STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4766
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 25, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the preserva-
tion of regionally significant projects
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 862 of the general municipal law, as amended by
2 section 1 of part J of chapter 59 of the laws of 2013, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 § 862. Restrictions on funds of the agency. (1) No funds of the agency
5 shall be used in respect of any project if the completion thereof would
6 result in the removal of an industrial or manufacturing plant of the
7 project occupant from one area of the state to another area of the state
8 or in the abandonment of one or more plants or facilities of the project
9 occupant located within the state, provided, however, that neither
10 restriction shall apply if the agency shall determine on the basis of
11 the application before it that the project is reasonably necessary to
12 discourage the project occupant from removing such other plant or facil-
13 ity to a location outside the state or is reasonably necessary to
14 preserve the competitive position of the project occupant in its respec-
15 tive industry.
16 (2) [(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, no]
17 No financial assistance of the agency shall be provided in respect of
18 any project where facilities or property that are primarily used in
19 making retail sales to customers who personally visit such facilities
20 constitute more than one-third of the total project cost. For the
21 purposes of this article, "retail sales" shall mean: (i) sales by a
22 registered vendor under article twenty-eight of the tax law primarily
23 engaged in the retail sale of tangible personal property, as defined in
24 subparagraph (i) of paragraph four of subdivision (b) of section eleven
25 hundred one of the tax law; or (ii) sales of a service to such custom-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10776-01-9
S. 4766 2
1 ers. Except, however, that [tourism destination] regionally significant
2 projects shall not be prohibited by this subdivision. For the purpose of
3 this paragraph, ["tourism destination"] "regionally significant project"
4 shall mean a location or facility [which is likely to attract a signif-
5 icant number of visitors from outside the economic development region as
6 established by section two hundred thirty of the economic development
7 law, in which the project is located] where: (i) the agency board has
8 determined with the benefit of an independent third-party analysis of
9 costs versus benefits that shows more benefits to the community than
10 costs, that the project is likely to attract a significant number of
11 visitors from outside the economic development region as established by
12 section two hundred thirty of the economic development law, in which the
13 project is located and that undertaking the project will serve the
14 public purposes of this article by preserving permanent, private sector
15 jobs or increasing the overall number of permanent, private sector jobs
16 in the state; and (ii) where the agency board makes such a finding,
17 prior to providing financial assistance to the project by the agency,
18 the chief executive officer of the city, town or village where the
19 project is located shall confirm the proposed action of the agency.
20 [(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
21 sion, financial assistance may, however, be provided to a project where
22 facilities or property that are primarily used in making retail sales of
23 goods or services to customers who personally visit such facilities to
24 obtain such goods or services constitute more than one-third of the
25 total project cost, where: (i) the predominant purpose of the project
26 would be to make available goods or services which would not, but for
27 the project, be reasonably accessible to the residents of the city,
28 town, or village within which the proposed project would be located
29 because of a lack of reasonably accessible retail trade facilities
30 offering such goods or services; or (ii) the project is located in a
31 highly distressed area.
32 (c) With respect to projects authorized pursuant to paragraph (b) of
33 this subdivision, no project shall be approved unless the agency shall
34 find after the public hearing required by section eight hundred fifty-
35 nine-a of this title that undertaking the project will serve the public
36 purposes of this article by preserving permanent, private sector jobs or
37 increasing the overall number of permanent, private sector jobs in the
38 state. Where the agency makes such a finding, prior to providing finan-
39 cial assistance to the project by the agency, the chief executive offi-
40 cer of the municipality for whose benefit the agency was created shall
41 confirm the proposed action of the agency.]
42 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.