Assemblyman David DiPietro (R,C,I-East Aurora) as the Minority ranking member and chairman of the Small Business Committee has spearheaded an initiative with his colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York’s economy. Jump-Start New York is a series of sweeping economic proposals to assist both small and large businesses and start to awaken the juggernaut that is New York’s economy. DiPietro is resolved to protecting as many small businesses as possible from the fallout of the virus.

“This isn’t something you could have planned for. A small business owner could have done everything right and still could lose everything,” DiPietro said. “This is why we need to step up. These businesses are the backbone of our economy and put food on the tables of millions of families across the state. Protecting them and giving them the tool they need to reopen with minimal difficulty while still taking pandemic precautions, is a simple priority. We need to get these businesses open and functional.”

The plan recommends a range of state actions that can help pave the road to recovery,

including:

• Immediately re-evaluating non-essential businesses that could remain open and maintain proper health precautions;
• Creating a state business and non-profit loan program to help small businesses;
• Utilizing the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDCs) as vehicles for immediate economic recovery efforts, instead of general economic development in progress;
• Recommending the implementation of the “Small Business Recovery Act of 2020” proposed by the Assembly Minroity Conference;
• Using any money from unallocated state settlements to support small business and REDC local recovery efforts; and
• Repurposing and utilizing funding for state capital programs to jump-start the economy.

Coordinated federal actions recommended in the plan include:

• Directing future federal stimulus money to local governments and school districts to offset increased costs and the loss of tax revenue associated with COVID-19;
• Capping unemployment insurance premiums;
• Expanding the zero percent interest rate to all Small Business Administration loans similar to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with interest paid by the federal government; and
• Providing stimulus relief to the sole proprietorships and LLCs that are unable to seek relief under existing programs.