State Sen. Ray Meier (R-Oneida County) and Richard Baum, chief of staff to state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, are scheduled to speak at the annual planning meeting of the Council’s Government Affairs Council. The meeting is set for Wednesday, December 14 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Council’s offices in Albany.

The agenda for the annual planning session also includes:

• William Howard, a top adviser to Governor Pataki specializing in workers’ comp policy, has been invited to speak at the meeting.
  
  
• Ed Reinfurt, vice president of The Business Council, will lead a discussion of top legislative priorities for 2006.
  
  
• David Shaffer, president of the Public Policy Institute, will review the state of the state’s economy.

The meeting will give GAC members the opportunity to contribute to a wide-ranging discussion of topics, including:

• The fiscal and economic health of the state.
  
  
• Increasing concerns with high costs of the state’s workers’ compensation program.
  
  
• The soaring costs of buying health insurance and the continued growth of the state’s Medicaid system.
  
  
• Renewal of the state’s energy-related economic development programs.
  
  
• The importance of innovation and education to New York’s growth.

As a result of this discussion, the Council will prepare a list of draft legislative priorities for 2006. The Council’s Board of Directors will discuss that draft agenda at its meeting in January.