News

21
Jul
2006
The Council will host a series of briefings across the state to review and assess human-resources related legislation introduced or passed this year, and to discuss how November’s elections might affect human-resources next year. The eight August meetings will replace the full-day meetings usually held during the summer and fall, said Tom Minnick, manager of the Council’s Center for Human Resources
19
Jul
2006
ALBANY—Proposed changes to the state Taylor Law would drive taxes higher and harm vital public services, the Business Council of New York State said in urging Governor Pataki to veto a number of bills the Legislature approved this session. "Some of these bills would impose new costs directly," Business Council President/CEO Daniel B
18
Jul
2006
Honorable George E. Pataki Governor State of New York The Capitol Albany, New York 12224 Dear Governor Pataki: RE: This year’s flood of anti-taxpayer legislation As you have said consistently, high taxes hurt New York. They drive jobs away – a key reason our job growth continues to lag the nation’s
17
Jul
2006
New York's liability climate is among the worst in the nation, and could be damaging the state's already fragile economy, a new report by the Pacific Research Institute has found. The study, the U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2006 Report, ranked states on 39 variables in five groups including monetary tort losses, threats, monetary caps, and substantive-law rules
13
Jul
2006
ALBANY—New York's overall state-and-local tax burden remains the heaviest in the country, and the state ranks at or near the top in property, income and sales taxes, a new data compilation by the Public Policy Institute shows. The Institute, the research affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, updated its Just The Facts statistics on state and local taxes in New York and elsewhere
12
Jul
2006
New York’s final state budget increased projected spending 10 percent over last year’s budget, three times the rate of inflation, according to a new analysis by state Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi. The actions taking by lawmakers at the end of the session pushed spending to about $114
11
Jul
2006
Three pieces of health legislation closely watched by The Business Council were passed by both houses in the last days of session and could have an enormous impact on health care in New York if passed into law, said the Council’s director of government affairs, Elliott Shaw
10
Jul
2006
The Business Council is asking members for input on revised amendments to state regulations governing the state's Superfund and brownfield redevelopment programs that have been published by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). DEC has scheduled a series of meetings and hearings to solicit public comments on the changes
10
Jul
2006
The Business Council is urging the Governor to sign into a law a bill that would change the mechanism by which employers that obtain workers' compensation coverage through group self-insured trusts pay mandatory surcharges on workers' comp premiums. Until 1999, most employers paid assessments based on indemnity losses, said Ed Reinfurt, vice president of The Business Council
10
Jul
2006
The Business Council is urging Governor Pataki to sign into law a new bill extending the state's Power for Jobs and Economic Development Power programs, and is urging the many Council members that participate in the programs to give the Governor the same encouragement