2002-03 STATE BUDGET INCLUDES MAJOR COMMITMENT TO CREATE NEW JOBS

Budget Includes Gen*NY*sis program; Empire Zone Expansion & $1 Billion in Tax Cuts

Thursday, May 16, 2002

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said today that the 2002-03 state budget includes a comprehensive package of measures to promote new job creation and economic growth, including the Senate's Gen*NY*sis biotechnology program and an expansion of the successful Empire Zone program.

"New York State's economy was growing rapidly when the September 11th attacks took place and the national economy slowed," Senator Bruno said. "These events made it even more imperative that we make a significant investment in our economy to create jobs, especially in fast developing fields such as biotechnology. Job creation programs such as Gen*NY*sis and Empire Zones are the Senate's top priority and they are a major highlight of the new budget."

"The state's economy was growing rapidly until the events of September 11th," Senator Ronald B. Stafford (R-C, Plattsburgh), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said. "The economic development and tax cuts initiatives in this budget will get our state economy back on track by attracting new businesses, creating new jobs and making the state more competitive."

The budget includes $225 million for the Senate Majority's Gen*NY*sis Centers of Excellence. These Gen*NY*sis Centers will incubate the world-class research in the life sciences being conducted at public, not-for-profit and private research institutions around the state.

"The Senate has always believed state investment in biomedical and life sciences research will not only generate additional Federal research dollars, it will also make New York State an attractive place to stay for the biomedical and biotechnology startup companies which will result from that investment, and an attractive place to relocate for existing companies," Senator Bruno said. "This funding will build new labs, purchase new equipment and support new faculty through the James D. Watson Investigator program."

The Senate's James D. Watson Investigators program to recognize early career scientists in the life sciences working at New York State research institutions. The Senate provides $2,000,000 in state funding for recent Ph.D graduates who become full-time staff members of a research program at an academic, public, or not-for-profit private research institution in New York State ($200,000 award over a two year period). The award will support the research activities of the recipients, including salaries, research support personnel and equipment purchases.
The Legislature creates a Centers for Applied Research and Technology program for non-doctoral level colleges. These Centers will be funded by a new $1.5 million appropriation.
An additional $217,000 is provided to the Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research to help administer the GenNYsis program.

The budget also includes funds for the new Empire Opportunity Fund proposed by Governor Pataki, as well as for the a Liberty Zone in Lower Manhattan. The budget also authorizes $1 billion in tax cuts over the next three years including the Senior STAR COLA plan to ensure that all eligible seniors receive STAR school property tax reduction benefits.

The budget will expand the highly successful Empire Zone program by authorizing the creation of ten new Empire Zones, bringing the total to 72. This will enable more areas of the State to take advantage of one of the most effective job creation programs in the nation.

To help New York City overcome the major challenges it faces following September 11, the budget includes a series of new incentives for the State-supported Liberty Zone, which will help promote economic growth and job creation in Lower Manhattan. The budget also waives state income taxes for victims and families of victims of the attacks.

The budget will also provide at least $600 million for capital projects in 2002-03. This funding will support the Governor's Empire Opportunity Fund and Centers of Excellence programs, along with projects to be further identified by the Legislature.

The budget authorizes more than $1 billion in tax cuts over the next three years. This total includes the $311 million in previously enacted tax cuts that are scheduled to take effect in the 2002-03 fiscal year. These tax cuts include an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit and the College Tuition Tax credit, a reduction in the marriage penalty, and a cut in the gross receipts tax on energy, all measures initially proposed by the Senate.

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