ALBANY— Keeping different kinds of insurance affordable and accessible for New York State employers will be the focus of Small Business Day Tuesday, March 23, at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.

The Small Business Day agenda also includes:

• A luncheon keynote address by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
  
  
• An overview of the state budget by E.J. McMahon Jr., senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
  
  
• A discussion of issues in workers' compensation insurance, featuring Joseph DiGiovanni, vice president of public affairs for the Liberty Mutual Group.
  

• Concurrent sessions on insurance issues, including discussions of:
  
  
  • Health insurance, featuring state Senator James L. Seward, chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, and Paul F. Macielak, president and CEO of the New York Health Plan.
    
  • Liability insurance, featuring Michael Misenhimer, executive director of the Empire State Subcontractors Association, and Philip LaRocque, executive vice president of the New York State Builders Association.
    

• Presentation of the Small Business Advocate of the Year Award, which will also take place during luncheon.
  
  
• Opportunities for lobbying visits at the state Capitol and the Legislative Office Building. Participants wishing to schedule appointments should do so through their local chamber of commerce.

Background on Small Business Day: Small Business Day is conducted each March by The Business Council. The Chamber Alliance of New York State (CANYS) and the National Federation of Independent Business cosponsor the event.

The purpose of Small Business Day is to give small-business operators a chance to discuss priority issues with key lawmakers and staff.

Each year, several hundred representatives of small businesses and local chambers of commerce participate. The agenda typically includes addresses by key legislative leaders, discussions on legislative issues of importance to the small business community, and opportunities for visiting small business proprietors to meet and lobby lawmakers and their key staff members.

In past years, these meetings have been critical to business' efforts to convince lawmakers to make more affordable health insurance available to sole proprietors, reduce taxes, reform workers' compensation and unemployment insurance, and make other critical improvements to New York's business climate.

A complete agenda and registration form can be found on The Council's Web site.

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