N.Y. Economic Development Law § 250: Industrial infrastructure development program

§ 250. Industrial infrastructure development program. 1. Definitions.

As used in this article, unless a different meaning clearly appears from

the context, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Eligible applicant". Eligible applicants may submit proposals to

the appropriate regional office of the department and such applicant

shall be any state agency involved in promoting the economic development

of the state including, but not limited to, the departments of economic

development, agriculture and markets, transportation, the urban

development corporation and the job development authority, or a

municipality, an industrial development agency or local development

corporation.

(b) "Industrial infrastructure development project" shall mean a

project for the design, acquisition of property, construction and/or

reconstruction in connection with storm and sanitary sewers, electric

and gas service distribution lines, water supply systems, drainage

systems and site clearance, preparation, improvements, and demolition.

(c) "Industrial facility" shall mean any type of facility to be used

or occupied by any person in an enterprise deemed to offer a reasonable

likelihood for promoting the creation or retention of job opportunities

in the state and includes, but is not limited to, industrial or

manufacturing plants, facilities for research and development purposes,

facilities for conducting wholesale, receiving and distributing

operations, facilities for conducting office operations, warehousing

operations, agricultural operations, or any other operation dealing in

the exchange of goods, wares, services or other types of property of any

type or description. Facilities supporting primarily retail commercial

operations are not defined as industrial facilities.

(d) "State agency" shall mean an office, department, board,

commission, bureau, division, public corporation, agency or

instrumentality of the state.

2. Project eligibility. Eligible projects shall include industrial

infrastructure projects which are an integral part of an economic

development effort which will retain, attract, expand or revitalize an

industrial facility. Projects on which construction has been initiated

are ineligible for funding under this program.

3. Eligible costs. The following costs are eligible for funding

through this program:

(a) industrial infrastructure development project design costs;

(b) costs for completing and updating plans, specifications and

estimates where preliminary engineering or related planning has already

been undertaken, and where additional engineering work or related

planning is required to permit construction of the industrial

infrastructure development project;

(c) costs associated with standard construction activities which are

reasonable costs of construction work performed under contract; and

(d) acquisition of real property.

4. Ineligible costs. The following costs are not eligible for funding

under this program:

(a) expenses or other engineering costs incurred prior to the

industrial infrastructure development project initiation, related to

administration, planning or estimates;

(b) any expense required to carry out the overall responsibilities of

the eligible applicant, such as administrative costs; and

(c) municipal personal services costs of a regular and recurring

nature.

5. Project costs. For any single industrial infrastructure development

project, costs shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars of

state funds.

6. Application process. Proposals shall include the following: (a) a

description of the industrial infrastructure development project,

including provisions for public use and maintenance for the useful life

of the facility to be provided by the project, if appropriate; (b) a

description of how the economic development project related to the

industrial infrastructure development project is consistent with the

regional economic development strategy and the state's economic

development goals; (c) an estimation of the number of jobs to be created

or retained by the economic development project; (d) a description of

the financing and implementation schedule for the economic development

project demonstrating the need for state participation in the industrial

infrastructure development project component; (e) an affirmation by the

responsible public or corporate official to the effect that existing

funding programs are not available or appropriate for the industrial

infrastructure development project due to funding availability; and (f)

a description of the method or plans for repayment to the state of at

least fifty percent of the industrial infrastructure development project

costs.

7. Evaluation criteria. Applications shall be evaluated in accordance

with the following criteria:

(a) the total number of jobs created or retained per dollar invested

in the industrial infrastructure development project;

(b) consistency with the appropriate regional development strategy;

(c) the impact on existing and proposed economic development projects

and programs and appropriateness of the proposed project concept;

(d) the impact on existing infrastructure facilities and services, if

any;

(e) the availability of alternate funding sources;

(f) the repayment ability of the party who is designated to make such

repayment; and

(g) demonstration by the industrial facility of its commitment and

ability to carry out the economic development project related to the

industrial infrastructure development project.

8. On or before October first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and on or

before October first of each year thereafter, the department shall

submit to the governor and the legislature a report regarding the

current status of the industrial infrastructure development program.

Such report shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) the number of applications received;

(b) the number of applications approved;

(c) project descriptions including a description of the related

economic development project, type of business assisted, location,

amounts awarded, amounts expended, repayments to date, and projected

completion date;

(d) jobs created and/or retained per project; and

(e) description of factors which demonstrate each project's

consistency with regional economic development strategies and state

economic development goals.

9. (a) The department shall submit to the director of the division of

the budget, the chairperson of the senate finance committee and the

chairperson of the assembly ways and means committee, an evaluation of

program effectiveness prepared by an entity independent of the

department. Such an evaluation shall be submitted on or before September

first, two thousand five, and on or before September first every four

years thereafter.

(b) Between evaluation due dates, the department shall maintain the

necessary records and data required to satisfy such evaluation

requirements and to satisfy information requests received from the

director of the budget, the chairperson of the senate finance committee

and the chairperson of the assembly ways and means committee between

such evaluation due dates.