Assembly Passes Legislative Package
To Benefit Small Businesses

Multi-bill package seeks to benefit state's largest employer and encourage new entrepreneurs

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Small Business Committee Chair Mark Weprin (D-Queens) today announced, in celebration of Small Business Day, passage of a comprehensive sixteen-bill legislative package aimed at helping small businesses be competitive, productive and profitable in New York State.

"Our small business community contributes to the economic vitality of New York State as our number one source of employment. This legislative package aims to not only help our state's small businesses stay competitive in this fast changing market, but will also strengthen our state overall," said Silver. "Small businesses continue to be the backbone of our economy and provide essential benefits, investments and employment opportunities to communities across our state. The Assembly Majority is committed to making sure these businesses continue to grow and thrive."

"Small business is the driving force that fuels New York State's economy. I am committed to continuing our work in the Assembly to enhance these businesses by giving them access to resources they need to grow and expand in our state," said Weprin.

A key goal of the Assembly package is to create a micro business outreach center to provide firms that employ less than five employees with the knowledge and tools they need to be competitive. Under the bill (A.2766/Weprin), individuals without access to traditional sources of finance could access the centers for information about business plans, loan programs and how to operate a business.

The package also looks to increase the availability of low interest loans to small businesses and authorize credit unions to participate in the state's Excelsior Linked Deposit Program. The program provides incentives for financial institutions to make available business loans at a percentage lower than the prevailing rate. This program is aimed at helping small businesses access capital from a variety of financial institutions (A.3205/Sweeney).

The Assembly legislation includes an effort that would address the rising cost of energy to help small businesses become more energy-efficient in order to stimulate growth and create more job opportunities. The bill would establish zero and low-interest-loan programs for energy improvement projects (A.5494/Weprin).

Other bills in the Assembly's package would:

• Provide state assistance to aid in the expansion of small businesses (A.9129/Weprin);

• Require state economic development agencies to provide preferences to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the programs that they administer (A.6906/Koon);

• Create a grant program to foster the growth of niche markets for food-processing businesses (A.2877-A/Towns);

• Provide start-up and expansion funding for not-for-profit sponsors of small-scale food processing facilities to foster entrepreneurship, job development, and community revitalization (A.3680-A/Cook); and

• Require deferred installment payment plans be offered to small businesses for telephone service installation, initiation and nonrecurring maintenance charges (A.4678/Koon).

Many of the bills devoted to small-business legislation are designed to aid minority- and women-owned businesses, in particular:

• Establish a procedure requiring state agencies and authorities to submit a plan to include more participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses on state contracts (A.1311-A/Brodsky);

• Increase money for the Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) program by requiring the state comptroller to establish an implementation fund (A.2204-A/Millman);

• Require free, daily on-line publication of New York State contract reports to expand the notification of business opportunities to MWBE members (A.2293-A/Millman);

• Improve outreach efforts of the Department of Economic Development's (DED) Divisions for Small Business and Minority and Women's Business Development (A.2329-A/Millman);

• Provide dispensation for performance and payment bonds for certain contracts with small, minority or women-owned businesses (requires advertisement of dispensation) (A.3329-A/Millman);

• Require New York agencies to post contractor utilization plans on their web sites to ensure MWBE members get the work promised to them (A.3330/Millman);

• Establish a mentor-protégé program for small minority-and women-owned businesses (A.3392/Millman); and

• Improve the MWBE program by encouraging joint ventures, partnerships and mentor-protégé relationships between prime contractors and minority- and women-owned business enterprises, as well as evaluating the effective implementation of the MWBE program (A.4498/Cook).