ALBANY—The leadership of New York State's business community has
urged state policymakers not to weaken the state Board of Regents' graduation
requirements or diminish the use of standardized tests based on those
requirements as a means of measuring student achievement
State
lawmakers have proposed 80 new health insurance mandates in
the current legislative session alone, according to an analysis
by the New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Plans.
Health
insurance mandates are laws that require health insurance
policies to cover visits to specific practitioners or coverage
for specific ailments
Two
state Senators from Long Island have warned that a state takeover
of counties' Medicaid costs could require increases in the
state's income tax - an increase that could be disproportionately
high for Long Island
If
the state had taken over all county costs for Medicaid, Long
Island taxpayers in 2002 "would have paid $1
ALBANYNew York State's economy has performed more poorly than the
nation's both during the current recession, and over the longer term,
according to a new analysis by the Public Policy Institute, the research
affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.
And the report says the state's economy has been heavily dependent on
taxpayer-funded employment to provide job growth -- something it warns
is not sustainable over the long run
"Exit
exams," a kind of standardized test that students must pass
to graduate from high school, do not reduce graduation rates,
according to a new Manhattan Institute analysis of 24 states.
The
Institute also said its research shows that neither reducing
class sizes nor increasing education spending leads to higher
graduation rates
ALBANY—Empire Zones are New York State's most valuable economic-development
tool, and state lawmakers should extend the Empire Zone program, preserve
its current strengths, ensure program accountability, and offer zone benefits
to manufacturers that make major capital investments in an effort to retain
jobs, The Business Council's economic-development specialist said Monday
ALBANY—The Business Council is strongly opposing new federal legislation
that would allow states and localities to impose taxes on the Internet.
The bill, S.2084, sponsored by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee)
and U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Delaware), would allow state and local
governments to impose a tax of up to 15 percent on consumers purchasing
Internet access
Major Provisions
S.5320 Libous/A.8862 Schimminger
A.9736 John/S.6135 Velella
Governor's Program Bill
S.6841 Rules / A.10975 Rules at the request of John
Bill Note
Section 3 of A9736 adds a new article 2-A titled "Workers' Compensation Benefit and Improvement Act" There are different subsections under section 3 of the bill which are numbered 36-36h
Scheduled Awards
Section 2: Give injured workers only half of remaining scheduled benefits if they return to work before scheduled benefits expire
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Department
of State (DOS) have announced a series of public information meetings
to discuss opportunities for funding under the Environmental Restoration
Program (ERP) and the new Brownfields Opportunity Areas Program(BOA)
ALBANYNew York State employers surveyed by The Business Council
overwhelmingly say their workers' compensation costs have increased in
the last five years, and these costs are limiting employers' opportunities
to grow, hire new workers, and sustain other business investments