ALBANY -- The Business Council of New York State today announced support for two
Assembly bills that would create performance standards for teachers, teaching assistants, school
administrators, and supervisors -- and enforce those standards through a new licensing system.
"Creating and enforcing performance standards can enhance quality in any enterprise, including
the educational enterprise," said Margarita Mayo, The Business Council's educational specialist
ALBANY -- New York should revamp its unemployment insurance (UI) taxes and qualifying
standards to make the system fairer to both employers and workers, Daniel B. Walsh, President
of The Business Council, told the state Senate today.
In testimony this morning before the Senate Labor Committee, Walsh outlined the business
community's labor-related priorities in UI reform, workers' compensation reform (WC), and
workforce development
ALBANY Public elementary schools in New York State with high minority populations lag far behind other schools in teaching kids to read, a new study by The Public Policy Institute of New York State shows.
The study Separate and Unequal: The Reading Gap in New York's Elementary Schools is the first comprehensive statistical analysis of how well New York's high-minority schools teach reading, "the most basic of the three R's
Letters, testimony, legislative memos add to the momentum; the Assembly
joins the call
Businesses, chambers of commerce and economic developers across the state
are generating a groundswell of support for major new tax cuts this year.
The momentum for business tax cuts is focused on a major
tax-reduction package proposed by Senate Majority Leader Joseph L
The Business Council is urging a change in state environmental policy: elimination
of the electric vehicle sales mandate currently imposed on vehicle manufacturers.
At present, major automobile manufacturers must market electric vehicles in
New York State and must sell or lease at least 16,000 in model years 1998 and
1999
New York State's fair share of federal transportation dollars may be in peril.
ISTEA, passed in 1991, expired last September. A six-month extension
continued original funding allocations but expires at the end of March.
The Business Council is part of the ISTEA Works Coalition, a group of
19 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia with a shared interest
in ISTEA funding allocations
The Business Council is urging lawmakers to consider another tax reduction
- this time, for the poorest workers in New York State.
With a broad coalition that includes advocates for labor, human services,
and local governments, The Council urged Governor Pataki and legislative
leaders to expand the state's earned income tax credit (EITC)
The Business Council has made an overhaul of the state's
unemployment insurance system a top priority in the current
legislative session, said Chris
Pugliese, manager of government and political affairs
at The Business Council
Two Assembly groups are holding hearings
on the possible refinancing of the state's environmental "Superfund" this
year. The Business Council will testify at one of these hearings. The Assembly
Environmental Conservation Committee and the Assembly Commission on Toxic
Substances and Hazardous Wastes are jointly sponsoring the hearings to discuss
different approaches to refinancing Superfund
New York State businesses consider the state's civil justice system a major
impediment to competitiveness because it drives up costs and stifles innovation,
a new survey of Business Council members shows.
"The need for tort reform has never been more important to businesses
and their ability to compete in New York," said Brian McMahon, director
of manufacturing and economic development for The Business Council