any amount carried over from previous years.
11 Within the total available balance of the nonprofit news media jobs
12 formula grant fund in any fiscal year, fifty percent of grants shall be
13 set-aside for eligible nonprofit organizations with one hundred or fewer
14 employees. The remaining fifty percent of grants may be awarded to
15 eligible nonprofit organizations of any size.
16 § 500. Grant application and approval process. 1. A nonprofit entity
17 shall submit a complete application as prescribed by the commissioner.
18 2. The commissioner shall establish procedures and a timeframe for
19 nonprofit organizations to submit applications. As part of the applica-
20 tion, each organization shall:
21 (a) provide evidence in a form and manner prescribed by the commis-
22 sioner of their eligibility as a nonprofit news media organization;
23 (b) provide documentation of tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3)
24 of the Internal Revenue Code;
25 (c) agree to allow the department of labor to share its employer
26 information with the department. However, any information shared as a
27 result of this program shall not be available for disclosure or
28 inspection under the state freedom of information law;
29 (d) allow the department and its agents access to any and all books
30 and records the department may require to monitor compliance; and
31 (e) agree to provide any additional information required by the
32 department relevant to this article.
33 3. After reviewing a nonprofit organization's completed final applica-
34 tion and determining that the nonprofit organization meets the eligibil-
35 ity criteria as set forth in this article and that the grant award would
36 not cause the annual cap set forth in section four hundred ninety-nine
37 to be exceeded, the department may issue to that nonprofit organization
38 a grant award.
39 4. Grant performance audits shall be limited to verifying employment,
40 audience and financial records. No state agency or official shall condi-
41 tion, modify, or revoke grants based on editorial content, positions, or
42 coverage decisions of recipient organizations.
43 5. No nonprofit organization or business entity may receive both a
44 grant and tax credits under this article within the same annual award
45 period.
46 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
47 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
48 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
49 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
50 completed on or before such effective date.
