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Economic Development
Economic Development Scorecard
2018 New York State Bill Tracker: May Update
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May 08, 2018
Updated January 3, 2019. Four of the bills have been signed by the Governor and the remaining six have been vetoed.
New York State’s annual investment in economic development exceeds $4 billion, without sufficient disclosure of how the money is spent and what results are achieved.1 The State Fiscal Year 2019 Enacted Budget, approved at the beginning of the month, continues the pattern of increasing economic development expenses without improvements in transparency or accountability. During the remainder of the legislative session, additional proposals to create and expand economic development programs will move through the Legislature—and they should be rejected.
The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) is launching an Economic Development Scorecard to track these proposals. The scorecard identifies 85 bills active this session. Thirty bills expand existing programs, 19 create new broad programs, and 36 target benefits to particular industries or geographic areas.
Although the purported reason for introducing these bills is to generate economic activity or retain businesses, 77 contain no estimate of fiscal impact. For the 8 bills with a stated fiscal impact, the cost of the additional spending or tax breaks totals $175 million.2 The calculations for these estimates are problematic, as well: the methodologies and time frames are not standardized, making comparison difficult.
Until there is comprehensive reform of economic development programs, including transparent reporting on all current projects, no new programs should be created and no existing programs expanded.3 The bills listed in the scorecard should be rejected by the Legislature and the Governor.
Rather than expand economic development programs, New York State legislators should pursue the following reforms, detailed in CBC’s Blueprint for Economic Development Reform:
- Establish a Unified Economic Development Budget to Capture Fully All State and Local Costs
- Use Standardized Metrics Across Economic Development Initiatives
- Publish a Database of Deals to Shine Light on Recipients of Incentives
- Improve Program Design
- Make Administrative Reforms
The scorecard will be updated throughout the legislative session to monitor the status of each bill, and new bills will be added as necessary. For full scorecard, see the downloadable PDF.
Download Full Scorecard
Economic Development Scorecard: 2018 New York State Bill Tracker: May Update| Category | Bill Numbers and Sponsors | Last Action | Description | Fiscal Impact (if available, $ in millions) |
| Expand Existing Program | A2020 (Schimminger) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Allow for qualifying small businesses to receive loans or grants under the Economic Development Fund and low-interest loans through the Linked Deposit Program in order to mitigate any impact state or local infrastructure projects might have had on such businesses. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A2193 (Schimminger) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Increases Excelsior Linked Deposit Program by $65 million. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A2861 (Butler) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Extends application dates for the Economic Transformation and Facility Redevelopment Program. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A3486 (Schimminger) S2138 (Serino) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) Passed Senate 1/30/2018 |
Requires state economic development agencies to give preference to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the programs they administer. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A3509 (Rosenthal) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates regional technology development centers. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A4905 (Schimminger) | Referred to Small Business 1/3/2018 (A) | Provides funds for outreach to small businesses to increase awareness of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, counseling to potential applicants, and proposal preparation assistance. | $1-$2 |
| Expand Existing Program | A4926 (Ramos) | Referred to Local Governments 1/3/2018 (A) | Expands the scope of projects eligible to receive tax benefits from the Town of Islip Industrial Development Agency to include retail. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A5110A (Schimminger) S5093 (Boyle) | Referred to Small Business 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Revives the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Technical Assistance Program. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A5404 (Cook) S2344 (Parker) | Referred to Ways & Means 2/28/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Requires a study of the geographic coverage of Empire State Development (ESD) programs and any other programs that give technical assistance to minority populations. Requires that ESD work with not-for-profits to fill any gaps found in geographic coverage of these services. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A5753 (Byrne) S328 (Murphy) | Referred to Local Governments 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Local Government 1/3/2018 (S) |
Re-establishes an Industrial Development Agency (IDA) in the Town of Yorktown. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A5928 (Kolb) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Increases total funding by $440 million and dedicates $200 million of the Excelsior Linked Deposit Program for business startups. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A6633 (Schimminger) S853 (Young) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Reduces job creation requirements for participation in the Excelsior Jobs Program, and statutorily defines 'significant capital investment.' | |
| Expand Existing Program | A6651A (Solages) S8091 (Persaud) | Amended 5/3/2018 (A) Referred to Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business 3/27/2018 (S) |
Creates a division within ESD on small business crime prevention, and allows for loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies and grants to benefit small businesses and crime prevention strategies. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A7189A (Jenne) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Grants eligibility for the Economic Transformation and Facility Redevelopment Program tax credit to certain state psychiatric centers with decommissioned or surplus land. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A7894A (Schimminger) S5155B (Ranzenhoffer) | Amended 1/22/2018 (A) Amended 1/4/2018 (S) |
Allows IDAs to support some retail projects, including professional office uses (medical, insurance, accounting, etc.) in mixed use projects including residential uses. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A8117 (Schimminger) S6491 (Young) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Finance 1/3/2018 (S) |
Eliminates the one-time loan amount maximum, and increases lifetime loan amounts from $2 million to $5 million for the Excelsior Linked Deposit Program. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A8119 (Schimminger) S5307 (Golden) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Allows Hot Spot designation to extend beyond a certain timeframe; allows companies working with both an Innovation Hot Spot and a certified Incubator to receive Hot Spot tax benefits. (Governor's Program Bill #92) | |
| Expand Existing Program | A8358 (Magnarelli) S6230 (Gallivan) | Referred to Local Governments 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Local Government 1/3/2018 (S) |
Allows IDAs to provide loans, grants, and equity funding (seed or early-stage). | |
| Expand Existing Program | A8454A (Barclay) S6635 (Ritchie) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) Advanced to Third Reading 3/22/2018 (S) |
Allows an entity that was previously certified in the Fulton Empire Zone and failed to file a timely annual business report to apply for reinstatement. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A8935 (Thiele) S7299 (Lavalle) | Referred to Ways & Means 4/17/2018 (A) Passed Senate 2/6/2018 |
Lessens reporting requirements for ESD's revolving loan fund programs. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A9734 (Thiele) S1116A (Akshar) | Referred to Real Property Taxation 2/2/2018 (A) Passed Senate 5/2/2018 |
Makes real property owned by small businesses (100 employees or fewer) eligible for the STAR property tax exemption. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A10028 (Schimminger) S6809 (Golden) | Referred to Economic Development Committee 3/7/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions Committee 1/3/2018 (S) |
Allows Hot Spot designation to extend beyond a certain timeframe; allows companies working with both an Innovation Hot Spot and a certified Incubator to receive Hot Spot tax benefits; and requires Incubator sponsors to utilize at least 85% of any associated awards for operation of the incubator. | |
| Expand Existing Program | A10105 (Schimminger) S7961 (Ranzenhoffer) | Referred to Ways & Means 3/27/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 3/13/2018 (S) |
Allows Hot Spot designation to extend beyond a certain timeframe; allows companies working with both an Innovation Hot Spot and a certified Incubator to receive Hot Spot tax benefits; and requires Incubator sponsors to utilize at least 85% of any associated awards for operation of the incubator. (Governor's Program Bill #167) | |
| Expand Existing Program | A10121 (Stirpe) S7651A (O'Mara) | Referred to Ways & Means 3/16/2018 (A) Amended 2/13/2018 (S) |
Extends the zero-percent Corporate Franchise Tax rate to qualified pass-through manufacturers. Currently the zero rate applies to manufacturers organized as C corps. | $140 |
| Expand Existing Program | S796 (Alcantara) | Referred to Corporation, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) | Expands and renames the Regional Revolving Loan Fund as the Small Business Regional Revolving Loan Fund. | |
| Expand Existing Program | S1802 (Kennedy) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Provides that microbusinesses are eligible for $5 million in the Small Business Revolving Loan Fund and the Linked Deposit Program interest rate reductions. | |
| Expand Existing Program | S3017B (Ritchie) | Amended 2/23/18 (S) | Grants eligibility for the Economic Transformation and Facility Redevelopment Program tax credit to certain state psychiatric centers with decommissioned or surplus land (application must be prescribed by the Commissioner of Mental Health by September 2018). | |
| Expand Existing Program | S3121 (Parker) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Adds clean environmental and energy technologies to the list of emerging industrial classifications that are eligible for Qualified Emerging Technology Company tax credits. | |
| Expand Existing Program | S4391A (Griffo) | Amended 1/26/2018 (S) | Increases the small business and farm income deduction, establishes a STAR property tax exemption for small businesses, and expands START-UP NY to manufacturers who design, develop, and produce their product in NY. | |
| Expand Existing Program | S7178 (Kennedy) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Increases the Excelsior Research and Development Tax Credit from 6% to 20%. | |
| New Broad Program | A213 (Gantt) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Provides a tax credit for any business creating new jobs, equal to half the new income tax revenue created as a result of the jobs created, for up to 10 years. Employment must be maintained for twice the term of the tax credit and may be clawed back for failure to comply. | |
| New Broad Program | A400 (Gunther) S5420 (Kennedy) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Investigations & Government Operations 1/3/2018 (S) |
Creates a Small Business Electric Energy Tax Credit, equal to two cents per kilowatt hour for electricity usage at the primary business location. | |
| New Broad Program | A1985 (Lentol) | Referred to Higher Education 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates the New York Entrepreneur Program, in which SUNY and CUNY graduates submit a startup business plan and are selected to receive free housing, student loan deferral, and access to school resources for 5 years. | |
| New Broad Program | A2233 (Crouch) | Held for Consideration in Real Property Taxation 4/17/2018 (A) | Grants a property tax exemption to nonprofits organized with a purpose of promoting economic development by acquiring property for development. | |
| New Broad Program | A2314 (Ra) | Referred to Real Property Taxation 1/3/2018 (A) | Provides property tax exemptions for development on vacant land, depending on the value of improvements and ranging from 25% to 50% for 5 to 10 years, and a deduction for small business relocation to these properties. | |
| New Broad Program | A2348A (Thiele ) S2999A (Lavalle) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) Passed Senate 5/2/2018 |
Provides financial assistance to small business for pollution prevention, control and compliance. | |
| New Broad Program | A2457 (Lavine) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Authorizes creation of small business tax-deferred savings accounts. Money may be withdrawn tax free only to create full-time jobs. | |
| New Broad Program | A3284 (Thiele) S795 (Alcantara) | Referred to Small Business 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Provides zero and low interest loans or loan interest rate reduction for energy improvement projects to stimulate growth and development of small businesses. | |
| New Broad Program | A5423 (Kolb) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Enacts the Small Business Full Employment Act, consisting of several tax credits and reductions. | |
| New Broad Program | A5679 (Kolb) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates the Bizboom program, which consists of a series of tax incentives for new businesses. | |
| New Broad Program | A5922 (Kolb) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates the New York State Cornerstone Program and Discovery Program, which provide tax benefits for businesses retaining or creating jobs and reduces the Corporate Franchise Tax and Insurance Corporations Tax. | |
| New Broad Program | A6105A (Kolb) S3392A (Gallivan) | Amended 3/20/18 (A) Passed Senate 5/2/2018 |
Establishes the GrowNY pilot program, an "economic gardening" pilot program within the department of economic development. Would authorize $500,000 annual grants for a period of 5 years to entities capable of giving technical assistance to growing businesses. | $10 |
| New Broad Program | A6175A (Schimminger) S622A (Boyle) | Passed Assembly 3/5/2018 Passed Senate 4/18/2018 |
Authorizes ESD to develop a public awareness campaign promoting businesses located in New York State and publish a Buy New York Online Networking Directory. | |
| New Broad Program | A8049A (Fahy) S4090B (Akshar) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Investigations & Government Operations 1/3/2018 (S) |
Establishes a job creation tax credit of $750 for each new full-time position created, up to 30 positions per tax year, plus an additional $750 for positions in manufacturing or processing using agricultural commodities. | |
| New Broad Program | A9671 (Buchwald) S7546 (Funke) | Referred to Small Business 1/31/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/23/2018 (S) |
Establishes the New York State Innovation Voucher Program. Vouchers would serve as matching funds for small businesses to use with research and development organizations such as universities and national laboratories. | |
| New Broad Program | A10233 (Wallace) S7769 (Kennedy) | Referred to Energy 3/26/2018 (A) Referred to Energy and Telecommunications 2/21/2018 (S) |
Creates a Take Charge New York program, in which awardees receive a microgrid and pay back the New York Power Authority and microgrid provider for the cost of microgrid installation through the value of the energy saved. | |
| New Broad Program | S1842 (Kennedy) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Establishes the Capital Investment Jobs Retention Program, a refundable tax credit for eligible businesses making significant capital investments and retaining jobs. | |
| New Broad Program | S2691 (Breslin) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Establishes the Transitional Green Development Program to assist upstate communities with coordinating their natural, cultural, and historical resources into a development plan. | $2 |
| New Broad Program | S3420 (Parker) | Referred to Investigations & Government Operations 1/3/2018 (S) | Provides a tax credit for any business creating new jobs, equal to half the new income tax revenue created as a result of the jobs created, for up to 10 years. Employment must be maintained for twice the term of the tax credit and may be clawed back for failure to comply. | |
| New Targeted Program | A550 ( Rosenthal L) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Establishes Regional Farmers' Markets Facilities Construction Program to offer construction grants to farmers. | |
| New Targeted Program | A674 (Rodriguez ) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Establishes economic grant program for the Second Avenue Subway construction project area. | |
| New Targeted Program | A816 (Crouch) | Referred to Small Business 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates pilot to train and counsel small retail business owners and potential small business owners, makes appropriation. | $0.21 |
| New Targeted Program | A932 (Bichotte) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates a grant program for school districts, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, other entities to prepare students for postsecondary STEM education and careers. | |
| New Targeted Program | A1157 (Rozic) S5228 (Stavisky) | Referred to Higher Education 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) |
Creates the Community College High-Technology Investment Program (C-CHIP), which would award grants to community colleges to improve laboratory or other facilities to provide technology education and occupation-specific training. | |
| New Targeted Program | A1709 (Mosley) S2196 (Parker) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) |
Creates the New York incubator network, authorizes grants. | |
| New Targeted Program | A1801 (Morelle) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates the New York State Biomedical and Biotechnological Translational Research and Entrepreneurship Initiative. | |
| New Targeted Program | A2762 (Butler) | Held for Consideration in Economic Development 4/17/2018 (A) | Establishes an online registry to highlight products manufactured or produced in New York State, and requires ESD to create a product label for products made in New York. | |
| New Targeted Program | A2804 (Thiele) S6855 (Bailey) | Passed Assembly 3/19/2018 Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Creates microbusiness worker cooperatives, authorizes loans and loan subsidies. | |
| New Targeted Program | A2805 (Thiele) S3804 (Bailey) | Passed Assembly 3/19/2018 Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) |
Replaces Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers. | |
| New Targeted Program | A2860 (Thiele) | Referred to Small Business 1/3/2018 (A) | Enacts HIRE NY act, provides loans for microbusiness hiring. | $20 |
| New Targeted Program | A3069 (Ryan) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates a restaurant and hotel renovation tax incentive. | |
| New Targeted Program | A3488 (Ryan) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Establishes the Biosciences Commercialization Assistance Fund. | |
| New Targeted Program | A3767 (Quart) S6892 (Kennedy) | Passed Assembly 3/19/18 Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) |
Creates the Microenterprise Development Fund. | $1.5 |
| New Targeted Program | A4124 (Thiele) | Referred to Ways & Means 2/6/2018 (A) | Creates the Microbusiness Outreach Center Assistance Program and Microbusiness Outreach Center. | |
| New Targeted Program | A4411 (Magee) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates Young Farmers Fund with grants of up $50,000 per young farmer. | |
| New Targeted Program | A4812 (Blankenbush) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Establishes revolving loan program to provide low-interest loans to farmers in Jefferson, Oswego, and St. Lawrence counties to upgrade electricity. | |
| New Targeted Program | A4963 (Rosenthal L) | Referred to Ways & Means 2/28/2018 (A) | Creates STEM grant program for women and minorities. | |
| New Targeted Program | A4993 (Giglio) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Establishes tax credit of up to 25% for small businesses with less than 15 employees located in villages or cities with fewer than 35,000 people. | |
| New Targeted Program | A5605 (Norris) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Creates one-time tax credit for manufacturing companies with a presence in the state that bring from outside of the state more than 50 employees. Credit would be equal to 2.5% of salaries of the relocated jobs. | |
| New Targeted Program | A6936 (Kolb) | Referred to Ways & Means 1/3/2018 (A) | Enacts Work-NY, consisting of several tax credits and reductions. | |
| New Targeted Program | A7295A (Magee) S2480A (Ritchie) | Amended 3/8/2018 (A) Amended 2/23/2018 (S) |
Provides grants and low interest loans of up to $100,000 to dairy farms who make energy efficient improvements. | |
| New Targeted Program | A7434 (Blake) S2870 (Parker) | Referred to Small Business 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Enacts the HIRE NY act to provide zero-interest loans for hiring by microbusinesses (less than 5 employees). | |
| New Targeted Program | A8001 (Thiele) S3441 (Serrano) | Referred to Tourism, Parks, Arts & Sports Development 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) |
Establishes grants to open and operate bicycle kiosks in order to promote bicycle tourism in New York State. | $0.30 |
| New Targeted Program | A8292 (Seawright) S3362 (Krueger) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) Referred to Corporations, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) |
Establishes grant program to fund kitchen incubators/shared-use kitchen facilities established by nonprofit or government sponsors to support small-scale food manufacturing. | |
| New Targeted Program | A8543 (Kolb) | Referred to Economic Development 1/3/2018 (A) | Establishes the Manufacturing Preservation and Enhancement Act, including multiple tax credits. | |
| New Targeted Program | A9524 (Kim) S7423 (Avella) | Referred to Ways and Means 5/1/2018 (A) Passed Senate 3/27/18 |
Provides grants and flexible financing programs to dry cleaning and nail specialty businesses to comply with codes and ventilation requirements. Effective after 90 days. | |
| New Targeted Program | A9543 (Thiele) S7543 (LaValle) | Referred to Ways and Means 5/1/2018 (A) Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/23/2018 (S) |
Creates the Main Street Center Grant Program, for renovations at small businesses, and expands services to microbusinesses (fewer than five employees). | |
| New Targeted Program | A9872 (Pichardo) | Referred to Small Business 2/16/2018 (A) | Provides small businesses with grants up to $100,000 to incentivize commercialization of energy and environmental technology innovations. | |
| New Targeted Program | S2332 (Alcantara) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Creates the Mobile High-Technology Training Facilities Program. | |
| New Targeted Program | S2963 (Helming) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Creates the Restaurant Renovation Tax Incentive Program. | |
| New Targeted Program | S4685 (Sanders) | Referred to Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business 1/3/2018 (S) | Establishes the Manufacturing Development Zone Program and associated tax credits. | |
| New Targeted Program | S4727A (Seward) | Amended 1/29/2018 (S) | Provides tax credit to insurance corporations that invest in rural business growth funds; establishes the New York Agriculture and Rural Jobs Fund. | |
| New Targeted Program | S5186 (Carlucci) | Committed to Finance 3/6/2018 (S) | Permits the creation of a "Made by New Yorkers" label and registry and creates the Made by New Yorkers Fund to issue grants to small or medium businesses expanding operations. | |
| New Targeted Program | S5685A (Bailey) | Amended 1/22/18 (S) | Establishes the Center for Employee Ownership, authorizes the creation of a trust fund and loans from the trust fund. | |
| New Targeted Program | S5923B (Peralta) | Referred to Corporation, Authorities & Commissions 1/3/2018 (S) | Provides grants and flexible financing programs to dry cleaning and nail specialty businesses to comply with codes and ventilation requirements. Effective after 180 days. |
Footnotes
- Riley Edwards and David Friedfel, Increasing Without Evidence: NYC Economic Development Spending Update (Citizens Budget Commission, September 2016), https://cbcny.org/research/increasing-without-evidence.
- This is the sum of the amounts reported in the “Fiscal Implications” section of each bill’s sponsor memo. Some are actual appropriations, while others are the estimated cost of tax expenditures or of future appropriations not made in the bill itself.
- Riley Edwards, A Blueprint for Economic Development Reform (Citizens Budget Commission, March 2017), https://cbcny.org/research/blueprint-economic-development-reform.