Establishes the "save our small-business grant program" to aid certain small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; provides for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4691
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 8, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. RATH -- 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 establish-
ing the "save our small-business grant program" to aid certain small
businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; 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-a to read as follows:
3 § 139-a. Save our small-business grant program. 1. For the purposes
4 of this section, the "save our small-business grant program" shall mean
5 the program established pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
6 2. The division for small-business, in conjunction with the state's
7 regional economic development councils, shall develop and implement a
8 save our small-business grant program to aid small-businesses in this
9 state impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with the
10 provisions of this section.
11 3. The state's regional economic development councils shall provide
12 the funds necessary to operate the save our small-business grant program
13 in accordance with the provisions of this section.
14 4. The division for small-business, in conjunction with the state's
15 regional economic development councils, shall develop an application
16 process whereby small-businesses located in this state may submit an
17 application for a grant to the save our small-business grant program.
18 The save our small-business grant program shall process and approve such
19 applications in a manner to be determined by the division for small-bu-
20 siness in conjunction with the state's regional economic development
21 councils. Such application process shall be published conspicuously on
22 the regional economic development councils' website. For a small-busi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09064-02-1
S. 4691 2
1 ness to be eligible for such approval, such small-business shall demon-
2 strate on its application that it has suffered a qualifying hardship as
3 a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
4 5. The division for small-businesses, in conjunction with the state's
5 regional economic development councils, shall develop a list of qualify-
6 ing hardships that shall satisfy the requirement under subdivision four
7 of this section. Such list of qualifying hardships shall be published
8 conspicuously on the regional economic development councils' website.
9 6. The save our small-business grant program shall not award a grant
10 of greater than fifty thousand dollars to any single small business.
11 7. The director of the budget shall notify the division for small-bu-
12 siness and the state's regional economic development councils upon the
13 return of New York state's economic relief to pre-COVID-19-pandemic
14 levels, when upon such notification the save our small-business grant
15 program shall not accept any new applications and shall finalize the
16 fulfilment of any pending grants.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
18 have become a law, and shall expire upon the notification by the direc-
19 tor of the budget provided for in subdivision 7 of section 139-a of the
20 economic development law, as added by section one of this act; provided
21 that the director of the budget shall notify the legislative bill draft-
22 ing commission upon the occurrence of such notification in order that
23 the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective data base
24 of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance
25 of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and
26 section 70-b of the public officers law.
