In her State of the State address delivered to a joint session of the state legislature in Albany this afternoon, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a rescue plan for small businesses that she valued at $1 billion. She also emphasized the importance of businesses of all sizes to the state”™s future.
The joint session was held in the Assembly chamber. Attendance was limited and those on hand wore masks and sat widely separated.
“New York’s comeback depends on the recovery and success of our small businesses,” Hochul said. “Since the pandemic hit, small business owners have been struggling with unprecedented challenges. New York is here with a simple message: help is on the way.”
Hochul said the state would make funding available to assist emerging small businesses. She said that seed funding would be available for early-stage small businesses with priority given to socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners.
She announced a small business lending initiative: to provide reduced interest rates and accessible loans to expanding small businesses.
A new Excelsior Contracting Opportunities Initiative will provide state-backed funding and technical assistance to help small businesses secure federally funded contracts related to the $1.2 trillion federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. A Contracting Opportunities Council that includes Empire State Development, the State Department of Transportation, the Thruway Authority, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will be charged with identifying strategies to encourage greater minority- and women-owned small business participation in infrastructure projects.
Hochul said the state will permanently legalize the sale of takeout drinks for bars and restaurants, saying that the ability to sell mixed drinks and other alcohol for off-premises consumption was a critical revenue stream for New York’s bars and restaurants during the pandemic.
Hochul also announced a plan for $100 million in tax relief for 195,000 small businesses through a tax return adjustment designed to reduce the gross business income that small businesses have to report.
To enhance the ability of businesses to draw from a pool of qualified workers, Hochul announced the creation of the Office of Workforce and Economic Development that will rework and expand the state”™s efforts to build the workforce.
Hochul announced a plan to upgrade the state”™s university system, SUNY, and increase enrollment to 500,000 by 2030.
“My family’s life was changed because my father was able to afford a college education. New York must have a statewide world-class public university system that can change lives for the next generation of students,” Hochul said. “We must seize this moment to revitalize SUNY, lifting up students from a broad and diverse range of backgrounds while at the same time transforming the institution into a global, 21st century educational leader.”
She said her administration would extend the Empire State Apprenticeship Tax Credit and further incentivize employers to hire disadvantaged youth. She announced that new Department of Civil Service testing centers will be established at designated SUNY college campuses to make it easier for students and jobseekers to take exams required for employment.
Hochul said that a total of $2 billion will be spent on bonuses of up to $3,000 that would be offered to health care and mental hygiene workers who stay in their jobs for a year.
“We will accelerate a $1.2 billion-dollar tax cut originally scheduled to take effect between now and 2025, so that it all occurs earlier,” Hochul said “That means more than six million middle-class taxpayers get more money in their pockets sooner at a time when inflation is robbing them of any gains in income.”
Hochul said the state would distribute $1 billion in middle-class property tax rebates to more than two million homeowners.
Touching on politics, Hochul promised to change in the way things are done in Albany while also proposing a two-term limit for people elected to statewide office.
“What I am proposing is a whole new era for New York. The days of governors disregarding the rightful role of this legislature are over,” Hochul said. “The days of the governor of New York and mayor of New York City wasting time on petty rivalries are over. The days of New Yorkers questioning whether their government is actually working for them are over.”
