§ 16-P — The investment opportunity fund

§ 16-p. The investment opportunity fund. 1. Definitions. For the\npurposes of this section, the following terms, whenever used or referred\nto in this section, shall apply, but not be limited to, the following\nmeanings:\n (a) "Cost" as applied to a project or portion thereof financed under\nthis section, means all or any part of the cost of construction,\nremediation, renovation, and acquisition of all lands, structures, real\nor personal property, rights, air rights, rights-of-way, easements, and\ninterests acquired or used for a project; the cost of demolishing or\nremoving any buildings or structures on land so acquired, including the\ncost of acquiring any lands to which the buildings or structures may be\nmoved, the cost of machinery and equipment, interest prior to, during,\nand for a period after, completion of construction, remediation,\nrenovation, or acquisition, as determined by the corporation; for\nextensions, enlargements, additions, replacements, renovations, and\nimprovements; the cost of architectural, engineering, plans,\nspecifications, estimates, and other expenses necessary or incidental to\nthe construction, acquisition, and financing of any project, excluding\nlobbying and governmental relations expenses.\n (b) "Facilities" means real and personal property, structures, air\nrights, conveyances, equipment, thoroughfares, buildings, and supporting\ncomponents thereof located in the state, that are directly related to\nthe acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,\nremediation, or improvement of a project which will achieve the purposes\nof facilitating the creation or retention of jobs or increasing\ninvestment or business activity within a municipality or region of the\nstate or academic research and development efforts that promote the\ndevelopment of life sciences and high technology initiatives including\ngenomics and biotechnology research and which may include project\npurposes set forth in this section.\n (c) "Financial assistance" in connection with a project, includes, but\nis not limited to, grants, loans, equity investments, loan forgiveness,\nloan guarantee, or any combination thereof.\n (d) "Project" shall include but not be limited to designing,\nacquiring, planning, permitting, entitling, demolishing, removing,\nconstructing, improving, extending, restoring, financing, remediating\nand generally developing facilities.\n (e) "Sponsor" or "project sponsor" shall be the state or any political\nsubdivision of the state or a municipality, including but not limited to\nany departments, agencies, public benefit corporations, or commissions.\nIn addition, a sponsor or project sponsor may include not-for-profit\ncorporations formed on behalf of a sponsor, special districts,\nassessment districts, tax increment financing units or districts,\nbusiness improvement districts, regional and community development\norganizations, not-for-profit organizations, not-for-profit\norganizations or businesses organized to do business under the laws of,\nor doing business within the state, or any combination of the\naforementioned entities that makes application to the corporation for\nfinancial assistance in connection with an investment opportunity fund\nproject in a manner prescribed by the corporation.\n 2. Fund created. The investment opportunity fund is hereby created.\nThe corporation is authorized, within available appropriations, to\nprovide financial assistance pursuant to this section.\n 3. Selection of projects. Following consultation with the division of\nthe budget and with other appropriate state and local agencies and other\norganizations, and prior to soliciting or accepting any application for\nassistance, the corporation shall:\n (a) provide public notice of the primary development objectives and\nminimum standards of the program and individual projects expected to be\neligible for funding through the program; and\n (b) promulgate rules and regulations setting forth the standards that\nwill govern the selection of projects. Such standards shall, at a\nminimum:\n (i) require that no project shall be awarded financial assistance\nunless such project meets or exceeds specified minimum standards as\nprovided by rules and regulations with respect to economic impact;\n (ii) require that each project be consistent with any existing local\nor regional comprehensive plan. A municipality which is a lead sponsor\nfor a project or projects shall submit a resolution that has been\nadopted by the legislative body or bodies of the lead project sponsor\nthat certifies that the proposed project is consistent with existing\nlocal or regional plans; the proposed financing is appropriate for the\nspecific project; the project facilitates effective and efficient use of\nexisting and future public resources so as to promote both economic\ndevelopment and appropriate use of natural resources; and the project\ndevelops or enhances infrastructure or other facilities in a manner that\nwill attract, create, and sustain long-term investment and employment\nopportunities; and\n (iii) provide, to the fullest extent possible, assistance to projects\nthat will provide economic benefits to one or more regions of the state\nor, for projects that are not anticipated to have a regionally\nsignificant impact, that will provide economic benefits to localities\nthat suffer from disproportionate levels of poverty, unemployment,\npopulation or job loss or other indicators of economic distress.\n 4. Reporting. The corporation shall submit a report to the director of\nthe budget, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the\nassembly, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of\nthe assembly on the investments and accomplishments of the investment\nopportunity fund. Such report shall include, but not be limited to,\ninformation on the number of jobs created and retained, levels of\nprivate sector investment, economic benefit to the state and local\neconomies and types of industries invested in. Such report shall be\nsubmitted by July 1, 2009 and July first every year thereafter.\n 5. Evaluation. The corporation shall submit a report to the director\nof the budget, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the\nassembly, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of\nthe assembly evaluating the economic and social benefits of the\ninvestment opportunity fund. Such evaluation shall be prepared by an\nentity or entities independent of the corporation which shall be\nselected through a request for proposal process. Such evaluation shall\nbe submitted by October 1, 2009 and October first every year thereafter.\n 6. The investment opportunity fund capital approval board. (a) a\ncapital approval board shall be a five member board that is created to\nconsider and review each project receiving material financial assistance\nand the unanimous approval of the voting members of such capital\napproval board shall be required before the corporation shall furnish\nany material financial assistance; provided, however, that if, by thirty\ndays following the submission of written materials by the corporation no\nvoting member of the board has notified the chairperson of the capital\napproval board in writing of his or her disapproval within such period,\nor the capital approval board shall not have voted to approve or\ndisapprove any proposed furnishing of financial assistance, the capital\napproval board shall have been deemed to have approved such proposal.\nThe voting members shall include: (i) the director of the budget or his\nor her designee who shall act as chairperson, (ii) the temporary\npresident of the senate or his or her designee, and (iii) the speaker of\nthe assembly or his or her designee. The two non-voting members will be\nappointed one each, by the minority leader of the senate and the\nminority leader of the assembly. The review of the capital approval\nboard shall be limited to the adequacy of the economic and social\nbenefits of the proposed furnishing of financial assistance by the\ncorporation.\n (b) the provisions of article 7 of the public officers law shall apply\nto meetings of the capital approval board.\n 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any\nproject financed through the investment opportunity fund, and any bond\nsale undertaken by the corporation to finance such projects, shall be\nexempt from the provisions of sections 50 and 51 of the public\nauthorities law.\n