ALBANY -- A more competitive business environment helped employers in New York create
an extra 86,000 jobs in 1997, compared to what would have been gained under the state's former
share of the nation's growth, a new analysis by The Business Council of New York State says.
And New York could add fully 170,000 additional jobs in 1998, just by attracting its share of the
employment gains that economists predict for the national economy this year, The Council said
The Assembly has passed a bill that would increase employers' health care
costs by mandating enriched mental health coverage. The Business Council opposes
the bill, which goes further than a federal law that took effect last month.
The Council also cites the bill's high costs and potential for adding to the
number of uninsured in the state, and notes that virtually all employer protections
in the federal law were dropped from the Assembly bill
The Business Council has urged the
state Public Service Commission to approve "PowerChoice," a restructuring
plan for Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation.
NiMo's plan calls for a 3.2 percent rate cut for residential customers
and small businesses and a 25 percent rate cut for large industrial customers
New York's business community has begun a broad-based cam-paign to win the
next major round of tax cuts needed to make the Empire State more competitive.
Business Council President Daniel B. Walsh faxed a memo to chambers of commerce,
regional associations and other allies on Wednesday, asking them to contact
Governor Pataki and legislators in the next few days
Gov. George Pataki has been invited
to be the featured speaker at The Business Council's annual Small Business
Day 1998, which will take place Monday, March 30, at the Empire State Plaza
Convention Center in Albany. Small Business Day, which is co-sponsored by
the National Federation of Independent Business in cooperation with many
local chambers of commerce and business associations, provides an opportunity
for representatives of smaller businesses to lobby lawmakers about important
issues facing small business
Honorable John O' Mara
Chairman
Public Service Commission
Empire State Plaza
Agency Building 3, 20th Floor
Albany, New York 12223
Dear Chairman O'Mara:
It is my understanding that Niagara Mohawk Corporation's "PowerChoice" restructuring
agreement may be voted on by the three member board of the Public
Service Commission (PSC) at the next scheduled deliberative session,
Wednesday, February 4
A top official with the state Department of Labor (DOL) has urged The Business
Council to play an active role in the dialogue on possible reform in the state's
unemployment insurance system.
"It's your money that funds the system," James Dillon, DOL Executive
Deputy Commissioner, reminded the business community in a special briefing
of the Council's Government Affairs Committee Jan
The Business Council has formally adopted its 1998 legislative program, which
was developed by committees and councils of member company representatives
working in 21 different subject areas.
The program was accepted by the Government Affairs Council on January
20, and then given final approval by the Executive and Policy Committees
of the Board of Directors later that day
Matthew Maguire has returned
to The Business Council as Director of Communications and as Director of Development
for The Public Policy Institute.
Maguire worked in public relations for The Business Council in the early
1980s. He has spent the last 11 years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
where he worked in both public relations and fund-raising
2,506 employers join in 'Operation
UI Pre-Pay,' triggering across-the-board
rate reduction to save most
companies $63 per employee
Working with hundreds of member
companies, Chambers of Commerce,
trade associations and other
allies across the state, The
Business Council has engineered
a $420 million cut in this
year's unemployment insurance
taxes in New York