First-in-the-Nation Legislation Offers Financial Assistance in Exchange for New Jobs, Capital Investment, and Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Companies Must Deliver Tangible Community Benefits, Including Prevailing Wage, Workforce Training, and Programs To Expand Opportunities for Disadvantaged Populations

Prepares New York to Take Advantage of Major Economic Opportunities Created by Federal CHIPS and Science Bill Signed into Law by President Biden This Week

Governor Hochul: "It was a message to the semiconductor industry: Those of you who've gone away and developed, thinking you're prospering in another country, it's time to come home. This is your home. And those who've been with us from the very beginning...we say, thank you for continuing your investment right here. Because if you establish your business here, you will thrive here."

Hochul: "New York will be the first state in the nation to have environmental standards along with these incentives. So when a chip plant gets built here under this Green CHIPS initiative, they're going to have a distinction that sets them apart that they can proudly say to their workers and their customers we did this in a green way."

Earlier today, Governor Hochul signed the groundbreaking, first-in-the-nation Green CHIPS legislation (S.9467/ A.10507) aimed at creating jobs, kick-starting economic growth and maintaining important environmental protections while making New York a hub for semiconductor (also known as "chips") manufacturing. Green CHIPS will help New York capitalize on a historic opportunity to attract chip manufacturers to the state, generating at least $3 billion investment, creating 500 new jobs per project, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions related to chip production. In doing so, the legislation will also help to make the everyday technologies that use these chips more affordable and improve the state's economic standing overall.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. Good morning. And yes, it actually is a very good morning. Delighted to be here.

First of all, joined by a real treasure for this country. We thought he was our own, Senator Chuck Schumer, but the leadership he has shown, especially since he has ascended to be the Majority Leader of the United States Senate has been nothing short of extraordinary. I'll be introducing him in a minute, but let's give another round applause to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. And a great partner in Congress, I had the pleasure of serving with him. Paul Tonkois here as well. That's Congressman Paul Tonko.

And my partners in state government, Jeremy Cooney, and I want to thank you for your leadership on sponsoring what we're doing here today. Jeremy Cooney's here. Let's give him a round applause. Al Stirpe is the sponsor in the assembly. He couldn't join us today, but a special shout out to Al Stirpe. Also, John Mannion, our Senator from the 50th district. Neil Breslin is here from the 44th. Pat Fahy is here, Albany's own Assemblymember. Mayor of the City of Albany, my great friend and sometimes drinking buddy, the Mayor. We've got a lot to talk about, okay? We do have a good time together.

And of course, Empire State Development. Our leader, our champion, Hope Knight has joined us here today. Let's recognize her. Commissioner of Labor, Roberta Reardon. Let's give her a round of applause. Justin Driscoll, the Interim President CEO of NYPA Power Authority. Havidan Rodriguez, the President of the University at Albany. Senator Schumer and I were here I think it was around May 14th for your graduation. It was a very hot day, but we're glad you back. And of course, Deborah Stanley, our Interim SUNY chancellor has joined us here today.

Great day back at New York Creates and to see so many people. It was actually 199 days ago that I stood here with Senator Schumer. And we were talking about the National Semiconductor Technology Center, we're checking out the space, thinking this could be a nice home, but we need to get some things done. And I'm sure he'll be talking about that, but we got the job done. He got the job done. And so we're very excited about the prospect of that. But also we had a chance to highlight the need for a national CHIPS and Science Act. And it was a message to the semiconductor industry: Those of you who've gone away and developed, thinking you're prospering in another country, it's time to come home. This is your home. And those who've been with us from the very beginning -- 2009, companies like Global Foundries, we say, thank you for continuing your investment right here. Because if you establish your business here, you will thrive here.

And it was literally just about a year ago when I became governor, and I said, I have two major priorities. One, we are in COVID, protect the health of New Yorkers, but number two is protect the health of the economy and make sure that our businesses have an environment where they can thrive, and hire people, and create good jobs and we do the construction of their facilities. This has been my dream, and my vision and today we're taking important step forward to make that become a reality.

And just two days ago, you saw what President Biden did because of the leadership of Chuck Schumer. Got the job done -- the CHIPS and Science Act. And he'll be talking about that in a moment, but we say, you come to New York, or you rebuild in New York, you continue to invest in New York, we will welcome you with open arms. That's what we do. We are changing the trajectory of this state by investing in the technologies of the future, but also manufacturing is in our DNA. We know that.

We're celebrating the 200th anniversary of the building of the Erie Canal, still considered an engineering marvel around the world. And places like Albany, Utica, Schenectady, and Rochester, and Syracuse, and Buffalo and all the communities -- they thrive, not just because of this canal, but also because of the businesses, the manufacturing that occurred in those little communities that gave them life. So, we have a culture of working hard. You roll up your sleeves, you show up at your job, you put in a good day's work. That's who we are as New Yorkers. And I'm telling you, as I talk to business leaders around this country that is an amazing selling point because that is not part of the DNA of people in so many states -- it's who we are in New York.

So, it's also part of my own family's story. My dad, the son of immigrants in search of a better life, came to Buffalo, literally made steel with his hands. He used to come out of work and he was all hot and sweaty. He worked in the coal plant, watch him pack his little lunchbox, he went off to work. We had one car, grandpa borrowed the car and got to work. So, I grew up with that sense of responsibility to community and family, but also the dignity of good paying jobs. But my father worked there as well, but when he was 30 years old, had a chance to get a college degree when he was working at the steel plant and he jumped ship. He and a couple of other guys were just starting a new business, called tech and computers. And what was this? And I remember being a little girl going into a gigantic room, this big, and it had data processing machines, these were the old computers, and I got to play at the punch cards. So this was the early, early days of the technology businesses. So, I also had a chance to see not just our traditional manufacturing, but what we can do with the world of technology and how it can change lives like my own. So, as someone who grew up in an era where the manufacturing jobs left and everybody— when I grew up in my hometown, it's like, "Last one out of town, turn out the lights." And that was what was going on in much of Upstate New York. And we lost a lot of our manufacturing overseas.

But now it's time to bring them back. And semiconductors, that is the industry. The manufacturer of semiconductors, and the innovation, the brilliant people that gather in places like this and think of the new way to move us forward. It's happening now. But we used to be further ahead. In 1990, the US had nearly 40 percent of all the semiconductor manufacturing in the world. 40 percent. We are just moving ahead. Something happened, and now the number is 12 percent. Well, Majority Leader Schumer, and myself, and our legislators, all banding together, we're prepared to say, we're ready to raise those numbers up, but not just raise them up for this country, raise them up here in New York State. And the implications are massive for national security, technological innovation, economic growth and independence.

I'm sick and tired of the US economy being held hostage to foreign supply chains that are being disrupted. We saw the disruption of manufacturing cars in our own country. My hometown had a Ford stamping plant. They couldn't stamp Fords because the semiconductor chips were not available. Because they're coming from another country. I love the thought that we can wean ourselves from that dependence on others, and what is happening in geopolitical situations out there. And we have enough geopolitical situations in our own state, but we could manage those. We could definitely manage those in comparison, and there'll be no stopping us.

So, we're seizing this opportunity. The Senator will talk about the $52 billion investment package, but also Paul Tonko, thank you for your help getting that done. What are we going to do here in New York? How do we capitalize on what they just did? That extraordinary accomplishment that people said could not be done? And I think you've learned that you cannot say something can't be done when it comes to Senator Schumer because he'll just break right through it. And he did, and that's give him a round of applause. And as we continue to attract businesses to build on the ecosystem that's already here, let's recognize, and I mentioned Global Foundries, we now have 76 semiconductor and electronics manufacturing establishments right here. We have almost a $5 billion economic impact already today, already today. And that supports over 343,000 good paying jobs.

And I'm proud that Upstate New York has become the hub of this activity. This is where it belongs. We've got the low cost power, plentiful space, affordable housing, great attractions, magnificent summers, winters -- summers more so than winters -- I'm from Buffalo, I can say that. But also having Albany Nanotech right here, the most advanced semiconductor research and development facility in the country right here. That's how we win the war. That's how we win the race and bring those jobs home.

So, we're ready to host the National Semiconductor Technology Center. We believe that what we're going to do here today with that coming will create over a thousand jobs in the Capital Region. And now it's time for us to do our part at the state level. States are going to have to compete for the business that's out there.

Every state can take advantage of what happened in Washington, but how do we give that extra leg up to New York State? Well, we figured it out. It's called our $10 billion Green CHIPS bill and that's what I'm prepared to sign here today. You had the vision, Senator Cooney and all of our partners, particularly from Central New York and Finger Lakes Region and the Capital Region. All of you saw that the possibilities are there. You just had to be ready to seize them and position us as the ones who can say come to New York, it'll be advantageous for you. You'll have the best workforce. And you'll be part of an ecosystem that's already thriving. So who can say no to that? And we're out there making that case strong.

But one thing I'll also say, I'm leveraging is I think it's important to let people know when they're looking at other states to do their business and what has been happening in state legislatures under different governors all across this country when it comes to the rights of your workers, particularly, hopefully half of your workforce, which is women, you need to rethink this. I'm going to use that and say your workforce, your women, who cherish their rights to freedom, the right to have access to reproductive healthcare without limitations - if you want to respect your employees, you're going to have them work in the State of New York. I will lean into that argument every day of the week.

I'll close by saying why we call this a Green CHIPS bill. Why green? It's a nice color, but more than that, we're having a performance based incentive, which means this is not a handout. It's not a handout, but what this is going to do is offset the cost of developing a semiconductor plant and we're going to do it in a very green way. These incentives are going to be used for green vehicles, energy storage, clean energy, but also the process of creating those CHIPs has to be green, too. This is what sets us apart. We need to balance this opportunity with environmental sustainability. So, we're going to be asking and requiring that renewable energy be used for these projects and achieve high levels of energy efficiency and meet our nation leading greenhouse requirements.

Once again, we're leading. New York will be the first state in the nation to have environmental standards along with these incentives. So when a chip plant gets built here under this Green CHIPS initiative, they're going to have a distinction that sets them apart that they can proudly say to their workers and their customers we did this in a green way. It's ambitious, but again, you have to create the jobs first and for every dollar that the state will give in tax incentives after the jobs are created, there is an expectation, indeed, a requirement, that there be $15 of direct spending by the company. That's how we incentivize with this $150 billion of a direct spending in the State of New York. I would say that is a very good deal. That is a very good deal. And I'm prepared right now to sign that bill. As soon as we hear from some great speakers.

I'm energized by this. I believe we're going to look back at this day and say, this is the week that everything changed from Washington. Prioritizing the CHIPs bill at the federal level, what we're doing here at the state level, and now we say we are more than open for business. We embrace you with open arms.

And a person who shares that philosophy with me and has been a champion beyond what anybody could ever expected. He is tenacious tireless in his pursuit of bring businesses to the State of New York, particularly upstate and in this industry, is our great Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Let's hear from him.

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