(a) Agriculture means both agricultural production (establishments performing the complete farm or ranch operation, such as farm owner-operators, tenant farm operators, and sharecroppers) and agricultural support (establishments that perform one or more activities associated with farm operation, such as soil preparation, planting, harvesting, and management, on a contract or fee basis).

(b) Applicant means a business enterprise that is operating in New York State or is planning to operate in the State.

(c) Application means the form that the department determines must be submitted by an applicant in order to be considered for acceptance into the program.

(d) Back office operations means a business function that may include one or more of the following activities: customer service, information technology and data processing, human resources, accounting and related administrative functions.

(e) Benefit-cost ratio means the following calculation: the numerator is the sum of:

(f) Business services, for the purposes of this regulation, shall only refer to the provision of professional services licensed by the State or by the courts of this State.

(g) Certificate of eligibility means the document issued by the department to an applicant that has completed an application to be admitted into the Excelsior Jobs Program and has been accepted into the program by the department. Possession of a certificate of eligibility does not by itself guarantee eligibility to claim the tax credit.

(h) Certificate of tax credit means the document issued to a participant by the department that entitles a participant to claim the tax credit pursuant to section 355 of the Economic Development Law. The certificate specifies the exact amount of each of the tax credit components and the taxable year in which such credit may be claimed. The certificate of tax credit shall be issued annually only after the department has verified that the participant has met all applicable eligibility criteria. The certificate may also include such information as the commissioner deems necessary.

(i) Commissioner means Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.

(j) Department means the Department of Economic Development.

(k) Make products or develop technologies that are primarily aimed at reducing greenhousegas emissions or supporting the use of clean energy in accordance with goals described in chapter 106 of the Laws of 2019 means the creation of products or the development of proven technologies that are commercialized or ready to be commercialized and moved into market and are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions or supporting the deployment or adoption of clean energy.

(l) Distribution center means a large scale facility involving processing, repackaging and/or movement of finished or semi-finished goods to retail locations or other end users across a multi-state area. Retail locations includes delivery of goods directly to consumers.

(m) Eligible real property taxes has the same meaning as in section 15(e) of the Tax Law, provided that the definition in subdivision (e) of this section shall be read as if it specifically referenced the Excelsior Jobs Program and participants in that program.

(n) Entertainment company means a corporation, partnership, limited partnership, or other entity principally engaged in the production or post production of:

(o) Financial services data centers or financial services customer back office operations means operations that manage the data or accounts of existing customers, or provide product or service information and support to customers of financial services companies, including banks, other lenders, securities and commodities brokers and dealers, investment banks, portfolio managers, trust offices, and insurance companies.

(p) Green project means a project deemed by the commissioner to make products ordevelop technologies that are primarily aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions or supporting the use of clean energy in accordance with goals described in chapter 106 of the Laws of 2019. Green project shall include, but not be limited to, the manufacture or development of products or technologies or supply chain components primarily for renewable energy systems as defined in section 66-p of the Public Service Law, vehicles that use non-hydrocarbon fuels and produce zero or near zero emissions, heat pumps, energy efficiency, clean energy storage and other products that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing the utilization of depletable resources or by improving industrial efficiency. Green project shall not include a project primarily composed of:

(q) High value-added products means durable goods requiring assembly by skilled technicians, automation, or other advanced technology.

(r) Improving industrial efficiency means achieving significant reductions in thegreenhouse gas emissions associated with an industrial process, through a variety of potential measures aimed at reducing onsite energy consumption and/or converting fuel sources to zero and low-emission fuels where the resulting product does not have a significant negative impact on State’s clean energy goals as set forth in chapter 106 of the Laws of 2019 and as determined by the department.

(s) Industry with significant potential for private sector growth and economic development in the State means any industry where it can be demonstrated that employment in the industry could grow to any of the following:

Such demonstrated potential shall be on the basis of one or more key attributes of the metropolitan statistical area or labor market area that a business enterprise in the industry would consider essential in any decision to locate or expand within such metropolitan statistical area or labor market area. For a business in an industry that meets the criteria indicated above to be eligible as an applicant to the program, the business enterprise must create at least 300 net new jobs and make significant capital investments of at least $30 million. Nothing in this section shall allow any business entity excluded under section 191.2(g) of this Title to become a participant in this program.

(t) Investment zone shall mean an area within the State that had been designated under section 958(a)(i) and (d) of the General Municipal Law that was wholly contained within up to four distinct and separate contiguous areas as of the date immediately preceding the date the designation of such area expired pursuant to section 969 of the General Municipal Law. Investment zones are the designated distinct and separate contiguous areas of the municipality that qualified for investment zone status as those areas existed on June 29, 2010.

(u) Life sciences means agricultural biotechnology, biogenerics, bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, biopharmaceuticals, academic medical centers, biotechnology, chemical synthesis, chemistry technology, medical diagnostics, genomics, medical image analysis, marine biology, medical devices, medical nanotechnology, natural product pharmaceuticals, proteomics, regenerative medicine, RNA interference, stem cell research, medical and neurological clinical trials, health robotics and veterinary science.

(v) Life sciences company means a business entity or an organization or institution that devotes the majority of its efforts in the various stages of research, development, technology transfer and commercialization related to any life sciences field.

(w) Manufacturing means the process of working raw materials into products suitable for use or which gives new shapes, new quality or new combinations to matter which has already gone through some artificial process by the use of machinery, tools, appliances, or other similar equipment. Manufacturing does not include an operation that involves only the assembly of components, provided, however, the assembly of motor vehicles or other high value-added products shall be considered manufacturing.

(x) Music production means the process of creating sound recordings of at least eight minutes, recorded in professional sound studios, intended for commercial release. Music production does not include recording of live concerts, or recordings that are primarily spoken word or wildlife or nature sounds, or produced for instructional use or advertising or promotional purposes.

(y) Net new jobs means jobs created in this State that:

(z) New media means the application of information technology to traditional communications outlets, particularly through interactive modes such as the Internet, including video games, web search portals, interactive web-based content, and interactive advertising. New media also includes the post production process for film and television projects which involves the following activities: picture, sound and music editing; rerecording and mixing; visual effects, graphic design, original scoring, animation and musical composition.

(aa) Participant means a business entity that:

(ab) Preliminary schedule of benefits means the maximum aggregate amount of each component of the tax credit that a participant in the program is eligible to receive pursuant to this regulation. The preliminary schedule of benefits shall indicate the annual amount of each component of the credit a participant may claim in each of its 10 years of eligibility. The preliminary schedule of benefits shall be issued by the department when the department approves the application for admission into the program. The commissioner may amend that schedule, provided that the commissioner complies with the credit caps in section 359 of the Economic Development Law.

(ac) Program means the Excelsior Jobs Program.

(ad) Qualified investment means an investment in tangible property (including, a building or a structural component of a building) owned by a business entity that:

(ae) Regionally significant project means:

Other businesses creating 150 or more net new jobs in the State and making a significant capital investment in the State also may be considered eligible as a regionally significant project by the commissioner. In order to be a regionally significant project under this subdivision a business must export a substantial portion of its products or services outside of the State or outside of a metropolitan statistical area, or county within the State.

(af) Related person means a related person pursuant to section 465(b)(3)(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(ag) Remuneration means wages and benefits paid to an employee by a participant in the program. Under no circumstances shall remuneration include mandated benefits including, but not limited to, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), Medicare tax, unemployment insurance or workers' compensation insurance.

(ah) Research and development expenditures mean the expenses of the business entity that are qualified research expenses under the Federal research and development credit under section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code and are attributable to activities conducted in the State. If the Federal research and development credit has expired, then the research and development expenditures shall be calculated as if the Federal research and development credit structure and definition in effect in Federal tax year 2009 were still in effect.

(ai) Scientific research and development means conducting research and experimental development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, including but not limited to agriculture, electronics, environmental, biology, botany, biotechnology, computers, chemistry, food, fisheries, forests, geology, health, mathematics, medicine, oceanography, pharmacy, physics, veterinary, and other allied subjects. For the purposes of this article, scientific research and development does not include medical or veterinary laboratory testing facilities.

(aj) Significant capital investment means a project which will be either a newly constructed facility or a newly constructed addition to, expansion of or improvement of a facility, consisting of tangible personal property and other tangible property, including buildings and structural components of buildings, that are depreciable pursuant to section 167 of the Internal Revenue Code, have a useful life of four years or more, are acquired by purchase as defined in section 179(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, and that is equal to or exceeds:

(ak) Software development means the creation of coded computer instructions or production or post production of video games, as defined in section 611(1-a) of the General Business Law, other than those embedded and used exclusively in advertising, promotional websites or microsites, and also includes new media.

(al) Smart growth means the sensible, planned, efficient growth that integrates economic development and job creation with community quality-of-life by preserving and enhancing the built and natural environments. Smart growth encourages growth in developed areas with existing infrastructure to sustain it, particularly municipal centers, downtowns, urban cores, historic districts and older first-tier suburbs.