Amd §§3, 30 & 30-a, UDC Act; add Art 23 §§450 - 452, Ec Dev L
Requires certain business recipients of state aid to perform an annual assessment of the business' social and environmental impact as assessed against a third party standard.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2958
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 26, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act and
the economic development law, in relation to requiring certain busi-
ness recipients of state aid to perform an annual assessment of the
business' social and environmental impact as assessed against a third
party standard
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3 of section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968,
2 constituting the New York state urban development corporation act is
3 amended by adding a new subdivision 31 to read as follows:
4 (31) "Third party standard". A recognized standard for defining,
5 reporting, and assessing business' social and environmental performance
6 that:
7 (a) assesses the effects of the business and its operations upon the
8 following:
9 (i) the employees and work force of the business, its subsidiaries,
10 and its suppliers;
11 (ii) the interests of customers as beneficiaries of the business;
12 (iii) community and societal factors, including those of each communi-
13 ty in which offices or facilities of the business, its subsidiaries, or
14 its suppliers are located; and
15 (iv) the local and global environment; and
16 (b) is developed by an entity other than:
17 (i) the state; or
18 (ii) the business whose social and environmental impact is being
19 assessed against the third party standard; and
20 (iii) such entity shall:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07222-01-3
S. 2958 2
1 (A) have access to necessary expertise to assess overall business'
2 social and environmental performance; and
3 (B) use a balanced multi-stakeholder approach to develop the standard,
4 including a reasonable public comment period; and
5 (c) makes the following information publicly available:
6 (i) the criteria considered when measuring the overall social and
7 environmental performance of a business;
8 (ii) the relative weightings, if any, of those criteria;
9 (iii) the identity of the directors, officers, material owners, and
10 the governing body of the entity that developed and controls revisions
11 to the standard;
12 (iv) the process by which revisions to the standard and changes to the
13 membership of the governing body are made; and
14 (v) an accounting of the revenue and sources of financial support for
15 the entity, with sufficient detail to disclose any relationships that
16 could reasonably be considered to present a potential conflict of inter-
17 est.
18 § 2. Section 30 of section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968,
19 constituting the New York state urban development corporation act is
20 amended by adding a new subdivision (d) to read as follows:
21 (d) Report. In addition to any other requirements imposed by the act
22 or otherwise regarding evaluations of programs administered by the
23 corporation, the corporation shall report on an annual basis beginning
24 October first, two thousand twenty-two, and on each October first there-
25 after, to the governor, the chairpersons of the senate committees on
26 finance, commerce, economic development and small business, and corpo-
27 rations, authorities and commissions, the chairpersons of the assembly
28 committees on ways and means, economic development, corporations,
29 authorities and commissions, and small business on the social and envi-
30 ronmental impact of entities required to report under subdivision (j) of
31 section thirty-a of this act. Such report shall include an analysis of
32 the aggregate third party standard assessment results including aggre-
33 gate assessment results by funding level.
34 § 3. Section 30-a of section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of 1968,
35 constituting the New York state urban development corporation act is
36 amended by adding a new subdivision (j) to read as follows:
37 (j) The corporation shall, upon approval of an application or formal
38 request for funding, in an amount of one hundred thousand dollars or
39 more, or tax benefit assistance for any entity or project, require such
40 recipient to perform an annual assessment of their social and environ-
41 mental impact as assessed against a third party standard, as defined in
42 subdivision thirty-one of section three of this act. Such assessment
43 shall be submitted to the corporation by the entity receiving funding or
44 tax benefit assistance approved by the corporation ninety days after the
45 first year from the date of approval and annually thereafter. The corpo-
46 ration shall select an independent third party standard as defined in
47 subdivision thirty-one of section three of this act. Such standard shall
48 be chosen within one hundred eighty days after the effective date of
49 this subdivision. The corporation may use any funds necessary to admin-
50 ister and implement this section.
51 § 4. The economic development law is amended by adding a new article
52 23 to read as follows:
53 ARTICLE 23
54 FUNDING RECIPIENT ASSESSMENT
55 Section 450. Definition.
56 451. Report.
S. 2958 3
1 452. Annual assessment.
2 § 450. Definition. "Third party standard" means a recognized standard
3 for defining, reporting, and assessing business' social and environ-
4 mental performance that:
5 (a) assesses the effects of the business and its operations upon the
6 following:
7 (i) the employees and work force of the business, its subsidiaries,
8 and its suppliers;
9 (ii) the interests of customers as beneficiaries of the business;
10 (iii) community and societal factors, including those of each communi-
11 ty in which offices or facilities of the business, its subsidiaries, or
12 its suppliers are located; and
13 (iv) the local and global environment; and
14 (b) is developed by an entity other than:
15 (i) the state; or
16 (ii) the business whose social and environmental impact is being
17 assessed against the third party standard; and
18 (iii) such entity shall:
19 (A) have access to necessary expertise to assess overall business'
20 social and environmental performance; and
21 (B) use a balanced multi-stakeholder approach to develop the standard,
22 including a reasonable public comment period; and
23 (c) makes the following information publicly available:
24 (i) the criteria considered when measuring the overall social and
25 environmental performance of a business;
26 (ii) the relative weightings, if any, of those criteria;
27 (iii) the identity of the directors, officers, material owners, and
28 the governing body of the entity that developed and controls revisions
29 to the standard;
30 (iv) the process by which revisions to the standard and changes to the
31 membership of the governing body are made; and
32 (v) an accounting of the revenue and sources of financial support for
33 the entity, with sufficient detail to disclose any relationships that
34 could reasonably be considered to present a potential conflict of inter-
35 est.
36 § 451. Report. In addition to any other requirements imposed by the
37 act or otherwise regarding evaluations of programs administered by the
38 department, the commissioner and the department shall report on an annu-
39 al basis beginning October first, two thousand twenty-two, and on each
40 October first thereafter, to the governor, the chairpersons of the
41 senate committees on finance, commerce, economic development and small
42 business, and corporations, authorities and commissions, the chair-
43 persons of the assembly committees on ways and means, economic develop-
44 ment, corporations, authorities and commissions, and small business on
45 the social and environmental impact of entities required to report under
46 section four hundred fifty-two of this article. Such report shall
47 include an analysis of the aggregate third party standard assessment
48 results including aggregate assessment results by funding level.
49 § 452. Annual assessment. The commissioner and the department shall,
50 upon approval of an application or formal request for funding, in an
51 amount of one hundred thousand dollars or more, or tax benefit assist-
52 ance for any entity or project, require such recipient to perform an
53 annual assessment of their social and environmental impact as assessed
54 against a third party standard, as defined in section four hundred fifty
55 of this article. Such assessment shall be submitted to the department by
56 the entity receiving funding or tax benefit assistance approved by the
S. 2958 4
1 department ninety days after the first year from the date of approval
2 and annually thereafter. The department shall select an independent
3 third party standard as defined in section four hundred fifty of this
4 article. Such standard shall be chosen within one hundred eighty days
5 after the effective date of this section. The department may use any
6 funds necessary to administer and implement this section.
7 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
