BILL NUMBER: S4980
SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the preserva-
tion of regionally significant projects
 
PURPOSE:
Relates to the preservation of regionally significant projects with
respect to agencies drawing on funds for new building projects.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the General Municipal Law to define regionally signif-
icant projects. Regionally significant projects are defined as a
location or facility (i) where the agency board has determined with the
benefit of an independent third-party analysis of costs versus benefits
that shows more benefits to the community than costs, that the project
is likely to attract a significant number of visitors from outside the
economic development region in which the project is located and that
undertaking the project will serve the public purposes by preserving
permanent, private sector jobs or increasing the overall number of
permanent, private sector jobs in the state; and (ii) where the agency
board makes a finding, prior to providing financial assistance to the
project.
Section 2. Is the enacting clause
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law, developers of retail businesses such as car dealer-
ships and self-storage facilities are receiving tax breaks through a
"tourism loophole" that exists in the statute. The resulting tax bene-
fits do not stimulate sufficient local economic growth or net economic
benefit to warrant the disbursement of public dollars for such projects.
In Nassau County in particular, this loophole in the law is being readi-
ly abused by businesses attracting customers from Queens County, and
taxpayers are stuck with the bill.
This bill closes the tourism loophole by requiring both the local Chief
Executive Officer and the agency board where the project is located to
determine that the project is likely to attract a significant number of
visitors from outside the economic development region and that the
project will preserve or increase permanent, private sector jobs within
the state. These additional determinations will keep the economic bene-
fits intended through the original legislation while preventing the
granting of tax breaks without adequate justification.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.