S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1113

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. DESTITO, JACOBS, GUNTHER -- Multi-Sponsored by --
  M. of A. CLARK, COLTON, JOHN, MAGEE, McENENY, PHEFFER -- read once and
  referred to the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development

AN  ACT  to  amend the economic development law, in relation to deleting
  references to annual guidelines  and  providing  for  promulgation  of
  rules and regulations by the commissioner of economic development

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivisions (b) and (c) of section  161  of  the  economic
development  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 465 of the laws of 1981, are
amended to read as follows:
   (b) [Establish and publish on an annual basis guidelines]  PROMULGATE
REGULATIONS  relative  to the use of funds to be granted hereunder. Such
[guidelines] REGULATIONS shall [authorize] SPECIFY CRITERIA FOR the  use
of  funds  for the promotion of year round tourist travel, resort, vaca-
tion, culture and convention activities;
   (c) Accept or reject applications for matching funds  for  recognized
advertising  programs  by  tourist  promotion  agencies  on the basis of
[annually  published  guidelines]  CRITERIA  SPECIFIED  IN   REGULATIONS
PROMULGATED BY THE COMMISSIONER;
  S  2. Subdivisions (b) and (e) of section 164 of the economic develop-
ment law, as amended by chapter 563 of the laws of 1985, are amended  to
read as follows:
   (b)  In reviewing such applications, the commissioner may select from
among competing or overlapping applications the application or  applica-
tions  that  the  commissioner  considers  to be of greater benefit to a
given area and the welfare of the people  of  the  state.  Further,  the
commissioner  shall  select from among filed applications those applica-
tions which the commissioner considers to be most  in  accord  with  the
[guidelines established for the fiscal year in which the funds are to be

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD03550-01-9

A. 1113                             2

expended]  CRITERIA  SPECIFIED IN THE REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE USE OF
TOURISM MATCHING FUNDS.  If the commissioner determines that an applica-
tion does not meet [the guidelines] SUCH CRITERIA, the tourist promotion
agency  submitting  such  shall  be  notified  of  its rejection and the
reasons therefor by certified mail. A  tourist  promotion  agency  whose
application  has been rejected may resubmit the application to meet [the
guidelines determined by the commissioner]  CRITERIA  SPECIFIED  IN  THE
REGULATIONS.  The resubmitted application shall be postmarked within two
weeks  of the date of receipt of notice of failure of its initial appli-
cation.   After review of a submitted  or  resubmitted  application,  if
satisfied that the program of the tourist promotion agency appears to be
in  accord  with  the  purposes  of this [act] ARTICLE, the commissioner
shall authorize in writing the payment of  matching  funds  appropriated
pursuant to this [act] ARTICLE to such tourist promotion agency equal to
funds  allocated by such agency to the program described in its applica-
tion, provided, however, that such matching grant shall  not  exceed  an
amount  equal to five per centum of the matching grant appropriation for
each county represented by such agency for the  purposes  set  forth  in
this [act] ARTICLE.  Provided that sufficient funds are appropriated, no
such  grant shall be less than either twenty thousand dollars per county
represented by such tourist promotion agency or the amount of funds held
by, or committed or subscribed to such tourist promotion agency for  the
purposes  described  in  its application, whichever sum is less. No such
minimum grant shall allow the awarding of matching  funds  for  applica-
tions  other  than  those  meeting  [the  guidelines  established by the
department] CRITERIA SPECIFIED IN REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY THE COMMIS-
SIONER.
   (e) Applications required by this section  shall  be  submitted  only
upon  forms  provided  by  the  department.  [Such forms shall contain a
statement of the guidelines which the commissioner shall use  to  estab-
lish priorities among applications. Such guidelines shall be established
by  the commissioner on an annual basis and, once established, shall not
be changed until the following year.]
  S 3. Subdivision (b) of section 166 of the economic  development  law,
as  added  by  chapter  465  of  the laws of 1981, is amended to read as
follows:
   (b) The department shall annually, on or before March  first,  submit
to  the  governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker
of the assembly, a report  on  the  activities  of  the  matching  funds
program.  Such  report  shall  include  [a  statement  of the guidelines
promulgated by the department pursuant to section one hundred  sixty-one
of  this article,] a summary of the financial statements received by the
department from tourist promotion  agencies,  a  summary  of  activities
conducted  by  the tourist promotion agencies and analyses of the effec-
tiveness of the matching funds program in stimulating tourist  promotion
and  recommendations  concerning the future organization, implementation
and improvement of the matching funds program.
  S 4. This act shall take effect on the first of  May  next  succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.