§ 134 — Powers and duties of the division for small-business

§ 134. Powers and duties of the division for small-business. The\ndivision shall have the power and duty to:\n 1. coordinate the activities of all state agencies performing\nfunctions affecting the operation of small-businesses in the state;\n 2. receive complaints of operators of small-businesses and refer them\nto the appropriate federal, state or local agency authorized by law for\nappropriate action on such complaints;\n 3. advise and make recommendations to the commissioner on matters\naffecting the small-businesses of the state and promote and encourage\nthe protection of the legitimate interests of small-businesses within\nthe state;\n 4. conduct investigations, research, studies and analyses of matters\naffecting the interests of small-businesses;\n 5. represent the interests of small-businesses in the state before\nfederal, state and local administrative and regulatory agencies;\n 6. study the operation of the laws affecting small-businesses and\nrecommend to the commissioner new laws and amendments of laws for the\nbenefit of small-businesses;\n 7. review pending legislation affecting small-businesses and report\nits findings to the commissioner; and\n 8. initiate and encourage small-business education programs in general\nand to coordinate with the functions of the office of general services\nan information and outreach program directed toward informing\nsmall-businesses in the state of procedures necessary for competing for\nstate purchases and to coordinate with the functions of every state\nagency, department or authority described in section one hundred\nthirty-nine-g of the state finance law, pursuant to subdivision (b) of\nsection one hundred thirty-nine-g of the state finance law, an\ninformation and outreach program directed toward informing\nsmall-businesses in the state of procedures necessary for competing for\nstate contracts, including without limitation educating small\ncontractors about surety bonding requirements on state contracts, and\nidentifying resources available to such contractors in obtaining their\nfirst bond and in increasing their bonding capacity, including but not\nlimited to the federal small business administration bond guarantee\nprogram.\n 9. the commissioner and the commissioners of agriculture and markets\nand the office of general services shall initiate and encourage\nsmall-business education programs and coordinate with the functions of\nthe office of general services, pursuant to subdivision (b) of section\none hundred sixty-one-b of the state finance law, an information and\noutreach program directed toward informing eligible businesses in the\nstate of procedures necessary for competing for purchases of food\nproducts pursuant to section one hundred seventy-four-a of the state\nfinance law and subdivision eight-a of section one hundred three of the\ngeneral municipal law, and to coordinate with the functions of every\nstate agency or department described in subdivision (b) of section one\nhundred thirty-nine-g of the state finance law, an information and\noutreach program directed toward informing eligible businesses in the\nstate of procedures necessary for competing for contracts for the\npurchase of food products pursuant to section one hundred seventy-four-a\nof the state finance law and subdivision eight-a of section one hundred\nthree of the general municipal law.\n 10. conduct a survey of all business incubators in the state and\nassess the need for additional incubator facilities to nurture the\ngrowth and development of small businesses.\n 11. provide assistance to small business in the state, and facilitate\naccess to programs serving small business, to ensure that such\nbusinesses benefit, as needed, from technical, managerial, financial,\nand general business assistance; training; marketing; organization and\npersonnel skill development; project management assistance; technology\nassistance; bond and insurance education assistance; online marketplace\nlending awareness and assistance; and other business development\nassistance. In addition, either independently or in conjunction with\nother state agencies:\n (a) develop a clearinghouse of information on programs and services\nprovided by entities that may assist such businesses;\n (b) seek to maximize utilization by small businesses of available\nfederal resources including but not limited to federal grants, loans,\nloan guarantees, surety bonding guarantees, technical assistance, and\nprograms and services of the federal small business administration; and\n (c) develop and implement, in conjunction with the department of\nfinancial services, a small business online marketplace lending\neducation and outreach campaign to educate businesses in plain-language\nas to the true costs associated with obtaining loans from online\nmarketplace lenders including true and up-front transparent pricing and\nterms, the disclosure of annualized percentage rates, interest rates,\nfees and charges; disclosure of terms for repayment, early repayment,\nand refinancing of a loan and any penalties that may be applied; and any\nother information that is deemed necessary by the department of economic\ndevelopment. The department of economic development shall develop and\nimplement a plan to distribute such information to small business\nowners, including but not limited to, printed material, publication on\nthe internet and through coordination with other state entities that\nroutinely interact with small businesses in this state. The department\nof economic development shall make translations of all educational\nmaterials available in languages other than English, including the six\nmost common non-English languages spoken by individuals in this state.\n 12. compile an annual report on the state of small businesses,\nparticularly those with twenty-five employees or less which shall be\nknown as micro-businesses under this subdivision. The commissioner\nshall, on or before June first, two thousand fourteen and annually\nthereafter, submit to the governor, the temporary president of the\nsenate and the speaker of the assembly a report that shall include, but\nnot be limited to, the following information for each calendar year:\n (a) the growth and economic trends of small businesses which may be\ncategorized by various small business sizes and/or sectors;\n (b) an analysis of relevant and available employment, statistical and\neconomic data of the various small business sectors throughout New York\nstate, which may be categorized by various small business sizes;\n (c) suggestions to improve the efficiency of existing loan programs;\n (d) suggestions to improve small business growth;\n (e) statistical and economic analysis of the state of small businesses\nby various small business sizes and/or sectors; and\n (f) identification and review of the local and state regulations,\nfines and penalties particular to small businesses which may be\ncategorized by various small business sizes and/or sectors.\n The division shall collaborate with other state and local agencies to\ndevelop the annual report. The office shall maintain and publish such\ninformation on the small business directory webpage in a manner that\nallows individuals to search the report by name, date, or type of\nstatistics. The format of the annual report shall be developed in\nconsultation with various small business owners to ensure the\ninformation collected, analyzed, and published for the purposes of this\nsubdivision is representative of all small businesses in the state.\n