Eviction and foreclosure protections, lower rates for unemployment insurance and boosted aid for people working part time are among the measures being backed on Tuesday by the state Assembly. 

The bills are aimed at bolstering small businesses in New York that are struggling during the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Unemployment insurance has been a critical lifeline for millions of our friends and neighbors who lost their job through no fault of their own during this pandemic," Speaker Carl Heastie said. “These bills will ensure that these hardworking New Yorkers get the UI they need and deserve. It will also ensure that small businesses that are already in dire straits due to the pandemic are not financially strained due to increased UI premiums or threatened with eviction or foreclosure.”

One bill would would prevent small businesses that had to shed workers from charged higher unemployment insurance rates when they reopen. 

Another bill would allow workers who have found part-time employment to continue to maintain their eligibility to collect unemployment insurance. The current program requires a 25% reduction in a claimant's full benefit for any work performed in a single day. 

And lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled chamber are backing a ban on evictions and foreclosures on small businesses with a hardship declaration until May 1. The measure includes tax lien protections and negative credit reporting protections for property owners.