NY A03549

Establishes the New York State Innovation Voucher Program under the Empire State Development Corporation to provide small businesses with access to research and development services from colleges, universities, government laboratories, and public research institutes.

Awards vouchers up to $10,000 per eligible project, with up to $50,000 available for projects deemed exceptionally innovative in emerging technology fields; eligible recipients must match voucher amounts dollar-for-dollar.

Eligible recipients are small businesses as defined in the Economic Development Law; applications are evaluated by advisory committees based on proposal strength, innovation, technical feasibility, commercial viability, and potential job impact.

Excludes ineligible expenses including employee/owner time reimbursement, marketing materials, routine business services, construction costs, financing fees, and travel/entertainment costs.

Requires the corporation to maintain a quarterly-updated list of approved research and development partners on its website and post quarterly reports on vouchers issued, program funding usage, jobs created or retained, patents produced, and other success metrics.