ALBANY— The Business Council of New York State has elected a new
chairman, vice chairman, and vice chair for finance, as well as six new
directors. The elections took place at The Council's Annual Meeting in
Bolton Landing, which ends today.
Peter I. Bijur, chairman and chief executive officer
of Texaco Inc
ALBANY—New York's top business leaders have selected six priorities
for 2000: education reform; workers' compensation reform; state fiscal
restraint; a reduction in the gross receipts tax (GRT) on consumers;
property tax reduction; and liability reform.
The priorities were identified by the board of directors of The Business
Council of New York State at The Council's Annual Meeting in Bolton Landing
Assemblyman Robin Schimminger (D-Erie) has urged the state to "act with
a sense of urgency" in developing a new, uniform building, fire safety,
and energy code.
Earlier this summer, Governor Pataki and the state Legislature agreed
to change the state's codes to match national models
The Business Council's Annual
Meeting next week will feature a live broadcast of an influential
Albany radio program devoted to politics and policy as well as an
address by pollster John Zogby.
The Annual Meeting will take place Sept. 22-24 at The Sagamore in Bolton
Landing
Peter I. Bijur, chairman and chief executive officer of Texaco Inc.,
has been nominated to serve as chairman of The Business Council's board
of directors.
William F. Allyn, president of Welch Allyn Inc., has been nominated
as vice chairman, and Alair Townsend, publisher of Crain's New York Business,
has been nominated as vice chair for finance
A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that New York and California
together account for one quarter of receipts and revenues in educational
services.
The nation's educational services industries reported $20.7 billion
in receipts and revenues in 1997, the report said
Standard & Poor's, a leading bond-rating firm on Wall Street, has
praised the New York State budget.
"While budget adoption continues to be late, New York State's long history
of marginally balanced budgets and large accumulated deficits has been
reversed and, on a budget basis, surplus operations have now been achieved
consistently," S&P's publication CreditWeek Municipal said in its
August 16 edition
The business community is joining with state and federal government
agencies in a new campaign to encourage consumer interest in energy-efficient
home appliances and lighting products.
New York Energy $mart, a two-year campaign that began in August, is
being coordinated by the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) in cooperation with the U
Six organizations, including three Business Council members, have won
the 1999 Governor's Awards for Pollution Prevention for their outstanding
environmental protection efforts.
The sixth Governor's Awards were presented at the 12th annual Pollution
Prevention Conference in Rochester, which The Business Council co-sponsored
with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Environmental
Business Association of New York State
To promote a healthier, more productive workforce, The Council and the
state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) are promoting
September as "Recovery Month."
The joint campaign seeks to increase collaboration among addiction services
providers, employee assistance programs (EAPs), and local business groups