No Relief for Businesses in the 2023 Legislative Session
Missed Opportunities from Legislature Leave Employers Paying More
ALBANY – The New York State legislature had many opportunities to help the state’s business community throughout the 2023 legislative session, but very little was done to ease the burden of doing business in the state.
Successful Advocacy
The Business Council was successful in preventing several bills our state’s employers would find burdensome, including various Human Resource issues such as changes to the state’s workers’ comp program and other legislation that would create compliance problems for businesses. Additionally, our advocacy efforts successfully prevented a costly recycling mandate and materials ban and changes to antitrust laws that would be anti-consumer and anti-competitive.
The Business Council also successfully advocated for approved legislation allowing public accounting firms to incorporate in New York State with a “simple majority” of the ownership. Based on expansion estimates from the bill, in 2023 alone, New York could see as many as 150 new accounting firm partners across the state, which could generate up to $66 million in new business activity and $6.5 million in state-taxable income.
Missed Opportunities from State Legislature
There were several missed opportunities during the six-month session to address growing business concerns, including:
UI Fund Debt
New York State remains the only state to take no action to address Unemployment Insurance (UI) fund debt created by mandated state-wide business shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. New York still has $8 billion in UI debt, and failing to provide state-funded relief for the third straight year means employers will continue to pay back the entire amount through increased payroll taxes.
Extended COVID Leave
Despite the federal and state governments no longer recognizing COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency, New York State lawmakers failed to scale back the additional COVID Sick Leave program that requires businesses to provide up to 14 days of job-protected paid time off.
Weekly Pay Mandate
The state legislature did not act to protect employers from costly lawsuits following a court ruling that misapplied the state’s harsh “wage theft” law. The legislature is the sole body that can change the law that currently creates high costs and compliance issues for many employers across the state.
Wrongful Death Legislation
Families have several legal avenues to recover financially from a loss of life due to another’s negligence. Despite this, the legislature passed a wrongful death bill that will dramatically increase claims against and insurance costs for government and business alike.
ABC Laws
Despite a bi-partisan commission’s recommendations to update antiquated state liquor laws, combined with a Siena Survey showing 76% of people want wine in grocery stores, the legislature missed an opportunity to expand consumer choices and expand business opportunities for current employers.
“In the first legislative session after the 2022 elections, in which jobs, the economy, and out-migration of New Yorkers were key issues, the Senate and Assembly failed to address these concerns,” said Heather Mulligan, President & CEO, The Business Council of New York State. “At a time when New York State has lost over 400,000 residents in the last several years, the legislature continued to make doing business in New York harder. Instead of fixing the most basic needs of businesses, New York again failed.”