§ 139 — Advisory panel on employee-owned enterprises

* § 139. Advisory panel on employee-owned enterprises. 1. Definition.\nAs used in this section, the term "employee-owned enterprise" shall mean\na business in which the employees control the majority of the voting\nstock, or if the business is held in a trust which controls the majority\nof the voting stock, the trustees are elected by the employees. The term\n"employee-owned enterprise" shall also refer to a worker cooperative as\ndefined in section eighty-one of the cooperative corporations law.\n 2. Establishment of advisory panel. An advisory panel is hereby\ncreated within the department for the purpose of reviewing state laws\nand programs in order to report and make recommendations on how best to\nsupport existing employee-owned enterprises, promoting the formation of\nnew employee-owned enterprises, and promoting the continued growth of\nsuch businesses in the state.\n 3. Composition of advisory panel. (a) The advisory panel shall consist\nof thirteen members, including:\n (i) the commissioner, or his or her designee, who shall be designated\nas chair of the advisory panel;\n (ii) the commissioner of labor, or his or her designee;\n (iii) the commissioner of tax and finance, or his or her designee; and\n (iv) ten members to be appointed as follows: four shall be appointed\nby the governor, two shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly,\ntwo shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, one\nshall be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly, and one shall\nbe appointed by the minority leader of the senate. Such appointed\nmembers shall represent entities and organizations with expertise\nrelated to employee-owned enterprises or business development,\nparticularly those with an emphasis on small businesses, minority and\nwomen-owned businesses, and veteran-owned businesses, including, but not\nlimited to:\n (1) employee-owned enterprises;\n (2) employee-owned enterprise advocacy, service, support, or\ndevelopment organizations;\n (3) business development organizations;\n (4) New York state college and university programs with expertise in\nbusiness development;\n (5) commercial lending organizations focusing on access to capital and\ncommunity development; and\n (6) labor organizations.\n (b) Each member of the panel shall serve at the pleasure of the\nappointing authority, and any vacancy on the panel shall be filled in\nthe same manner as the original appointment. Such panel members shall\nserve without compensation except that such members shall be entitled to\nreimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in such\nservice.\n 4. Powers and duties of the advisory panel. The advisory panel shall:\n (a) identify and recommend strategies to promote the creation and\ndevelopment of new employee-owned enterprises in order to create new\njobs and retain existing jobs within the state;\n (b) identify and recommend strategies to facilitate the creation of\nemployee-owned enterprises that promote the continuation of existing\nbusinesses either as part of a pre-existing business succession of\nownership plan or as an alternative option if a business is being\noffered for sale or transfer by the current owner or the heirs or estate\nof a deceased owner;\n (c) evaluate the effectiveness of current state and local training and\nassistance programs designed to provide support to employee-owned\nenterprises, and make recommendations as to how to more effectively\nutilize these programs and resources to support such enterprises;\n (d) examine and identify state and local laws and regulations relating\nto the governance and administration of employee-owned enterprises and\ntheir effect on the creation, retention, and growth of such enterprises;\n (e) examine and identify other successful federal, state and local\nprograms designed to provide support to employee-owned enterprises,\nincluding any programs currently underutilized by individuals seeking to\nestablish an employee-owned enterprise in the state;\n (f) evaluate the ability of new and existing employee-owned\nenterprises to acquire the capital necessary to form, expand, and\ndevelop their operations;\n (g) evaluate the role of immigrants and new Americans, minorities,\nwomen, and veterans in the formation of employee-owned enterprises;\n (h) evaluate the potential for employee-owned enterprises to assist in\nthe revitalization and redevelopment of economically disadvantaged\ncommunities; and\n (i) recommend a set of best practices and policies as a guide for\nindividuals to use when forming an employee-owned enterprise, and make\nsuch guide publicly available on the department's website.\n 5. Reporting. The advisory panel shall issue a report no later than\nJune thirtieth, two thousand twenty-six outlining the findings and\nrecommendations of the panel. The report shall be delivered to the\ngovernor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the\nsenate, the minority leader of the assembly, the minority leader of the\nsenate, the chair of the assembly committee on ways and means, the chair\nof the senate committee on finance, the chair of the assembly committee\non economic development, the chair of the assembly committee on small\nbusiness, the chair of the senate committee on commerce, economic\ndevelopment, and small business, the chair of the assembly committee on\nlabor, and the chair of the senate committee on labor.\n * NB Repealed October 1, 2026\n