§ 224-C — Public subsidy board

§ 224-c. Public subsidy board. 1. A board on public subsidies,\nhereinafter "the board", is hereby created, to consist of thirteen\nmembers. The thirteen members shall be appointed by the governor as\nfollows: one member upon the recommendation of the temporary president\nof the senate, one member upon the recommendation of the speaker of the\nassembly, the commissioner, the president of the empire state\ndevelopment corporation, the director of the division of the budget, two\nmembers representing employees in the construction industry, of whom one\nshall be a representative of the largest statewide trade labor\nassociation representing building and construction workers, and one\nshall be a representative of the largest trade labor association\nrepresenting building and construction workers with membership in New\nYork City, and two members representing employers in the construction\nindustry, of whom one shall be a representative of the largest statewide\norganization representing building owners and developers, either\nfor-profit or not-for-profit, and one shall be a representative of a\nstatewide organization representing building owners and developers,\neither for-profit or not-for-profit, representing a region different\nthan the region primarily represented by the initial employer\nrepresentative. The commissioner shall act as the chair. The members\nshall serve at the pleasure of the authority recommending, designating,\nor otherwise appointing such member and shall serve without salary or\ncompensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in\nthe performance of their duties.\n 2. The board shall meet on an as needed basis and shall have the power\nto conduct public hearings. The board may also consult with employers\nand employees, and their respective representatives, in the construction\nindustry and with such other persons, including the commissioner, as it\nshall determine. No public officer or employee appointed to the board\nshall forfeit any position or office by virtue of appointment to such\nboard. Any proceedings of the board which relate to a particular\nindividual or project shall be confidential.\n 3. The board may examine and make recommendations regarding the\nfollowing:\n (a) the minimum threshold percentage of public funds set forth in\nsubdivision one of section two hundred twenty-four-a of this article,\nbut no lower than that which is set forth in such subdivision;\n (b) the minimum dollar threshold of projects set forth in subdivision\none of section two hundred twenty-four-a of this article, but no lower\nthan that which is set forth in such subdivision;\n (c) construction work excluded as a covered project, as set forth in\nsubparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph c of subdivision four of\nsection two hundred twenty-four-a of this article;\n (d) the definition of construction for purposes of section two hundred\ntwenty-four-a of this article; or\n (e) particular instances of benefits, monies or credits as to whether\nor not they should constitute public funds.\n 4. Prior to making any recommendation intended to apply to all\nprojects, the board shall hold a public hearing. The board shall\nannounce each public hearing at least fifteen days in advance. The\nannouncement shall contain an agenda of the topics the board will\ndiscuss. At each hearing, the board may hear testimony and/or review\nwritten documents from any interested stakeholders related to the\nplanned agenda of the meeting. The board shall make any such\nrecommendations in writing. In making its recommendations, the board\nshall examine the impact of such thresholds and circumstances on private\ndevelopment in light of available public subsidies, existing labor\nmarket conditions, prevailing wage and supplement practices, and shall\nconsider the extent to which adjustments to such thresholds and\ncircumstances could ameliorate adverse impacts, if any, or expand\nopportunities for prevailing wage and supplement standards on publicly\nsubsidized private construction projects in any region or regions of the\nstate.\n 5. The board shall be empowered to issue binding determinations to any\npublic entity, or any private or not-for-profit owner or developer as to\nany particular matter related to an existing or potential covered\nproject. In such instances the board shall make a determination based\nupon documents, or testimony, or both in its sole discretion. Any such\nproceedings shall be confidential, except that publication of such\ndecisions shall be made available on the department's website, subject\nto redaction or confidentiality as the board shall deem warranted in\naccordance with any applicable federal or state statutory or regulatory\nrequirement governing confidentiality and personal privacy.\n 6. Any recommendation rendered by the board pursuant to this section\nshall be subject to the provisions of article seventy-eight of the civil\npractice law and rules.\n 7. In the event that the board finds that there is or likely would be\na significant negative economic impact of implementing the prevailing\nwage requirements provided for in section two hundred twenty-four-a of\nthis article, the board may temporarily delay the implementation of such\nrequirements beyond January first, two thousand twenty-two. Such a delay\nmay be effective statewide or effective only in a region of the state as\ndefined by the regional economic development councils. In making such a\ndetermination to delay, the board shall consult the department, the\ndepartment's division of research and statistics, the United States\ndepartment of labor, the federal reserve bank of New York and other\neconomic experts. The board will reference well-established economic\nindexes and accepted economic factors tied to the construction industry,\nincluding but not limited to construction industry employment, wages,\nand overall construction activity.\n