ALBANY—A diverse group of organizations and individuals will outline
an agenda to address New York's population losses and build jobs and the
state's economy at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, in the LCA press
room (Room 130) in the Legislative Office Building in Albany.
The Business Council and some five dozen other organizations in the group
have written to lawmakers pleading for post-budget action on a agenda
that addresses key issues in health insurance, workplace safety, and fiscal
reform
The Business Council is urging Governor Pataki to veto a bill that would add an estimated 52,000 workers to the state payroll and could threaten some $300 million in federal aid.
The bill, S.6758, passed the Senate unanimously in March and was approved by the Assembly in late April after a lobbying campaign led by the United Federation of Teachers
A new Massachusetts law designed to make health insurance coverage
nearly universal in the Bay State has a chance to succeed in pioneering
a broad new approach to health insurance policy if it is properly
implemented, a leading taxpayer advocate from Massachusetts told
Council members on May 10
The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is accepting
applications for the third annual Environmental Excellence awards.
The department said the awards recognize New York businesses, government,
non-for-profit organizations, education institutions and individuals
“that are achieving environmental excellence through innovation,
sustainable practices or creative partnerships
A new effort by the state’s Common Retirement Fund (CRF)
has resulted in $920 million in public and private funds invested
in New York companies since 2000, according to state Comptroller
Alan Hevesi.
The CRF has made $425 million in capital available to 15 different
funds for investments in New York, according to a release from the
Comptroller's office
The president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Michael
Widmer, will lead a discussion of the new Massachusetts individual
health mandate at the May 10 meeting of The Business Council’s
Health Committee.
Widmer will discuss the policy and politics of the new Massachusetts
Health law that requires individuals to buy a health insurance policy,
imposes an assessment on some businesses that do not offer health
insurance and creates a Health Insurance Connector to link individuals
and businesses with health insurance products
ALBANYSchool districts across New York State plan to increase per-pupil spending by twice the rate of inflation, and raise property taxes by more than $900 million, a new "School Tax Watch" study by The Public Policy Institute finds.
The proposed 2006-07 school budgets submitted for voter consideration on May 16 would raise average spending 6
Education, business costs, competitiveness, and economic development
are among the primary concerns New Yorkers from all regions of the
state identified at a series of regional meetings hosted by Business
Council Chairman Linda Sanford.
Sanford, a vice president at IBM, summarized the concerns of participants
in an April 24 letter addressed to the more than 200 business, education,
not-for-profit and government leaders she met with at the eight
regional meetings
New York’s local property taxes grew three times the rate
of inflation between 2000 and 2005, a new report from state Comptroller
Alan Hevesi’s office has found.
“New York taxpayers’ property tax burden is nearly
50 percent higher than the national average and shockingly, for
areas outside of New York City, 73 percent higher than the national
average,” Hevesi said
Representatives from The Business Council of New York State and
other business groups have been touring New York over the past few
weeks, reminding lawmakers and the media about the harmful effect
of the state’s workers’ compensation system on employers
and the economy