A set of stringent environmental emissions rules adopted
by the Department of Environmental Conservation last year
were deemed invalid by a State Supreme Court Judge last Tuesday
for violating a 1984 environmental statute.
The emission rules, designed to curb acid rain by requiring
additional reductions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen emissions
at power plants, would have raised statewide wholesale power
rates by 5 percent, according DEC estimates
The last
thing New York's economy needs is a government mandate telling us what
kind of power we must buy and driving up our costs.
But that's
what the state Public Service Commission (PSC) is being asked to do. In
today's recommended decision sent to the PSC, a state administrative law
judge has urged the administration to require consumers and businesses
to buy energy from sources dictated by government and at costs that are
now well above already-high market prices
The
Business Council is urging lawmakers to reject a proposal
to expand the state's "bottle bill" because it would effectively
add a new tax on consumers and impose a new burden on supermarkets
and the beverage industry
A "recommended decision" issued by an administrative law
judge urges the state Public Service Commission (PSC) to require
consumers and businesses to buy electricity from renewable
sources-power that is generally more costly than electricity
generated by conventional energy sources
ALBANYCommunity School 92, in Community School District 12 in the
Bronx, will receive The Business Council's 2004 Pathfinder Award in
a ceremony at 1 p.m. June 16 at the school. The award honors schools
that show high improvement from one year to the next as measured by their
students' scores on state tests
A proposed Constitutional amendment approved by both houses
of the Legislature, making significant changes in the state
budget process, would shift power from the governor to the
Legislature and ultimately result in higher spending and taxes,
according to independent budget expert E
The
state Assembly has proposed a $6.1 billion increase in state
aid to education over five years-which it says can be done
without raising taxes. The plan would add $1.23 billion this
year to the aid to schools statewide
The Business Council is opposing legislation, now under consideration
in both houses of the state Legislature, which would allow
towns to adopt real property transfer taxes of up to two percent
to fund local open space projects.
"The high cost of housing is already having an adverse
impact on economic development efforts in New York, especially
downstate," said The Council's memo of opposition to
the bill
Upstate
New York's local businesses are being encouraged to participate
in a cross-state bicycling trip in early June designed
to celebrate the 10th anniversary of "Bicycle Route 5," New
York's largest cross-state bicycle route
"Reforms and accountability" must be part of the
response to a Court of Appeals decision on funding for New
York City schools, Governor Pataki said in releasing his proposed
response to the court ruling.
The Governor proposed increasing total funding for the state's
public schools by $8 billion, including federal aid, over
five years