REDUCING FEES AND CIVIL PENALTIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
WHEREAS, small businesses are integral to New York City, creating opportunities, contributing jobs, driving economic growth, and enriching our communities; and
WHEREAS, too many small business owners are forced to close because keeping a business afloat costs too much; and
WHEREAS, the affordability crisis facing small businesses is driven by many factors, including high commercial rents, high insurance costs, and high fees from dominant marketplace middlemen; and
WHEREAS, the City must ensure that it is not contributing to the affordability crisis through fees, civil penalties, or regulations that are outdated, unnecessary, or otherwise creating undue hardship for honest small businesses;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Documenting existing fees and civil penalties faced by small businesses. By no later than March 2, 2026, the Department of Buildings, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Fire Department, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Department of Sanitation, the Department of Transportation, and any other agency so instructed by the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice shall submit to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice a comprehensive inventory of:
a. All initial fees for licenses, permits, inspections, applications, and certificates required for new small businesses, identifying for each fee whether the amount can be reduced by administrative rulemaking, City legislative action, or State legislative action; and
b. A comprehensive inventory of all civil penalties applicable to small businesses, identifying for each civil penalty whether the amount can be reduced by administrative rulemaking, City legislative action, or State legislative action.
§ 2. Improving access to City services for small businesses: By no later than March 16, 2026, the Department of Small Business Services shall complete an assessment of how long it takes to obtain required permits, licenses, or other City approvals necessary to establish a new small business and present to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice proposed process improvements to shorten such timeframes.
§ 3. Eliminating certain initial fees. By no later than April 14, 2026, which is ninety (90) days from the date of this Order, each agency named in or designated pursuant to Section 1 shall submit a determination to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice indicating any administrative rulemaking or departmental policy changes that are available to eliminate, to the fullest extent feasible under existing law, such initial fees for licenses, permits, inspections, applications, and certificates required for the establishment of new small businesses, along with an assessment by the agency head of whether or not such initial fees have an impact on agency operations.
§ 4. Advancing and codifying reforms. By no later than July 13, 2026, which is one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of this Order, the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice, the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall, the Director of Management and Budget, and the Corporation Counsel, in coordination with the agencies named in or designated pursuant to Section 1, shall submit to the Mayor legislative recommendations identifying additional initial fees and civil penalties that require legislative action to be eliminated or reduced.
§ 5. Establishing an amnesty program. Within one year of the date of this Order, the Department of Finance, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Small Business Services, and the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice, shall deliver a report to the Mayor on the operational feasibility and fiscal impact of an amnesty and relief program to provide financial relief, as appropriate, to business owners.
§ 6. This Order shall take effect immediately.
