(2)(i) For a qualified life sciences company that employs ten or more persons during the taxable year, the amount of the credit shall be equal to fifteen percent of such qualified life sciences company's research and development expenditures in this state for the taxable year. For a qualified life sciences company that employs less than ten persons during the taxable year, the amount of the credit shall be equal to twenty percent of such qualified life sciences company's research and development expenditures in this state for the taxable year.

(ii) The credit shall be allowed only with respect to the first taxable year during which the criteria set forth in this subdivision are satisfied, and with respect to each of the two taxable years next following (but only, with respect to each of such years, if such criteria are satisfied). Subsequent certifications of the life sciences company by the department of economic development pursuant to this section shall not extend the three taxable year time limitation on the allowance of the credit set forth in the preceding sentence.

(3) The total amount of credit allowable to a qualified life sciences company, or, if the life sciences company is properly included or required to be included in a combined report, to the combined group, taken in the aggregate, shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars in any taxable year. If the taxpayer is a partner in a partnership that is a life sciences company or a shareholder of a New York S corporation that is a life sciences company, then the total amount of credit allowable shall be applied at the entity level, so that the total amount of credit allowable to all the partners or shareholders of each such entity, taken in the aggregate, does not exceed five hundred thousand dollars in any taxable year.

(4) No research and development expenditures made by the life sciences company and used either as the basis for the allowance of the credit provided for pursuant to this section or used in the calculation of the credit provided pursuant to this section shall be used to claim any other credit allowed pursuant to this chapter or be used in the calculation of any other credit allowed pursuant to this chapter.

(b) Maximum amount of credits. The aggregate amount of tax credits allowed under this section to taxpayers subject to tax under articles nine-A and twenty-two of this chapter in any taxable year shall be ten million dollars, and shall be allotted from the funds available for tax credits under article seventeen of the economic development law. Such aggregate amount of credits shall be allocated by the department of economic development among taxpayers in order of priority based upon the date of filing an application for allocation of life sciences research and development tax credit with such department. If the total amount of allocated credits applied for in any particular year exceeds the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed for such year under this section, such excess shall be treated as having been applied for on the first day of the subsequent year.

(c) Definitions. As used in this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Certificate of tax credit" means the document issued to a qualified life sciences company by the department of economic development, after the department of economic development has verified that such life sciences company has met all applicable criteria in this section to be eligible for the life sciences research and development tax credit allowed under this section, including but not limited to verifying that the life sciences company is a new business. The certificate shall be issued annually if such criteria are satisfied and shall specify the exact amount of the life sciences research and development tax credit that may be claimed by such qualified life sciences company, pursuant to this section, and shall specify the taxable year in which such credit may be claimed.

(2) "New business" means any business that qualifies as a new business under either paragraph (f) of subdivision one of section two hundred ten-B or paragraph ten of subsection (a) of section six hundred six of this chapter.

(3) "Qualified life sciences company" means a life sciences company, as defined in subdivision eleven of section three hundred fifty-two of the economic development law, that has been certified by the department of economic development as a life sciences company and is a new business. Provided however, for purposes of the credit authorized under this section, the department of economic development shall not certify as a life sciences company any corporation, partnership, limited partnership, or other entity that has been within the immediately preceding sixty months a related person to an entity that is a life sciences company or an entity that is engaged in scientific research and development as defined in subdivision twenty-two of section three hundred fifty-two of the economic development law.

(4) "Research and development expenditures" means qualified research expenses as defined in subsection (b) of section 41 of the internal revenue code, provided, however, that such qualified research expenses shall not include amounts under subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (b) of section 41 of the internal revenue code and as further described in paragraph 3 of subsection (b) of section 41 of the internal revenue code. If section 41 of the internal revenue code has expired, then the research and development expenses shall be calculated as if the federal research and development credit structure and definition in effect in section 41 in federal tax year two thousand nine were still in effect.

(5) "Related person" means a related person as defined in subparagraph (C) of paragraph three of subsection (b) of section 465 of the internal revenue code. For this purpose, a "related person" shall include an entity that would have qualified as a "related person" if it had not been dissolved, liquidated, merged with another entity or otherwise ceased to exist or operate.

(d)(1) For purposes of this section, in order to be eligible for the life sciences research and development tax credit allowed under this section, a life sciences company must be issued a certificate of tax credit by the department of economic development. The department of economic development shall verify that such life sciences company has met all applicable eligibility criteria in this section before issuing a certificate of tax credit, including but not limited to verifying that the life sciences company is a new business.

(2) The commissioner of economic development, after consulting with the commissioner, shall promulgate regulations by October thirty-first, two thousand seventeen to establish procedures for the allocation of tax credits allowed under this section. Such rules and regulations shall include provisions describing the application process for the credit allowed under this section, the due dates for such applications, the eligibility standards for qualified life sciences companies, the standards which shall be used to evaluate the applications, the documentation that will be provided to taxpayers to substantiate to the department the amount of tax credits allocated to such taxpayers, and such other provisions as deemed necessary and appropriate. Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary in the state administrative procedure act, such rules and regulations may be adopted on an emergency basis if necessary to meet such October thirty-first, two thousand seventeen deadline.

(e) Cross-references. For application of the credit provided for in this section, see the following provisions of this chapter:

(1) article 9-A: section 210-B: subdivision 52.

(2) article 22: section 606: subsection (hhh).

(f) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, (i) employees and officers of the department of economic development and the department shall be allowed and are directed to share and exchange information regarding the credits applied for, allowed, or claimed pursuant to this section and taxpayers who are applying for credits or who are claiming credits, including information contained in or derived from credit claim forms submitted to the department and applications for certification submitted to the department of economic development, and (ii) the commissioner and the commissioner of the department of economic development may release the names and addresses of any taxpayer claiming the credit allowed under this section and the amount of the credit earned by the taxpayer. Provided, however, if a taxpayer claims such credit because it is a member of a limited liability company or a partner in a partnership, only the amount of credit earned by the entity and not the amount of credit claimed by the taxpayer may be released.

(g) For purposes of the credit allowed under this section, the number of persons employed by a qualified life sciences company during the taxable year shall be determined by ascertaining the number of such individuals employed full-time by such company, excluding general executive officers, on the thirty-first day of March, the thirtieth day of June, the thirtieth day of September and the thirty-first day of December during each taxable year, by adding together the number of such individuals ascertained on each of such dates and dividing the sum so obtained by the number of such dates occurring within such taxable year. An individual employed full-time means an employee in a job consisting of at least thirty-five hours per week, or two or more employees who are in jobs that together constitute the equivalent of a job of at least thirty-five hours per week (full-time equivalent). * NB There are 2 § 43's