Senator William Stachowski Has Sixteen Senate Bills Passed

7/20/09                            Media Contact: Bob Koshinski      716-854-3915

Senator William Stachowski Has Sixteen Senate Bills Passed
During Two Week July Session
Include Critical Empire Zone Reform and Amada’s law

Senator William T. Stachowski (D 58th) had sixteen New York State Senate Bills passed during the recent two week July session. That included eleven during the two marathon sessions that took place on July 15th & 16th,  going well into the early morning hours. Among the sixteen bills authored by Senator Stachowski are several that will have a significant impact on western New York.

Nine of the sixteen bills involve economic development and four will have a positive effect on Empire Zone participants. (Empire Zones were created to stimulate economic growth through tax incentives and designed to bring new business to the state and allow existing businesses to grow and add jobs).
Recent changes to the Empire Zone qualifications in the 2009-2010 state budget threatened the participation of many existing Empire Zone participants in the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area. Senator Stachowski’s legislation (# S-5598) would assure that businesses that have met their obligations under the Empire Zone law are treated fairly in the recertification/decertification process.
Senator Stachowski also had bill S5575 passed which would establish an Empire Zone task force, made up of public and private-sector professionals, which would consider changes to the Empire Zone program before it expires.
This legislation was praised by Unshackle Upstate Executive Director Brian Sampson, “Senator Stachowksi and his upstate Senate colleagues should be praised for their foresight in establishing this task force and for clarifying the language established in the budget process. Empire Zones are an extremely vital economic development tool that helps businesses remain viable and provides a valuable lure to new businesses. With tax and energy burdens that exceed national averages, New York businesses need all the help they can get to continue to compete in a global economy."
Another significant bill authored by Senator Stachowski and passed in the Senate was “Amanda’s Law”.  Amanda's Law addresses the need for carbon monoxide detectors in any home or dwelling that has an appliance that emits the deadly gas. Unfortunately, it was the tragic loss of 16 year old Amanda Hansen of West Seneca that brought this issue to the forefront and this legislation would help prevent another such tragedy in the future.
This piece of legislation had a personal importance to Senator Stachowski. “I'm proud to stand with Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, who has passed a similar Bill in the Assembly, in sponsoring this important legislation. I can’t say enough about Amanda’s parents who battled through the unimaginable loss of a child to seek out this legislation in the hope that another such tragedy does not happen again.”   
The sixteen bills are as follows:
Bill No.
 
S2289A
 STACHOWSKI -- Creates a regional technology commercialization fund and grant  
 program in the New York state foundation for science, technology and innovation.
S2440
STACHOWSKI -- Exempts from real property taxation real property owned by a person certified to receive a United States department of veterans affairs disability pension.
S2791A
 STACHOWSKI -- Establishes Amanda's law requiring certain residences to have 
 installed an operable carbon monoxide detector.
S2841B
 STACHOWSKI -- Relates to state aid for certain transportation contracts for the 
 Hamburg central school district in Erie county.
S2860C
 STACHOWSKI -- Relates to certain payments to the horsemen's organization.
S3452
 STACHOWSKI -- Relates to the distribution of surcharges on off-track winnings.
S3650A
 STACHOWSKI -- Legalizes, validates, ratifies and confirms certain transportation
 contracts with the Eden central school district.
S4435
STACHOWSKI -- Creates within the department of economic development the strategic training alliance program to fund regional skills training programs; repealer.
S4436
STACHOWSKI -- Includes eligible businesses in certain areas designated under the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 in the Excelsior Linked Deposit Act loan program.
S4437
STACHOWSKI -- Requires economic development program performance plans and evaluations; establishes private industry review council.

S5516
STACHOWSKI -- An act to amend part L of chapter 60 of the laws of 2004, amending the tax law relating to exempting parts used for aircrafts.
S5575A
 STACHOWSKI -- Creates an economic development benefit task force.
S5598B
 STACHOWSKI -- Relates to certification and decertification of businesses as Empire
 Zone enterprises; repealer.
S5920
STACHOWSKI -- Provides for the financing of additional projects for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing facilities in the city of Buffalo.
S6050
STACHOWSKI -- Relates to clean energy initiatives of New York Power Authority.

Each bill and its description can be found on the legislation page at www.stachowski.org.