Two new bills just passed in the state Legislature will provide financial support to nail salons and improve labeling in the seafood industry.
One bill requires fish wholesalers to accurately label the identity, origin, and weight for each seafood product, as well the name and address of its distributor.
The other bill provides financial assistance to help dry cleaners and nail salons comply with the burdensome regulations.
Stringent state regulations passed in recent years have hurt small businesses, particularly in the dry cleaning and nail salon industry.
For dry cleaners, the bill will help them conform to a state ban on perchloroethylene (PERC) machines by helping them purchase costly new machines.
For nail salons, it will help them fulfill the new state ventilation requirements, which have forced most salons to purchase expensive machines or otherwise undergo renovations to their buildings.
New York state Senator Tony Avella advocated for both bills.
“Based upon new state law, which is good, but it puts financial mandates on the small businesses, many of which cannot afford it. So this will allow those small business owners to apply for the grants to upgrade their equipment,” he said.
The second bill addresses the problem of wholesalers mislabeling fish products in New York’s seafood industry, a concern that constituents had contacted Avella and Assemblyman Ron Kim about. Mislabeling had a negative impact on retailers, because their sales depend on the integrity of the products they sell.
Both bills will now be sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo to either be signed into law or vetoed. If Cuomo fails to act, it will have the same effect as a veto because the legislature went out of session June 21.
