CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

State Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, has announced he has sponsored legislation to revamp the Empire Zone program to better benefit upstate’s rural communities.

Winner said the legislation will allow for “flexibility and streamlining” of the current program so rural areas and small businesses can get a greater benefit.

“New York’s Empire Zone program can do a better job of encouraging economic growth in rural, upstate New York,” he said in a prepared statement. “Jobs are jobs, and we can make New York’s investment in Empire Zones much more useful in building a solid, sustainable foundation of small businesses in upstate communities.”

The legislation was based on a 2006 survey conducted by the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, a committee Winner chairs, the senator said in his press release.

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