A 8474: Establishes the small business environmental support office.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8474 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY May 16, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BUTTENSCHON -- (at request of the Empire State Development) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Small Busi- ness AN ACT to amend the economic development law, in relation to establish- ing the small business environmental support office; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 138 of the economic development law is REPEALED and 2 a new section 138 is added to read as follows: 3 § 138. Small business environmental support office. 1. There is here- 4 by established within the department a small business environmental 5 support office to provide ombudsman services to small businesses on 6 issues relating to pollution prevention and compliance with the environ- 7 mental conservation law. 8 2. Such office shall provide the following services: 9 a. soliciting input from small businesses regarding pollution 10 prevention and compliance with the environmental conservation law, 11 including interacting with organizations representing small businesses 12 such as trade associations or other entities; 13 b. participating in, facilitating and promoting the participation of 14 small businesses in the development and implementation of rules and 15 regulations adopted pursuant to the environmental conservation law; 16 c. participating in and sponsoring meetings with the department of 17 environmental conservation, local environmental agencies, industry 18 groups and small business representatives; 19 d. distributing to small businesses information and materials on 20 pollution prevention and the requirements of the environmental conserva- 21 tion law; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09946-02-5 
 A. 8474 2 1 e. aiding in the investigation and resolution of complaints and 2 disputes involving small businesses and the department of environmental 3 conservation and local environmental authorities; 4 f. reviewing and providing comments and recommendations to the United 5 States environmental protection agency and the department of environ- 6 mental conservation regarding the development and implementation of 7 regulations that impact small businesses; 8 g. referring small businesses to specialists for information and 9 assistance on affordable alternative technologies, process changes, 10 products and operational methods to help achieve pollution prevention; 11 h. providing information to small businesses on state-sponsored 12 programs offering financial and technical assistance, and in locating 13 sources of funding for pollution prevention and compliance with the 14 requirements of the environmental conservation law; and 15 i. establishing procedures for assuring the confidentiality of infor- 16 mation received from small businesses. 17 3. The provisions of article six of the public officers law shall not 18 apply to records containing information supplied by small businesses 19 seeking assistance from the office pursuant to the provisions of this 20 section. 21 4. The department, beginning on June first, two thousand twenty-six, 22 and annually thereafter, provided the small business environmental 23 support office remains operational, shall submit a report to the gover- 24 nor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the 25 assembly. Such report shall include, but not be limited to: 26 a. a summary of the number of businesses that sought assistance from 27 the small business environmental support office during the previous 28 state fiscal year; and 29 b. the total number of businesses that have sought assistance from the 30 small business environmental support office since the establishment of 31 such office, including a regional breakdown of such small businesses. 32 § 2. The act shall take effect immediately.