ALBANY Twelve New York State elementary schools will receive the
highest honor given to schools by New York State's private sector: the
2006 Pathfinder Award. The Business Council gives this award to honor
schools that show marked improvement from one year to the next on students'
state test scores
New York State is struggling to sustain a oversized network of
health-care institutions that is too big, costly, and inflexible
for society that is likely to lose population and continue to see
changes in its health-care preferences and needs, according to a
new report from a blue-ribbon commission exploring ways to right-size
New York’s hospital and nursing home sector
Governor Pataki's Executive Budget is balanced for the coming year,
but creates a budget gap of nearly $8 billion over the following
two years, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has warned.
The Comptroller warns that Albany's debt “will continue to
skyrocket” under Governor Pataki's five-year capital plan
ALBANY—The state has improved its job growth in the past by reducing
the tax burden on New Yorkers, and a current job-growth record that is
only about half as good as the nation's should prompt state lawmakers
to reduce taxes again, Daniel B. Walsh, president/CEO of The Business
Council, said in legislative testimony today
The United States Chamber of Commerce has asked legislators across
the country to vote down the so-called “Wal-Mart” bill
which would mandate the amount of money large employers pay for
health care.
"Targeting big companies with politically-motivated health
care mandates on a state-by-state basis is not only unfair, it is
illegal," said Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue
The Senate Republican Majority has unveiled a plan that would provide
$3.5 billion in relief for the state's small businesses and eliminate
the income tax and corporate franchise tax for all manufacturers.
The plan would save manufacturing companies in New York $550 million
over five years, the Senate's release said
We applaud Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and the Senate Majority
for assembling this proposal. This tax-relief plan is well-structured,
well-targeted, badly needed, and much appreciated by the business community
and New York's taxpayers.
New York suffers severe economic harm from the nation's heaviest tax
burden, and from the nation's fourth-highest corporate taxes per capita
ALBANY—Immediate business tax relief and meaningful workers' compensation
reforms are among the key legislative priorities on which state lawmakers
will be graded on The Business Council's 2006 legislative report card,
the Council has told all state legislators.
The Council sent letters to all 212 state legislators with a publication
called Ahead of the Curve, which spells out the Council’s
priorities
New York's state taxes and spending remain significantly higher than those in most states, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau show.
New York State spent $6,892 per resident in fiscal 2004, 43.7 percent more than the average of all states. That figure was third-highest among the 50 states, behind Alaska and Wyoming
ALBANY—The Business Council today published the first report in
Comp Watch '06, a new series of reports documenting the high
costs of workers' compensation and the importance of reforms to rein in
those costs.
The Council today also launched a new electronic advocacy program to
enable employers to automatically send faxed notes to their elected officials
in Albany urging them to support comprehensive, cost-cutting workers'
comp reforms