Three members of The Business Council's Environment Committee received The
Council's "Building A Better New York" award, given in recognition for outstanding
contributions to Business Council advocacy efforts.
The awards were presented Nov. 5 at The Business Council's annual environmental
conference in Saratoga Springs
Peter M. Lieb, chief counsel for litigation with International Paper Company,
testified Oct. 14 on behalf of The Business Council in favor of a proposed
expansion of the Commercial Division of the state Supreme Court to Westchester
County.
The Commercial Division was created on an experimental basis in New York City
and Monroe County on the recommendation of a 1995 task force appointed by New
York State Chief Judge Judith Kaye
Industrial customers nationwide in 1997 paid the lowest prices for electricity
in 17 years, according to figures released Nov. 3 by the Energy Information
Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
However, New York State in 1997 still ranked as one of the three most expensive
states in the union for electricity, according to the report
A state government that for years was both "expansive" and "expensive," and
a continuing imbalance of tax dollars sent to Washington compared to aid
received, have helped keep New York's economy trailing the nation's, according
to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
In this year's edition of his annual look at the federal budget and the
states, Senator Moynihan recalled the "vibrant and growing regions" of upstate
New York when he began his career in politics in the mid-1950s
The Business Council is asking the state's elected leaders to set their sights
on further business tax cuts in 1999-and is soliciting business leaders' ideas
on where the next round of tax reductions should focus.
Council President Daniel B. Walsh wrote Governor Pataki and legislative leaders
this week, urging continued efforts to cut New York's still-high taxes
The Business Council has formed an Independent Contractor Work Group to consult
with business representatives on the Governor's Independent Contractor Task
Force. The new work group will hold its first meeting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday,
Nov. 4, at The Council's Corporate Woods Office in Albany
Council members are invited to a discussion of industry self-regulation of
online privacy Tuesday, Nov. 10, in New York City.
The meeting is sponsored by the Online Privacy Alliance, a group of global
corporations and associations committed to promoting principles that foster
an online environment that protects individuals' privacy
ALBANY, N.Y. Despite a decline in motor vehicle accidents in New York, auto insurance
rates are increasingand a new study by the Public Policy Institute of New
York State says an increase in liability claims and New York's unchecked lawsuit
industry are to blame.
Auto accident-related litigation has increased in New York even though it adopted
"no-fault" insurance to minimize such lawsuits, according to Driving
Force: The role of lawsuits in pushing up the cost of car insurance in New York
State
Local business and government leaders will discuss the effects of government
mandates on the costs of local government in "roundtable" meetings Nov.
18-20 in western New York.
These are the first "Mandate Reform Roundtables" that the new Coalition
for Mandate Reform will conduct to explore how mandates affect the operations
and costs local governments-and the taxes they impose to pay these increased
costs
The Business Council has expanded its workers' compensation committee to include three
sub-committees that will work on specialized issues.
The full committee includes more than 600 individuals representing members with many
different interests related to workers' compensation, said Stacey Hengsterman, The Council's
workers comp specialist