ALBANY—The Business Council held its 2012 Legislators’ Reception at Hotel Albany (formerly known as the Crowne Plaza Albany). Heather Briccetti, President and CEO of The Business Council, spoke to the 700+ attendees (who included Business Council members, legislative leaders and guests from around the state) on the organization’s agenda for 2012. Priorities for the Business Council include:

• Supporting the Governor’s call for no new taxes, fees and assessments in the state budget;
• Imposing limits on new spending growth, and adopting additional fiscal reforms including a new pension tier;
• Instituting mandate relief for localities to allow them to manage their own spending levels under the real property tax cap;
• Finalizing regulations to allow the safe and timely development of the Marcellus Shale;
• Reforming the state’s SEQRA, permitting and other programs to provide predictable, workable time frames for the approval of new investment projects;
• Passing a constitutional amendment to allow casino gaming;
• Adopting broad reforms in the state’s business taxes to reduce compliance costs and make the state’s tax code more supportive of in-state investment and job creation;
• Promoting public/private partnerships and procurement innovations such as design build to promote, and get the most out of, new investment in public infrastructure;
• Reforming the state’s rigorous, expensive regulatory climate to eliminate unnecessary and inefficient compliance mandates;
• Opposing new group health coverage mandates, which drive up employer and employee costs and make group help plans increasingly unaffordable; and
• Reducing lawsuit costs, including adoption of long-needed reforms to the state’s so-called scaffolding law, and rejecting expansion of the state’s “Martin Act.”

We made great strides in 2011 by working together to improve the business climate in New York, and promoting private sector investment and job creation.

I look forward to partnering with Governor Cuomo, the Senate and Assembly and, most importantly, our members, for an even more successful – and job filled – 2012.