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2006 MANUFACTURING
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Following is The Business Council's 2006 Legislative
Program. It identifies priority issues to be addressed by the
Committees and Councils during 2006.
- Support additional tax reforms to promote increased competitiveness,
including allowing the application of the Research & Development-based
ITC against the article 9-a minimum tax bases, and reducing
the minimum income tax from article 9-a taxpayers from 2.5%
to 2.0%.
- Support legislation to reduce the cost of workers'
compensation insurance, including limits on "permanent partial" disability
awards, objective medical standards for assessing partial disabilities,
and others.
- Support legislation to reduce the cost of group health
insurance plans by: limiting state-imposed coverage mandates;
reducing state charges on hospital bills; and other reforms.
- Support
measures to reduce the cost of electric power, and to assure
reliable and adequate power supplies. These include the development
of new electric generating and transmission capacity in New
York State that is necessary to assure adequate supplies and
to achieve more competitive markets.
- Reform, integrate and extend
existing state electric power programs, including Power for
Jobs and the Economic Development, High Load Factor and MDA power
programs, with a focus on energy-intensive business sectors,
and with criteria including but not limited to job retention,
capital investments, improvements in efficiencies, and others.
- Reduce
and reform hazardous waste-related fees imposed on manufacturers;
eliminate any "double taxation" of process wastes generated and
disposed of within New York State; exempt all recycled wastes from
waste end assessments and surcharges.
- Expand the sales tax exemption
for energy used in manufacturing processes to include: computers
and software used predominantly in manufacturing processes or
in related research and development; reconditioning of manufacturing
tools; energy costs related to maintaining a controlled manufacturing
environment.
- Support tort reform legislation that: repeals "joint
and several" liability;
caps non-economic damages; establishes a "statute of repose" to
limit the period in which a manufacturer can be held liable for
damages attributable to its product; allows consideration of plaintiff's
negligence; and limits contingency fees.
Click here for the 2006
Legislative Program for all Issue areas.
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