STATE OF NEW YORK
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10362--A
IN ASSEMBLY
April 29, 2020
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KIM, ORTIZ, DenDEKKER, ENGLEBRIGHT, JACOBSON,
MOSLEY, SIMOTAS, THIELE, BARRON, GIGLIO, SIMON -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Economic Development -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the economic development law, in relation to establish-
ing the COVID-19 Recovery Commission
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The economic development law is amended by adding a new
2 article 23 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 23
4 COVID-19 RECOVERY COMMISSION
5 Section 460. COVID-19 recovery commission.
6 461. Powers and duties of the commission.
7 462. Reporting.
8 463. Assistance of other agencies.
9 § 460. COVID-19 recovery commission. 1. There is hereby established in
10 the department a commission, to be known as the COVID-19 recovery
11 commission.
12 2. Such commission shall consist of the director of the budget, the
13 president of the empire state development corporation, the superinten-
14 dent of the department of financial services, the president of the
15 metropolitan transportation authority, the president of the port author-
16 ity, the president of the dormitory authority, the commissioner of the
17 department of health and all other state commissioners in charge of
18 financing as determined by the governor. The commission shall also
19 include representatives of the state's principal subdivisions and appro-
20 priate public finance personnel appointed as follows: three members
21 shall be appointed by the governor, two members shall be appointed by
22 the temporary president of the senate, two members shall be appointed by
23 the speaker of the assembly, one member shall be appointed by the minor-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16226-02-0
A. 10362--A 2
1 ity leader of the senate, and one member shall be appointed by the
2 minority leader of the assembly.
3 3. The commission members shall be appointed immediately upon the
4 effective date of this article and shall meet publicly at least every
5 week thereafter.
6 § 461. Powers and duties of the commission. The commission shall have
7 the following powers and duties:
8 1. to determine how much funding to seek and whom to authorize to
9 begin preparations for the new issuances that the state and its subdivi-
10 sions will sell to the Federal Reserve Municipal Liquidity Facility.
11 2. to consult with representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank of New
12 York (acting in an ex officio capacity if necessary).
13 3. to determine appropriate state and local personnel to handle note-
14 issuing and Federal Reserve-liaising tasks.
15 4. to gather information, testimony, advice and all other deliberative
16 inputs necessary to make sensible allocation decisions in respect of the
17 new funding and recovery efforts related to novel coronavirus, COVID-19,
18 that will be incoming from the Federal Reserve Municipal Liquidity
19 Facility.
20 5. to determine whether to approach the Federal Reserve for further
21 easing of the terms of the Federal Reserve Municipal Liquidity Facility
22 Term Sheet.
23 6. The commission shall also, once the municipal liquidity facility
24 application and associated note-issuance process is underway, determine:
25 (a) whether the state might benefit by establishing a public bank to
26 manage, and perhaps "lever-up" through lending of its own on the basis
27 of such deposits and/or capitalization as it receives, municipal liquid-
28 ity facility funds and such other funds as the state might receive (for
29 example, federal paycheck protection program or federal small business
30 administration economic injury disaster loan moneys) or make available
31 for purposes of COVID-19 relief;
32 (b) whether a public bank such as that contemplated in paragraph (a)
33 of this subdivision, or some other state instrumentality from among the
34 authorities named in this article, might benefit the state by funding a
35 comprehensive "gold standard" system of testing and contact-tracing
36 persons residing or doing business in the state for COVID-19 infection;
37 (c) whether a public bank such as that contemplated in paragraph (a)
38 of this subdivision, or some other state instrumentality from among the
39 authorities named in this article, might benefit the state by compulso-
40 rily purchasing, through use of the eminent domain authority, all nurs-
41 ing homes in the state owned by for-profit private sector entities,
42 private equity funds in particular;
43 (d) whether a public bank such as that contemplated in paragraph (a)
44 of this subdivision, or some other state instrumentality from among the
45 authorities named in this article, might benefit the state by affording
46 lower-income residents of the state any form of temporary rent relief or
47 mortgage debt relief;
48 (e) whether a public bank such as that contemplated in paragraph (a)
49 of this subdivision, or some other state instrumentality from among the
50 authorities named in this article, might benefit the state of New York
51 by using federal paycheck protection program moneys, federal small busi-
52 ness administration economic injury disaster loan moneys, or other
53 moneys either to keep workers employed by their present employers or,
54 barring that, to assist workers in purchasing equity stakes in or full
55 ownership of the firms that employ them; and
A. 10362--A 3
1 (f) whether a public bank such as that contemplated in paragraph (a)
2 of this subdivision, or some other state instrumentality from among the
3 authorities named in this article, might benefit the state in some other
4 manner or manners through direct or indirect use of newly acquired
5 federal municipal liquidity facility, federal paycheck protection
6 program, or federal small business administration economic injury disas-
7 ter loan funds.
8 § 462. Reporting. The commission shall report its findings to the
9 governor and the legislature within one month of the effective date of
10 this article and monthly thereafter. Upon the transmission of the
11 report to the governor and the legislature, the commissioner shall with-
12 in thirty days determine whether the commission shall continue in opera-
13 tion, or whether it shall be changed in some manner, or whether it shall
14 be dissolved, and shall report his or her findings and recommendations
15 to the governor and the legislature.
16 § 463. Assistance of other agencies. To effectuate the purposes of
17 this article, the commission may request and shall receive from any
18 department, division, board, bureau, commission or other agency or
19 authority of the state such assistance, information and data as will
20 enable the commission to properly carry out its powers and duties as
21 described in section four hundred sixty-one of this article. Such
22 assistance shall not waive or impair the terms of an existing agreement
23 negotiated between the relevant employer and employee organization nor
24 limit any obligation to bargain terms and conditions of employment
25 pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.