§ 212 — Purposes, powers and operation

§ 212. Purposes, powers and operation. 1. (a) The purposes of such\ncorporation shall be to assist, promote, encourage and, through the\ncooperative efforts of the institutions and corporations which shall,\nfrom time to time, become members thereof, develop and advance the\nbusiness prosperity and economic welfare of the state; to encourage and\nassist in the location of new business and industry in the state and to\nrehabilitate and retain existing business and industry; to stimulate and\nassist in the expansion of all kinds of business activity which will\ntend to promote the business development and maintain the economic\nstability of the state, provided maximum opportunities for employment,\nencourage thrift and improve the standard of living of the citizens of\nthe state; to cooperate and act in conjunction with other organizations,\npublic or private, the objects of which are the promotion and\nadvancement of industrial, commercial, agricultural and recreational\ndevelopments in the state; to furnish money and credit to approved and\ndeserving applicants, for the promotion, development and conduct of all\nkinds of business activity in the state, thereby establishing a source\nof credit not otherwise readily available; and to provide financial\nassistance in the form of loans to small businesses unable to obtain\nfinancing from other private sources, including, but not limited to,\nassistance to women and minority-owned business enterprises and small\nbusinesses located in economically distressed areas. For the purposes of\nthis article, "economically distressed areas" shall mean areas\ndetermined by the commissioner of the department of economic development\non the basis of criteria indicative of economic distress, including\npoverty rates, numbers of persons receiving public assistance,\nunemployment rates, rate of employment decline, population loss, rate of\nper capita income change, decline in economic activity and private\ninvestment, and such other indicators as the commissioner deems\nappropriate. Economically distressed areas may include cities,\nmunicipalities, block numbering areas, and census tracts.\n (b) The corporation shall undertake the following programs in\nfurtherance of the above objectives: (i) establish regional offices at\nlocations throughout New York, with sufficient staffing to advise,\ndevelop and package financial assistance for small and medium sized\nbusinesses; (ii) develop a comprehensive outreach program to increase\nthe visibility and awareness of the corporation's programs, including\nallocating budget and staff to establish and maintain an aggressive and\nextensive marketing program of the corporation's program of assistance\nto small and medium sized businesses, providing for specific outreach to\nminority and women-owned enterprises, and entering into cooperative\nrelationships with local chambers of commerce, local development\nagencies, local development corporations and other community based\nfinancial intermediaries as set forth in subdivision three of this\nsection; (iii) establish and operate, or affiliate with a small business\ninvestment company and a specialized small business investment company;\n(iv) establish a pilot export financing program, using personnel from\nthe private sector, to evaluate whether the corporation can play a\nsignificant role in the growth of the export industry in the state and\n(v) establish a program in cooperation with the empire state development\ncorporation that shall focus on small businesses located in highly\ndistressed areas and minority and women-owned business enterprises\n(MWBEs) as such designations are defined by the New York state urban\ndevelopment corporation act, through which the corporation shall be\nauthorized to: (A) act as third-party agent for the capital access\nprogram established by section sixteen-k of section one of chapter one\nhundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-eight,\nconstituting the urban development corporation act; (B) process, fund\nand approve qualifying program loans made by the corporation or a\nparticipating financial institution pursuant to section sixteen-k of\nsection one of chapter one hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen\nhundred sixty-eight, constituting the urban development corporation act;\n(C) maintain and service a portfolio of qualifying loans made pursuant\nto the capital access program; and (D) engage in outreach and marketing\nto financial institutions to increase awareness of the program\nestablished under this subparagraph. The corporation shall undertake the\nprograms enumerated herein at such times as its board of directors\ndetermines that the corporation's capital base and available funds are\nadequate to support the operation of such program. The programs\nenumerated herein may be modified by the corporation as may be necessary\nto meet the changing needs of the state's economy, as determined by the\nboard of directors.\n 2. In furtherance of the purposes set forth in subdivision one of this\nsection, and in addition to the powers conferred on stock corporations\nby general laws, such corporation shall, subject to the restrictions and\nlimitations contained in this article, have the following powers:\n (a) To borrow money and otherwise incur indebtedness for any of its\npurposes; to issue its bonds, debentures, notes or other evidences of\nindebtedness, whether secured or unsecured, therefor; and to secure the\nsame by mortgage, pledge, deed of trust or other lien on its property,\nfranchises, rights and privileges of every kind and nature or any part\nthereof.\n (b) To assist, promote, encourage and through the cooperative efforts\nof the institutions and corporations which shall, from time to time,\nbecome members thereof, develop and advance the business prosperity and\neconomic welfare of the state; to encourage and assist in the location\nof new business and industry in the state and to rehabilitate existing\nbusiness and industry; to evaluate, assess and determine the value of a\npatent right and to take, sell or transfer an agreement or note pursuant\nto section five hundred fifty of the general business law, to lend money\nto, and to guarantee, endorse, or act as surety on the bonds, notes,\ncontracts, or other obligations of, or otherwise assist financially, any\nperson, firm, corporation or association, and to establish and regulate\nthe terms and conditions with respect to any such loans or financial\nassistance and the charges for interest and service connected therewith;\nprovided, however, that it shall not be the intention hereof to take\nfrom banking organizations any such loans or commitments as may be\ndesired by such organizations generally in the ordinary course of their\nbusiness.\n (c) To purchase, receive, hold, lease, or otherwise acquire, and to\nsell, convey, mortgage, lease, pledge, or otherwise dispose of, upon\nsuch terms and conditions as its board of directors may deem advisable,\nreal and personal property, together with such rights and privileges as\nmay be incidental and appurtenant thereto and the use thereof,\nincluding, but not restricted to, any real or personal property acquired\nby such corporation from time to time in the satisfaction of debts or\nenforcement of obligations.\n (d) To acquire the good will, business, rights, real and personal\nproperty and other assets, or any part thereof, of such persons, firms,\ncorporations, joint stock companies, associations or trusts as may be in\nfurtherance of the corporate purposes provided herein, and to assume,\nundertake, guarantee or pay the obligations, debts and liabilities of\nany such person, firm, corporation, joint stock company, association or\ntrust; to acquire improved or unimproved real estate for the purpose of\nconstructing industrial plants or other business establishments thereon\nor for the purpose of disposing of such real estate to others for the\nconstruction of industrial plants or other business establishments, and,\nin furtherance of the corporate purposes provided herein, to acquire,\nconstruct, or reconstruct, alter, repair, maintain, operate, sell,\nlease, or otherwise dispose of industrial plants or business\nestablishments.\n (e) To acquire, subscribe for, own, hold, sell, assign, transfer,\nmortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of the stock, shares, bonds,\ndebentures, notes or other securities and evidences of interest in, or\nindebtedness of, any person, firm, corporation, joint stock company,\nassociation or trust, and while the owner or holder thereof, to exercise\nall the rights, powers and privileges of ownership, including the right\nto vote thereon.\n (f) To cooperate with and avail itself of the facilities of the state\ndepartment of commerce and any other government agencies; and to\ncooperate with and assist, and otherwise encourage, local organizations\nin the various communities in the state in the promotion, assistance and\ndevelopment of the business prosperity and economic welfare of such\ncommunities and of the state.\n (g) (1) To acquire a patent right or any part thereof, from such\npersons, firms, corporations, joint stock companies, associations or\ntrusts as may be in furtherance of the corporate purposes provided\nherein; (2) to assume, undertake, guarantee or pay the obligations,\ndebts and liabilities of any such person, firm, corporation, joint stock\ncompany, association or trust; (3) to set forth specific criteria and\nstandards by which the corporation shall evaluate the patent and the\nvalue of patent rights evolving from that patent; and (4) to allow\nownership of the patent to remain with the borrower and to accept a\npercentage of the patent rights as collateral on a loan for capital\nformation of a business.\n (h) With respect to funds administered by the corporation, to obtain\nloan guarantees from any state or federal program to guarantee loans\nmade to small businesses by the corporation with such funds.\n 3. The corporation may contract or otherwise affiliate with local\ndevelopment corporations and other local development organizations\ncertified for this purpose by the commissioner of the department of\neconomic development throughout the state, including, but not limited\nto, not-for-profit corporations established pursuant to article nine of\nthe economic development law, to market the programs of the corporation\nto small and medium sized businesses, to provide technical, financial\npackaging and loan application assistance to business owners seeking\nfinancial assistance from the corporation, including but not limited to\nminority owned business enterprises and small and medium sized\nbusinesses located in economically distressed areas.\n