§ 16-L — Rural revitalization program

§ 16-l. Rural revitalization program. 1. Statement of legislative\nintent. The legislature finds that vast areas of rural New York state\nshow signs of severe economic distress and lag behind the rest of the\nstate in employment growth and income, with the gap widening with\npassing years. Poverty in many rural areas is pervasive, with the poor\noften outnumbering the affluent.\n The legislature further finds that rural communities in New York state\nneed immediate assistance to develop the capacity to plan and organize\nfor economic development, to undertake new economic development\ninitiatives, to overcome obstacles to economic development and to fully\nutilize indigenous resources to provide rural residents with economic\nopportunities.\n The legislature further finds that, to begin to address these needs, a\ncatalyst is needed to stimulate and encourage innovative economic\ndevelopment alternatives to declining employment in the agricultural and\nmanufacturing sectors.\n The legislature further finds that, while agriculture is considered to\nbe a major New York industry, state economic development financing\nprograms do not treat agriculture as an industrial sector, and financing\nis not available to provide farmers with assistance to become more\ncompetitive in national and international markets.\n Therefore, the legislature declares that the revitalization of the\nstate's rural economy is essential to New York's economic health and\nthat state assistance in this regard is necessary and proper for\nachieving this public purpose.\n 2. Rural revitalization assistance grants. (a) The corporation is\nauthorized, within available appropriations in the empire state economic\ndevelopment fund established pursuant to section 16-i of this act, to\naward grants or enter into contracts for services, on a competitive\nbasis in response to requests for proposals, to eligible entities and\norganizations as set forth in this subdivision to support community\neconomic development programs and activities which increase or retain\nemployment opportunities in rural New York state and otherwise\ncontribute to the revitalization of local rural areas which are\neconomically distressed through innovative activities designed to\ngenerate economic alternatives and opportunities in rural areas.\n (b) Grants and contracts made by the corporation pursuant to this\nsubdivision shall be subject to the following limitations:\n (i) no such grant shall exceed one hundred thousand dollars per year,\nexcept that for the purpose of paragraph (f) of this subdivision, no\nsuch grant shall exceed fifty thousand dollars.\n (ii) the corporation shall enter into no more than one grant per year\nper application under this subdivision.\n (c) Preference shall be given to programs which meet highly distressed\narea criteria or which support empire zones established pursuant to\narticle 18-B of the general municipal law; provide a local match; meet a\nsubstantial local or regional need; complement local programs or provide\nservices not readily available from units of local government or the\nprivate sector.\n (d) For the purposes of this subdivision, "rural area" shall mean a\nrural area as defined in subdivision 7 of section 481 of the executive\nlaw.\n (e) Not-for-profit corporations, agricultural cooperative\ncorporations, public benefit corporations and educational institutions\nserving rural areas, shall be eligible to apply for support under this\nsubdivision for the following activities, provided, however, that the\nsum total of grants received by any one eligible entity does not exceed\ntwo hundred fifty thousand dollars in any one year:\n (i) innovative activities and programs designed to encourage\nvalue-added small business development and growth in rural areas,\nincluding cottage and crafts industries; group marketing of local\nproducts; women-owned industries; natural resources development; and\ntourism. Such activities and programs shall also include projects\npertaining to agriculture and agribusiness development to stimulate the\ndevelopment and implementation of new and alternative production,\nprocessing, storage, distribution and marketing technologies and\nimprovements for New York food, agricultural and forest products.\nProjects promoting strengthened farm management practices shall also be\neligible for assistance;\n (ii) in-depth analysis within rural areas to support local efforts to\nidentify new business opportunities, and to organize industry-wide\ncollaborative efforts designed to create jobs and to develop growth\nstrategies;\n (iii) support for the operation of programs designed to generate and\nleverage equity-type or working capital financing for new and small\nbusiness enterprises in rural areas, or to meet other critical financing\nneeds of existing rural businesses;\n (iv) support for multi-county activities designed to provide small\nbusiness development and financial packaging assistance to new and small\nrural business enterprises to assure the continuation and growth of such\nenterprises; and\n (v) provide, or cause to be provided, technical assistance to small\nbusinesses to help such businesses comply with applicable federal, state\nand local rules and regulations, including, but not limited to,\nassistance to applicants for permits required by such rules and\nregulations.\n (f) Any vocational education agency offering technical assistance\nservices to small business, any small business development center\nlocated at a post-secondary educational institution, any county\ncooperative extension service, any agricultural cooperative corporation\noffering technical assistance services to farmers and non-farm\nagricultural businesses or any not-for-profit corporation offering\ntechnical assistance, shall be eligible to apply under this paragraph to\nestablish rural enterprise extension services designed to provide\ntechnical assistance and services to entrepreneurs who are seeking to\nestablish or who are operating small business ventures in rural areas\nwhere, for reasons of distance, population dispersal, or scale of\nbusiness venture, conventional business incubation and assistance\nprograms are not feasible, such extension services to sponsor, employ\nand support technical assistance specialists as circuit riders to serve\nthe rural area served by the sponsoring entity.\n (i) Such specialists shall be the outreach arm of the technical\nassistance program and shall:\n (A) provide technical and management assistance to entrepreneurs\nseeking to establish a new small business, including but not limited to,\nagribusinesses, part-time businesses, crafts-related businesses,\ntourism-related businesses, and other new businesses that are started in\nareas distant from other existing programs and sources of technical\nassistance;\n (B) regularly visit outlying areas of the region or areas served by\nthe entity sponsoring the rural enterprise extension service program to\nprovide both short-term and ongoing technical assistance and services to\nclients;\n (C) arrange, when needed, for supplemental assistance to be provided\nby the sponsoring entity;\n (D) conduct, with assistance from both local sources of expertise and\nthe sponsoring entity local seminars in outlying regions on various\naspects of entrepreneurship and new enterprise development; and\n (E) provide information on other sources and programs of assistance,\nservices and support, including financial sources, to entrepreneurs and\nsmall business operators.\n (ii) Applications for support under this paragraph shall be required\nto demonstrate a need for a rural enterprise extension service program\nin the area to be served; the ability and willingness of the applicant\nto support technical assistance specialists employed as circuit riders\nwith additional resources to provide intensive, long-term technical\nassistance or specialized technical assistance to client entrepreneurs\nand small business operators when necessary; and the ability to assist\nentrepreneurs and small business operators in locating appropriate\nsources of financial assistance.\n (iii) For the purposes of this subdivision "vocational education\nagency" shall mean a community college or board of cooperative\neducational services operating within the state.\n 3. Agricultural job training assistance. The corporation is\nauthorized, within available appropriations in the empire state economic\ndevelopment fund established pursuant to section 16-i of this act, to\ncontract with the commissioner of agriculture and markets, in\nconsultation with the commissioner of labor, to administer a program of\njob training for workers engaged in or to be engaged in the production,\nharvesting and processing of farm or aquatic products.\n 4. Farmers' market grant program. (a) The corporation is authorized,\nwithin available appropriations in the empire state economic development\nfund established pursuant to section 16-i of this act, to award grants,\non a competitive basis in response to requests for proposals, to\nmunicipal corporations, local development corporations, business\nimprovement districts, not-for-profit corporations, regional marketing\nauthorities and agricultural cooperatives organized pursuant to the\ncooperative corporations law, for the construction, reconstruction,\nimprovement, expansion or rehabilitation of farmers' markets. The\ncorporation is further authorized to contract with the commissioner of\nagriculture and markets, and such commissioner is authorized to contract\nwith the corporation, to prepare and issue requests for proposals,\naccept grant applications, recommend those applications which best meet\nestablished criteria and to administer grants awarded under this\nsubdivision.\n (b) Grants made by the corporation pursuant to this subdivision shall:\n (i) not exceed fifty thousand dollars per year; and\n (ii) be limited to fifty percent of the total proposed farmers' market\nstart-up or expansion costs, not including any capital expenditures\nexcept as set forth in paragraph (a) of this subdivision.\n (c) The corporation shall enter into no more than one grant per year\nper application under this subdivision.\n (d) The corporation shall consult with the department of agriculture\nand markets in order to establish such criteria governing the award of\ngrants as authorized herein, as the corporation and such department deem\nnecessary. Such criteria shall include, but not be limited to:\n (i) the relative impact of the proposed farmers' market project on the\neconomy of the area to be served;\n (ii) the anticipated level of municipal support and local\nparticipation in the project by farmers and others;\n (iii) the extent to which New York farmers would benefit, through the\ndirect sale of farm and food products;\n (iv) the equitable distribution of monies awarded for state assistance\nfor farmers' markets among urban and rural areas; and\n (v) the anticipated quantity of non-farm jobs which would be created\nand retained due to the proposed project.\n (e) Preference shall be given to: applicants located in highly\ndistressed areas and providing services not readily available from units\nof local government or the private sector and to applicants who are\nproposing to start a new farmers' market.\n 5. Rural single-tenant entrepreneurship and incubator facilities. The\ncorporation is authorized, within available appropriations in the empire\nstate economic development fund established pursuant to section 16-i of\nthis act, to award grants, loans and loan guarantees to vocational\neducation agencies for the development of single tenant entrepreneurship\nand incubator facilities in rural areas as provided in this subdivision.\n(a) For the purposes of this subdivision:\n (i) "rural area" shall mean a rural area as defined in subdivision 7\nof section 481 of the executive law;\n (ii) "vocational education agency" shall mean a community college or\nboard of cooperative educational services operating within the state;\nand\n (iii) "entrepreneurship and incubator facility" shall mean a\nsingle-tenant facility providing low-cost space, technical assistance\nand support services, to new business enterprises.\n (b) In sparsely populated rural areas where multi-tenant incubator\nfacilities are not feasible, assistance from the rural revitalization\nprogram may be provided to vocational education agencies that have an\nexisting technical assistance capability that can be applied to the\nincubation of new firms for the purpose of constructing a single-tenant\nentrepreneurship and incubator facility or rehabilitating an existing\nspace for use as a single-tenant entrepreneurship and incubator\nfacility.\n (c) Funds from the rural revitalization program pursuant to this\nsubdivision shall only be provided for construction or rehabilitation of\na facility. A vocational education agency receiving such assistance\nshall be required to provide any machinery and equipment necessary for a\ntenant to operate a start-up enterprise and shall be responsible for\noperating the facility, such operation to include classroom training in\nbusiness principles and practices to the prospective owners of such\nenterprises prior to entering into any tenancy agreement with such\nprospective owners, and the provision of technical assistance and\nservices to a tenant.\n 6. Agricultural industry competitiveness assistance. (a) For the\npurposes of this subdivision, "project" shall mean an agricultural\nproject as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (b-1) of this subdivision.\n (b) The corporation is authorized, within available appropriations in\nthe empire state economic development fund established pursuant to\nsection 16-m of this act, to provide financial assistance in the form of\nloans, loan guarantees, and interest subsidy grants to subsidize loans\nfrom federally chartered instrumentalities and state and private lending\ninstitutions, including agricultural cooperative corporations, provided\nthat such assistance to state lending institutions shall not exceed\none-third of the total project cost or four hundred thousand dollars,\nwhichever is less, to agricultural enterprises seeking to implement the\nfollowing agricultural projects:\n (i) making the transition from dairy farming to crop or livestock\nfarming or specialty wood productions, or using former dairy farms for\ncrop, livestock or specialty wood production, in order to keep farmland\nin production by producing products in local, national or international\ndemand;\n (ii) start-ups of new agribusinesses or expansions or upgrades of the\nfacilities, technologies and operations of existing agribusinesses.\n (b-1) The corporation is authorized, within available appropriations\nin the empire state economic development fund established pursuant to\nsection 16-m of this act, to provide financial assistance in the form of\nloans, loan guarantees, working capital loans, and interest subsidy\ngrants to subsidize loans from federally chartered instrumentalities and\nstate and private lending institutions, including agricultural\ncooperative corporations, provided that such assistance to state lending\ninstitutions shall not exceed one-third of the total project cost or\nfour hundred thousand dollars, whichever is less, to agricultural\nenterprises seeking to implement the projects listed in this paragraph.\nFunds for such loans, grants, subsidies, or any other assistance\nspecified pursuant to this act may come from funds derived from the\nfinancial assistance for small and medium-sized business assistance\nprojects established pursuant to section 9-a of this act, the regional\nrevolving loan trust fund established pursuant to section 16-a of this\nact, the regional economic development partnership program established\npursuant to section 16-e of this act, the empire state economic\ndevelopment fund established pursuant to section 16-m of this act, or\nfrom any other funds, programs, or projects administered by the\ncorporation or by other state appropriations.\n (i) the establishment or replanting of existing vineyards with other\nvarieties that are in greater demand in the national and international\nmarketplace and which will increase the national and international\ncompetitiveness of New York state grape growers;\n (ii) the establishment or replanting of fruit orchards or small fruit\nacreages that have reached the end of their natural life cycles, with\npreference to plantings in the more popular varieties which have\nnational and international markets;\n (iii) the establishment, construction, retention, or expansion of\nfacilities, buildings, machinery, equipment, and other productive assets\nused in the production, manufacture, processing, warehousing, research,\nor distribution or sale of fresh fruits or the processing of such fruits\ninto juices, wines, or other food products. Such project costs may\ninclude, but not be limited to, buildings, machinery, equipment, New\nYork raw fruits, New York unprocessed or partially processed fruits, or\nother necessary working capital or operational funds or assistance\nneeded to ensure the success of such project.\n (c) The corporation shall determine the terms and interest rates of\nsuch loans; provided, however, in the case of financial assistance for\nvineyards, orchards, small fruit acreages, wineries, or processing\nplants, the corporation may defer repayment of principal and interest on\nloans for up to five years.\n (d) Funds may be used to undertake feasibility studies to determine\nthe projected local, national, and/or international demand for the\nproposed crop or product to be financed and the suitability of the land\nand climate for such production. In the case of a proposal to establish\nor replant a vineyard, the corporation shall consult with the New York\nstate wine and grape foundation and the agricultural extension service\nof Cornell University to determine the appropriateness and feasibility\nof the proposed project.\n (e) The provisions of section 10 and subdivision 2 of section 16 of\nthis act shall not apply to assistance provided under this subdivision.\n 7. Micro business revolving loan assistance grants. (a) The\ncorporation is authorized, within available appropriations in the empire\nstate economic development fund, to provide financial assistance in the\nform of grants for the purpose of developing a statewide infrastructure\nthat delivers financing and technical assistance to micro businesses\nacross the state to stimulate new and existing micro business\ndevelopment relating to the use of agricultural products, forest\nproducts, cottage and crafts industries, tourism, and other businesses\nas provided for in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of\nthis section; provided such business employs five or fewer full-time\npersons and is based on the production, processing, and/or marketing of\nproducts grown or produced in this state. Assistance provided under this\nsubdivision shall be awarded through a competitive process initiated by\nthe corporation, in response to a request for proposals.\n (b) Not-for-profit corporations and public benefit corporations\nlocated in the state shall be eligible to apply to the corporation, in\nresponse to a request for proposals, for a grant, not to exceed two\nhundred thousand dollars in any one calendar year, to create a micro\nbusiness revolving loan fund to be administered by the entity applying\nfor such grant, hereafter referred to in this subdivision as "micro loan\nadministrators", who shall be selected by the corporation from among\neligible applicants. The corporation shall show preference in its\nawarding of grants to micro loan administrators whose service area meets\nthe provisions of paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of this section. All\ngrant funds shall be dedicated to being re-lent to individual micro\nbusiness borrowers, except that ten percent of such funds as are awarded\nmay be used by micro loan administrators to provide training and\ntechnical assistance for such borrowers. Micro business loans shall be\nlimited to twenty-five thousand dollars per borrower. Borrowers shall\nprovide ten percent equity for loans up to ten thousand dollars. Loans\nabove ten thousand dollars shall be matched on a one to one basis by\nincluding other loans, equity capital and in some circumstances,\nleveraged capital. The interest rate and the terms on such loans shall\nbe determined by the micro loan administrators. The term of any loan\nshall not exceed five years. All loans shall be secured by lien\npositions on collateral at the highest level of priority that can\naccommodate the borrower's ability to raise sufficient debt and equity\ncapital for the project. Any interest earned on micro business loans\nshall be retained in a special account for the purpose of paying\nexpenses of the loan administrator associated with administering the\nmicro loan program.\n (c) An eligible micro loan administrator applicant shall:\n (i) serve one or more rural counties;\n (ii) have established a loan committee comprised of five or more\npersons experienced in commercial lending in rural areas or in the\noperation of a for-profit small business and a staff person of the\nregional office of the department of economic development. Such loan\ncommittee shall review every application for micro loan assistance\npursuant to this subdivision, shall determine the feasibility of the\ntransaction proposed in the application and shall recommend to the board\nof directors or other governing body of the micro loan administrator\nsuch action as the committee deems appropriate;\n (iii) have available to its staff sufficient expertise to analyze\napplications for micro loan assistance, provide technical assistance to\nborrowers and to regularly monitor micro loan assistance to clients; and\n (iv) have an acceptable plan to market its services to potential\nborrowers through such entities as chambers of commerce, industry trade\nassociations, banks, local development corporations, community based\norganizations and industrial development agencies.\n (d) Applications to the corporation for certification or\nrecertification as a micro loan administrator shall:\n (i) describe the organization, membership, loan committee, staff and\nsources of other funds, if any;\n (ii) identify the geographic area to be served;\n (iii) explain the method and criteria to be used in determining\nbusinesses eligible for micro loan assistance;\n (iv) describe the means for coordination of micro loan assistance with\nother funding sources within the geographic area to be served for the\npurposes of leveraging project financing;\n (v) include a proposal to reconfigure the geographic area served by\nthe micro loan administrator, if applicable; and\n (vi) contain such other information as the corporation deems\nappropriate.\n (e) The corporation shall, every five years, recertify that each micro\nloan administrator has complied with the terms and conditions of this\nsubdivision. In the event a micro loan administrator is not recertified,\nor its certification is withdrawn, then the corporation shall give\nwritten notice to such micro loan administrator which shall thereafter\nneither make new loans under this subdivision nor undertake new\nobligations except upon written approval of the corporation. The\ncorporation may thereafter certify another micro loan administrator in\nthe manner provided in this subdivision for the selection of micro loan\nadministrators. Upon the certification of a successor micro loan\nadministrator, all remaining micro business loan funds, records and\naccounts of the micro loan administrator not recertified shall be\ntransferred to the corporation, and the micro loan administrator not\nrecertified shall cease to function pursuant to this subdivision. The\ncorporation shall transfer returned funds to a successor micro loan\nadministrator, or in the event no successor micro loan administrator is\ncertified, equally to other existing micro loan administrators.\n 8. Cluster based industry and agribusiness development grants. (a) The\ncorporation is authorized, within available appropriations in the empire\nstate economic development fund, pursuant to section sixteen-m of this\nact, to award matching grants, on a competitive basis in response to\nrequests for proposals, to eligible entities and organizations as set\nforth in this subdivision to support cluster based industry and\nagribusiness development activities which increase or retain employment\nopportunities and otherwise contribute to the growth or revitalization\nof rural areas.\n (b) Cluster based industry and agribusiness development grants shall\nprovide financial assistance for the purpose of establishing a program\nto support cluster based economic development efforts in rural areas.\nSuch grants shall be used to:\n (i) Assess industry and agribusiness needs and develop methods of\nidentifying industry and agribusiness clusters in a region; and\n (ii) Promote cluster based industry and agribusiness development\ninitiatives targeted at businesses that would benefit from joint\nactivities, marketing, and problem solving.\n (c) Grant assistance provided under this subdivision shall be awarded\nthrough a competitive process initiated by the corporation, in\nconsultation with the commissioner of agriculture and markets and local\ndevelopment agencies, in response to a request for proposals. To be\neligible for a grant award, recipients shall provide matching funds in\nthe form of cash, in-kind services or other resources as defined by the\ncorporation.\n (d) Not-for-profit corporations and public benefit corporations\nlocated in the state shall be eligible to apply to the corporation, in\nresponse to a request for proposals, for a matching grant, not to exceed\n25,000 dollars in any one calendar year.\n