News

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Governor George E. Pataki’s proposal to allow public and private colleges and universities to compete for up to $350 million in state funds as part of a matching grant program would create 16,000 jobs, and spur economic activity across the state by leveraging over $1 billion in investments from private and other sources, according the New York Commission of Independent Colleges and Universities (cICU)

Governor George Pataki this week rejected the idea of tax increases to support increased school spending, and insisted that last year's income-tax surcharge should expire as scheduled. "This state does not have, in my view, any desire to raise taxes," the Governor said in response to a question about how to pay for any increase in school funding

New York State can expect more than 18,000 new jobs by 2008 as a result of information- technology job growth outside the United States, according to a new study commissioned by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)

David Gregory, White House correspondent for NBC News, will be the keynote speaker at The Business Council's Annual State Chamber Dinner Monday, May 10, at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Gregory has been a correspondent with NBC News since 1995, reporting for all the news divisions' broadcasts

State Average annual salary Rank, avg. salary Full-time equivalent employees (FTE) FTE/1,000 residents Rank, FTE/1,000 residents Total March 2003 payroll Total March payroll per FTE employee State Full-time equivelent employment State FTE/1000 residents Local full-time equivalent employment Local FTE/1000 residents Population ALABAMA $33,127 39 269,674 60 12 $758,999,242 $2,815 85,518 33 184,156 41 4,486,508 ALASKA $45,504 9 51,102 79 2 $197,563,784 $3,866 24,837 156 26,265 41 643,786 ARIZONA $38,558 21 261,492 48 48 $856,632,408 $3,276 65,372 50 196,120 36 5,456,453 ARKANSAS $30,237 49 153,382 57 25 $394,037,314 $2,569 54,087 47 99,295 37 2,710,079 CALIFORNIA $52,129 1 1,805,446 51 42 $7,996,219,320 $4,429 389,345 11 1,416,101 40 35,116,033 COLORADO $40,824 17 256,018 57 23 $887,996,182 $3,468 67,406 51 188,612 42 4,506,542 CONNECTICUT $48,444 4 176,369 51 43 $725,918,233 $4,116 59,967 69 116,402 34 3,460,503 DELAWARE $41,155 16 45,947 57 22 $160,656,568 $3,497 24,455 143 21,492 27 807,385 FLORIDA $37,804 22 806,682 48 47 $2,590,947,421 $3,212 186,861 17 619,821 37 16,713,149 GEORGIA $34,343 32 484,515 57 24 $1,413,734,297 $2,918 121,255 24 363,260 42 8,560,310 HAWAII $39,145 19 71,764 58 18 $238,674,782 $3,326 57,458 58 14,306 11 1,244,898 IDAHO $32,539 42 78,548 59 14 $217,151,389 $2,765 23,320 119 55,228 41 1,341,131 ILLINOIS $41,371 14 641,248 51 45 $2,253,948,185 $3,515 133,916 26 507,332 40 12,600,620 INDIANA $34,562 30 332,380 54 32 $976,009,951 $2,936 90,788 32 241,592 39 6,159,068 IOWA $36,216 25 179,633 61 11 $552,733,473 $3,077 52,795 58 126,838 43 2,936,760 KANSAS $33,377 36 178,042 66 5 $504,879,558 $2,836 43,908 65 134,134 49 2,715,884 KENTUCKY $32,080 45 227,902 56 29 $621,162,006 $2,726 78,828 35 149,074 36 4,092,891 LOUISIANA $31,499 47 279,087 62 10 $746,906,863 $2,676 90,189 30 188,898 42 4,482,646 MAINE $33,853 34 75,041 58 16 $215,831,708 $2,876 21,830 132 53,211 41 1,294,464 MARYLAND $44,874 10 287,513 53 38 $1,096,158,924 $3,813 91,762 42 195,751 36 5,458,137 MASSACHUSETTS $45,644 8 320,372 50 46 $1,242,413,118 $3,878 91,064 43 229,308 36 6,427,801 MICHIGAN $42,806 11 512,026 51 44 $1,862,175,130 $3,637 137,062 27 374,964 37 10,050,446 MINNESOTA $42,053 12 283,691 57 26 $1,013,609,731 $3,573 75,220 47 208,471 42 5,019,720 MISSISSIPPI $28,563 50 186,130 65 7 $451,697,979 $2,427 56,269 43 129,861 45 2,871,782 MISSOURI $32,897 40 311,972 55 30 $871,959,633 $2,795 90,912 31 221,060 39 5,672,579 MONTANA $32,486 43 52,886 58 15 $145,969,214 $2,760 18,700 148 34,186 38 909,453 NEBRASKA $34,407 31 113,703 66 4 $332,386,423 $2,923 33,500 87 80,203 46 1,729,180 NEVADA $45,849 6 92,655 43 50 $360,932,268 $3,895 24,716 158 67,939 31 2,173,491 NEW HAMPSHIRE $36,658 24 68,192 53 34 $212,384,317 $3,115 20,359 153 47,833 38 1,275,056 NEW JERSEY $50,228 3 489,448 57 21 $2,088,686,795 $4,267 146,698 29 342,750 40 8,590,300 NEW MEXICO $32,309 44 122,040 66 3 $335,000,910 $2,745 46,325 59 75,715 41 1,855,059 NEW YORK $51,445 2 1,193,262 62 9 $5,215,580,288 $4,371 248,150 18 945,112 49 19,157,532 NORTH CAROLINA $35,805 26 469,942 56 27 $1,429,597,844 $3,042 131,265 23 338,677 41 8,320,146 NORTH DAKOTA $34,103 33 41,178 65 6 $119,309,670 $2,897 18,009 161 23,169 37 634,110 OHIO $39,007 20 619,869 54 31 $2,054,318,446 $3,314 136,871 24 482,998 42 11,421,267 OKLAHOMA $31,566 46 201,632 58 17 $540,749,912 $2,682 65,511 41 136,121 39 3,493,714 OREGON $40,679 18 181,607 52 41 $627,664,640 $3,456 57,022 61 124,585 35 3,521,515 PENNSYLVANIA $41,429 13 569,356 46 49 $2,004,086,862 $3,520 159,463 22 409,893 33 12,335,091 RHODE ISLAND $46,894 5 55,944 52 39 $222,892,539 $3,984 20,080 198 35,864 34 1,069,725 SOUTH CAROLINA $32,753 41 242,222 59 13 $674,042,342 $2,783 77,275 36 164,947 40 4,107,183 SOUTH DAKOTA $31,187 48 43,445 57 20 $115,117,829 $2,650 13,062 203 30,383 40 761,063 TENNESSEE $33,267 38 311,601 54 33 $880,713,325 $2,826 83,495 34 228,106 39 5,797,289 TEXAS $34,592 29 1,253,022 58 19 $3,682,580,373 $2,939 265,748 11 987,274 45 21,779,893 UTAH $35,595 28 122,209 53 37 $369,581,819 $3,024 47,674 63 74,535 32 2,316,256 VERMONT $35,764 27 38,660 63 8 $117,470,815 $3,039 13,538 224 25,122 41 616,592 VIRGINIA $37,145 23 411,100 56 28 $1,297,376,491 $3,156 115,818 27 295,282 40 7,293,542 WASHINGTON $45,693 7 321,153 53 36 $1,246,767,866 $3,882 112,606 34 208,547 34 6,068,996 WEST VIRGINIA $33,493 35 93,383 52 40 $265,731,032 $2,846 37,215 76 56,168 31 1,801,873 WISCONSIN $41,159 15 288,044 53 35 $1,007,280,196 $3,497 71,040 49 217,004 40 5,441,196 WYOMING $33,315 37 43,651 88 1 $123,553,044 $2,830 12,103 234 31,548 63 498,703 U

ALBANY—The Public Policy Institute has developed the following side-by-side comparison of the education reform and financing proposals advanced by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, and by Governor Pataki's Commission on Education Reform. The Campaign for Fiscal Equity — the plaintiff in the case in which the Court of Appeals found that the state has failed to provide a sound, basic education for children in New York City — has released some of its proposals in a series of news releases and news conferences in recent weeks; more are expected shortly

Governor Pataki's Commission on Education Reform said today that the state's schools need additional spending of somewhere between $2.5 billion and $5.6 billion, phased in over the next five years, if they are to meet the needs of students in high-poverty and other stressed school systems

Despite the “crushing” burden Medicaid imposes on New York taxpayers, “little has been done to bring the costs under control,” largely because of the politically powerful hospital workers union, according to a Gannett News Service report

The number of obese and overweight adults in Upstate New York increased by nearly a quarter-million from 1997 to 2002, costing New Yorkers more than $6 billion a year in related health-care costs, according to a study by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield