New
York State's out-of-control lawsuit industry has grown in
recent years, putting the state "on a collision course
with a crisis over liability," Business Council President
Daniel B. Walsh warned today.
At
a Capitol press conference Walsh renewed The Council's calls
for sweeping tort reform to emphasize appropriate compensation
for victims, not the interest of trial lawyers
New
York's annual cleanup expenditures far exceed that of most
states, and New York's existing hazardous waste-related fees
greatly exceed the superfund-related business fees imposed
in virtually every other state, a state-by-state analysis
environmental spending shows
Saying
that economic development is the Senate's top budget priority,
the Senate Majority today proposed a $400 million expansion
of the state's Empire Zone program.
The
investment would create 40 new Empire Zones, meaning that
every county in the state would have a zone, the Senate said
in a release
New
York State should make the investment tax credit (ITC) for its
securities industry permanent to help this industry recover
from job losses in 2001, The Business Council has told lawmakers.
New
York's ITC for the financial sector is due to expire in September
2003
The
Business Council has asked a federal appeals court to let
The Council join litigation between an environmental advocacy
group and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) related
to how New York regulates air emissions from large industrial
and utility sources
ALBANY"Living
wage" laws that raise the minimum wage employers must pay, in an attempt to
help the working poor, can actually harm low-income workers by reducing the
number of available jobs at the same time they drive up costs for taxpayers,
a new study by The Public Policy Institute finds
A
well-publicized protest against big business attracted 19
demonstrators to the Albany headquarters of The Business Council
at noon Friday, April 5. The
event was part of national "Big Business Day" sponsored
by Ralph Nader and his new group, Citizen Works
Businesses
in New York State concerned about how actions in Albany drive
up New York's health-care costs can focus on some local tactics
to contain health costs, according to The Business Council's
health-care advocate.
"Rather
than throw up our hands over state policies that can inflate
costs, businesses can roll up their sleeves and pursue local
strategies for shaping their own destinies," Elliott
Shaw, director of government affairs for The Business Council
and its health-policy specialist, told the Manufacturers'
Association of Central New York (MACNY) March 27
Bills
containing The Business Council's top tax-reform priorities
have been introduced in both the Assembly and the Senate.
Legislation
proposed by Sen. James Alesi (R-Rochester) and Assemblyman
Robin Schimminger (D-Erie County) includes a series of proposals
linked by the common purpose of encouraging and rewarding
business investments in New York State
Reaffirming
its conclusion in a similar report a year ago, New York's
Independent System Operator (ISO) today said New York must
immediately increase its electricity generating capacity to
avoid serious shortages, improve air quality, facilitate growth,
and avoid cost increases