Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) announced that several measures he sponsored to expand and strengthen resources for small businesses have passed in the Assembly. Stirpe authored these bills after hosting a series of Small Business Committee roundtables in 2019 and hearing directly from the small business community all across New York State.

“It’s impossible to overstate the importance of ensuring small businesses have the tools and support they need to succeed,” said Stirpe. “As a former small-business owner myself and as chair of the Assembly Small Business Committee, I know firsthand the hard work and immense dedication that goes into these ventures. After hearing directly from many of our local entrepreneurs about the issues they face and how our state government can help, I crafted legislation that will provide them with greater information and resources to support them through these trying times.”

Stirpe sponsored and passed legislation that would require the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to maintain a list of programs available for small businesses and support the creation of micro-business work co-operatives when there’s an existing transfer of ownership (A.10119, A. 10156). To connect new businesses with helpful resources, Stirpe also sponsored legislation that requires the state division for Small Business to annually publish a small business guide that catalogues the statutory and regulatory changes of the previous year (A.10769).

Last year, Stirpe hosted a series of roundtable meetings where he was joined by various guests to discuss existing support and resources available to small businesses, including the New York State Small Business Development Center and the state Department of Labor. Attendees also spoke about the barriers small businesses face, such as finding qualified workers for openings, navigating state agency procedural paperwork and the lack of public transit for employees outside of urban areas; and other challenges including inadequate access to high speed broadband and childcare services. This legislation would not be possible without the invaluable input provided by business owners and community leaders at last year’s hearings, Stirpe noted.