According to reports, the Governor will hold an inauguration ceremony at the Empire State Convention Center on January 1. The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on the first day of the year. The ceremony will be the first inaugural event in Albany since 2010, when Democrat Andrew Cuomo was sworn in for his first term.

The Governor also announced she will be presenting her state of the state address from the Assembly Chamber at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

2023 Legislative Calendar Released

Next year’s legislative calendar was released, outlining which days the legislature will be in session. They are scheduled to conduct session on 60 days next year, a similar number compared to previous years. The Senate and Assembly will gavel in to the new session on January 4 and is scheduled to end on June 8.

Governor Announces FAST NY Grant Program Now Accepting Letters of Intent

The Governor announced that the new Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts grant program, or FAST-NY program, to attract and expand key growth industries will now accept Letters of Intent from potential applicants. FAST-NY provides certification and grant funding to help prepare key commercial sites for development in order to attract high-tech manufacturing; interstate distribution and logistics businesses; and other large employers. Empire State Development is accepting Letters of Intent as a first step in the application process and will accept applications on a rolling basis from those who have submitted letters once the application portal opens on December 15.

There are three types of Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts (FAST NY) programming:

Track A – FAST NY Shovel-Ready Certification

This no-cost designation by ESD for site-marketing purposes establishes that the applicant has worked proactively with the State to address all major permitting issues prior to a business expressing interest in the location. Details will be announced at a later date.

Track B – FAST NY Pre-Development Grants

Working capital grants of up to $500,000 per site will be awarded to fund the cost of necessary pre-development site planning and reviews for future shovel-ready sites.

• Grants will fund necessary costs to assist grantees in completing pre-development activities, such as those required for FAST NY Shovel-Ready Certification.

Track C – FAST NY Infrastructure Improvements

Capital grants will be awarded to improve the shovel-readiness of existing, mature sites by funding infrastructure improvements such as water, sewer, transportation, electricity, gas and other capital-eligible site improvement costs.

Eligible Applicants

Applicants that are eligible to apply are municipalities and municipally designated non-profit economic development organizations, such as New York State-based nonprofit industrial development agencies and authorities and economic development corporations designated to act on the behalf of the municipality in which the site is located. Sites must be at least 40 acres in size to be eligible for grant consideration. However, exceptions may be made for smaller sites demonstrating compelling site assets or public benefits such as the possibility for brownfield redevelopment.

Eligible industries include:

• High-tech manufacturing, including but need not be limited to clean-tech renewable energy, life sciences, agribusiness, optics, transportation equipment, materials processing, industrial machinery manufacturing and other advanced manufacturing.
• Sites for interstate distribution and logistics.
• Priority may be given to semiconductor manufacturing and related industry and supply-chain projects.

Eligible site activities include:

• Manufacturing.
• Research and development.
• Office park.
• Interstate distribution and logistics.

All grant funds will be issued on a reimbursement basis. For information on how to submit a Letters of Intent (LOI) visit https://esd.ny.gov/fast-ny.

Federal Judge Dismisses Most Charges Against Former Lieutenant Governor

A federal judge has granted a motion to dismiss all but two of the charges facing former Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin. The judge found that the indictment failed to allege an explicit quid pro quo, which is an essential element of the bribery and honest services wire fraud charges brought against the former Lieutenant Governor. The judge however did find that indictment is sufficient to proceed with two charges of falsifying business records.

Benjamin, who was appointed lieutenant governor by Gov. Kathy Hochul last year, resigned on April 12 after he was charged with felony corruption by federal prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors have appealed the judges ruling.