* § 16-m. The empire state economic development fund. 1. The empire\nstate economic development fund is hereby created. The corporation is\nauthorized, within available appropriations, to provide financial,\ntechnical or other assistance from such fund for the following: (a)\nLoans, loan guarantees and grants including interest subsidy grants to\nmanufacturing and non-retail service firms, for headquarters facilities\nof firms engaged generally in retail industries, retail firms located in\ndistressed areas and to other businesses, for the purpose of developing\nrecreational, cultural, or historical facilities that are likely to\nattract significant numbers of visitors. Loans, loan guarantees and\ninterest subsidy grants may be used to finance new construction,\nrenovation or leasehold improvements and the acquisition of land,\nbuildings, machinery and equipment. The proceeds of such loans, loan\nguarantees and interest subsidy grants may also be used to finance\nworking capital;\n (b) Loans, loan guarantees, and grants including interest subsidy\ngrants may be provided to municipalities, industrial development\nagencies, not-for-profit corporations or local development corporations\nfor the purpose of developing federal facility sites, urban industrial\nsites, industrial parks and incubator buildings; or to undertake\npreliminary planning relating thereto;\n (c) Grants for the purpose of creating or retaining jobs or\npreventing, reducing or eliminating unemployment or underemployment\nincluding, but not limited to, productivity assessments, export market\ndevelopment plans and other projects to promote international trade;\nskills training assistance including classroom instruction or on the job\ntraining; and programs to assist economically distressed regions and\ncommunities to identify new business opportunities, plan for new\nenterprise development and manage economic development projects;\n (d) Loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies and grants to\nbusinesses, municipalities, industrial development agencies and local\nand regional economic development corporations for projects for the\npurpose of attracting, retaining or permitting the expansion of\nindustrial, manufacturing, commercial, research and development, high\ntechnology, tourism, agricultural or non-retail service businesses and\nnot-for-profit organizations which shall include, but not be limited to\nbasic systems and facilities on public and privately owned property\nincluding drainage systems, sewer systems, access roads, sidewalks,\ndocks, wharves, water supply systems, and site clearance, preparation,\nimprovements and demolition. In addition, grants for preliminary\nplanning of projects eligible to apply for financing pursuant to this\nparagraph may be provided;\n (e) Grants to municipalities, not-for-profit corporations and local\nand regional economic development organizations seeking to attract,\nstabilize, retain or revitalize existing businesses, and to assist small\nand new businesses for activities including, but not limited to, the\npreparation of strategic plans for local or regional economic\ndevelopment, the analysis of business sectors, marketing and promoting\nregional business clusters, and feasibility studies;\n (f) Loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidy grants and direct grants\nfor feasibility studies, surveys and reports, architectural design,\nstudies, and other redevelopment work for non-residential improvements\nto commercial building, commercial strips, downtown areas or business\ndistricts;\n (g) Assistance to local or regional organizations to facilitate\nfinancing for small- and medium-sized business, including minority- and\nwomen-owned business enterprises through flexible financing programs,\nincluding, but not limited to, loan loss reserve and revolving loan\nprograms, working capital loans, working capital loan guarantees, or\nother flexible financing programs that leverage traditional financing;\n (h) Assistance to eligible entities and organizations as set forth in\nsection 16-l of this act to support community economic development\nprograms and activities, including value-added small business growth,\nagricultural, agribusiness, and forest products and those projects that\npromote the family farm, increase or retain employment opportunities and\notherwise contribute to the revitalization of local rural areas which\nare economically distressed;\n (i) Assistance to eligible entities set forth in section 16-l of this\nact to support value-added small businesses in the agricultural and\nagribusiness industries that promote fruit production, fruit processing,\nor wineries and which increase or retain employment opportunities in\nsuch industries or in the related tourism industry;\n (j) Assistance to local or regional organizations to facilitate\nfinancing for the come home to New York program pursuant to article 9-A\nof the economic development law;\n (k) Assistance for regional partnership proposals, as provided in\nsubdivision 12 of section 3154 of the public authorities law;\n ** (l) Loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies and grants including\ninterest subsidy grants to businesses, local and regional economic\ndevelopment corporations, not-for-profit corporations, regional\nmarketing organizations, agricultural cooperatives organized pursuant to\nthe cooperative corporations law, and other local or regional\norganizations to finance transportation and distribution projects that\nfacilitate distribution and sales of New York farm products by farmers\nand associations of farmers to food and food services buyers and\nprocessors, such as restaurants, schools, food retailers, farmers'\nmarkets, colleges and other institutional operations especially in urban\nand other communities where there has been a lack of availability of\nsuch products. Loans, loan guarantees and interest subsidy grants may be\nused to finance new construction, renovation or leasehold improvements\nand the acquisition of land, buildings, machinery and equipment.\n ** NB There are 2 sub (l)'s\n ** (l) Assistance to biosciences research institutions and\norganizations on a competitive basis to develop curriculum and\nadminister bioscience specific training programs for current and\nprospective industry employees, in consultation with the division of\nscience, technology and innovation established pursuant to article 18 of\nthe economic development law. For the purposes of this paragraph, the\nterm biosciences research shall include, but not be limited to, the\nbasic, applied, or translational research that leads to the development\nof therapeutics, diagnostics, or devices, to improve human health or\nagriculture and that require federal drug administration approval;\n ** NB There are 2 sub (l)'s\n (m) Assistance to businesses that conduct basic, applied or\ntranslational research that leads to the development of products that\nimprove human health or agriculture and that require approval by the\nfederal food and drug administration, in order to create or expand\nfacilities, in accordance with good manufacturing practice regulations,\nthat will create or retain more than fifty jobs. For purposes of this\nparagraph, good manufacturing practice regulations refers to those\nregulations promulgated by the United States Food and Drug\nAdministration under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug and\nCosmetic Act.\n (n) Loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies and grants to\nbusinesses, municipalities, industrial development agencies and local\nand regional economic development corporations, not-for-profit\ncorporations, business improvement districts, regional marketing\nauthorities and agricultural cooperatives organized pursuant to the\ncooperative corporations law, and other entities for the construction,\nreconstruction, improvement, expansion or rehabilitation of wholesale\nregional farmers' markets or food hubs that facilitate the sale and\npromotion of farm products grown or produced in New York state.\n For the purposes of this paragraph a wholesale regional farmers'\nmarket or food hub is a market, business or organization that actively\nmanages the aggregation, distribution and marketing of source-identified\nfood products primarily from local or regional producers to satisfy\nwholesale, retail and institutional demand for such products.\n (o) Assistance to eligible entities pursuant to article five-A of the\ncooperative corporations law to provide financing in the form of loans,\nloan guarantees, and interest subsidy grants to subsidize loans from\nfederally chartered instrumentalities and state and private lending\ninstitutions to facilitate the creation of worker cooperatives that\npromote continuation of existing micro-businesses either as a part of a\npreexisting business succession of ownership plan or as alternative\noption if a business is being offered for sale or transfer by the\ncurrent owner or the heirs or estate of a deceased owner. For the\npurposes of this section, a micro-business shall be defined as a\nbusiness with five or less full-time or full-time equivalent employees.\nAll eligible entities shall be required to submit a business plan with\ntheir application requesting assistance.\n 2. Applications for assistance pursuant to this section shall be\nreviewed and evaluated in cooperation with regional economic development\noffices pursuant to eligibility requirements and criteria set forth in\nrules and regulations promulgated by the corporation. Approval of\nproject applications shall be made only upon a determination by the\ncorporation:\n (a) that the proposed project would promote the economic health of New\nYork state by facilitating the creation or retention of jobs or would\nincrease activity within a municipality or region of the state or would\nenhance or help to maintain the economic viability of family farms;\n (b) that the project would be unlikely to take place in New York state\nwithout the requested assistance.\n (c) that the project is reasonably likely to accomplish its stated\nobjectives and that the likely benefits of the project exceed costs; and\n (d) the project is undertaken in accordance with the memorandum of\nunderstanding executed in accordance with this section.\n 3. The provisions of this section shall expire, notwithstanding any\ninconsistent provision of subdivision 4 of section 469 of chapter 309 of\nthe laws of 1996 or of any other law, on July 1, 2026.\n * NB Expires July 1, 2026\n