Relates to establishing an advisory panel on employee-owned enterprises; provides such panel shall consist of twelve members who shall report and make recommendations on how best to support existing employee-owned enterprises and promote new employee-owned enterprises.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5191--B
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 6, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RYAN, MORELLE, ROZIC, BRINDISI, ABINANTI, THIELE,
SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amend-
ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the economic development law, in relation to establish-
ing an advisory panel on employee-owned enterprises within the divi-
sion of small business services; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
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 to read as follows:
3 § 139. Advisory panel on employee-owned enterprises. 1. Definition.
4 As used in this section, the term "employee-owned enterprise" shall mean
5 a business in which the employees control the majority of the voting
6 stock, or if the business is held in a trust which controls the majority
7 of the voting stock, the trustees are elected by the employees. The term
8 "employee-owned enterprise" shall also refer to a worker cooperative as
9 defined in section eighty-one of the cooperative corporations law.
10 2. Establishment of advisory panel. An advisory panel is hereby
11 created within the department for the purpose of reviewing state laws
12 and programs in order to report and make recommendations on how best to
13 support existing employee-owned enterprises, promoting the formation of
14 new employee-owned enterprises, and promoting the continued growth of
15 such businesses in the state.
16 3. Composition of advisory panel. (a) The advisory panel shall consist
17 of twelve members, including:
18 (i) the commissioner, or his or her designee, who shall be designated
19 as chair of the advisory panel;
20 (ii) the commissioner of labor, or his or her designee;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08166-05-7
A. 5191--B 2
1 (iii) the commissioner of tax and finance, or his or her designee; and
2 (iv) nine members to be appointed as follows: three shall be appointed
3 by the governor, two shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly,
4 two shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, one
5 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly, and one shall
6 be appointed by the minority leader of the senate. Such appointed
7 members shall represent entities and organizations with expertise
8 related to employee-owned enterprises or business development, partic-
9 ularly those with an emphasis on small businesses, minority and women-
10 owned businesses, and veteran-owned businesses, including, but not
11 limited to:
12 (1) employee-owned enterprises;
13 (2) employee-owned enterprise advocacy, service, support, or develop-
14 ment organizations;
15 (3) business development organizations;
16 (4) New York state college and university programs with expertise in
17 business development;
18 (5) commercial lending organizations focusing on access to capital and
19 community development; and
20 (6) labor organizations.
21 (b) Each member of the panel shall serve at the pleasure of the
22 appointing authority, and any vacancy on the panel shall be filled in
23 the same manner as the original appointment. Such panel members shall
24 serve without compensation except that such members shall be entitled to
25 reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in such
26 service.
27 4. Powers and duties of the advisory panel. The advisory panel shall:
28 (a) identify and recommend strategies to promote the creation and
29 development of new employee-owned enterprises in order to create new
30 jobs and retain existing jobs within the state;
31 (b) identify and recommend strategies to facilitate the creation of
32 employee-owned enterprises that promote the continuation of existing
33 businesses either as part of a pre-existing business succession of
34 ownership plan or as an alternative option if a business is being
35 offered for sale or transfer by the current owner or the heirs or estate
36 of a deceased owner;
37 (c) evaluate the effectiveness of current state and local training and
38 assistance programs designed to provide support to employee-owned enter-
39 prises, and make recommendations as to how to more effectively utilize
40 these programs and resources to support such enterprises;
41 (d) examine and identify state and local laws and regulations relating
42 to the governance and administration of employee-owned enterprises and
43 their effect on the creation, retention, and growth of such enterprises;
44 (e) examine and identify other successful federal, state and local
45 programs designed to provide support to employee-owned enterprises,
46 including any programs currently underutilized by individuals seeking to
47 establish an employee-owned enterprise in the state;
48 (f) evaluate the ability of new and existing employee-owned enter-
49 prises to acquire the capital necessary to form, expand, and develop
50 their operations;
51 (g) evaluate the role of immigrants and new Americans, minorities,
52 women, and veterans in the formation of employee-owned enterprises;
53 (h) evaluate the potential for employee-owned enterprises to assist in
54 the revitalization and redevelopment of economically disadvantaged
55 communities; and
A. 5191--B 3
1 (i) recommend a set of best practices and policies as a guide for
2 individuals to use when forming an employee-owned enterprise, and make
3 such guide publicly available on the department's website.
4 5. Reporting. The advisory panel shall issue a report no later than
5 September thirtieth, two thousand eighteen outlining the findings and
6 recommendations of the panel. The report shall be delivered to the
7 governor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the
8 senate, the minority leader of the assembly, the minority leader of the
9 senate, the chair of the assembly committee on ways and means, the chair
10 of the senate committee on finance, the chair of the assembly committee
11 on economic development, the chair of the assembly committee on small
12 business, the chair of the senate committee on commerce, economic devel-
13 opment, and small business, the chair of the assembly committee on
14 labor, and the chair of the senate committee on labor.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire October
16 1, 2018 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed
17 repealed.
