The Business Council is urging lawmakers to consider another tax reduction
- this time, for the poorest workers in New York State.
With a broad coalition that includes advocates for labor, human services,
and local governments, The Council urged Governor Pataki and legislative
leaders to expand the state's earned income tax credit (EITC)
The Business Council has made an overhaul of the state's
unemployment insurance system a top priority in the current
legislative session, said Chris
Pugliese, manager of government and political affairs
at The Business Council
Two Assembly groups are holding hearings
on the possible refinancing of the state's environmental "Superfund" this
year. The Business Council will testify at one of these hearings. The Assembly
Environmental Conservation Committee and the Assembly Commission on Toxic
Substances and Hazardous Wastes are jointly sponsoring the hearings to discuss
different approaches to refinancing Superfund
New York State businesses consider the state's civil justice system a major
impediment to competitiveness because it drives up costs and stifles innovation,
a new survey of Business Council members shows.
"The need for tort reform has never been more important to businesses
and their ability to compete in New York," said Brian McMahon, director
of manufacturing and economic development for The Business Council
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