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
ALBANY—The Business Council today introduced Comp Watch '04,
a new series of reports that show how problems in New York's workers'
compensation system have made comp costs here among the nation's highest.
The series will feature five reports on the state of workers' compensation
in New York
The Republican
Senate majority has proposed a $6.29 billion increase in state aid to
education to comply with a court ruling that New York must spend more
on New York City schools. The
state Assembly is expected to propose its own increase in school aid next
week
In
the wake of the proposed 29 percent increase in workers' compensation
rates, the Business Council plans to renew its "electronic
advocacy" effort to advance the case for cost-cutting
workers' compensation reforms
ALBANY
A proposal from New York's Compensation Insurance Rating Board (CIRB)
to increase employers' average workers' compensation premiums by 29 percent
is "stunning and frightening," said Business Council President Daniel
B. Walsh.
"It's stunning
because New York State employers already pay workers' compensation costs
that are 72 percent above average on a per-case basis," Walsh said
In
the wake of the proposed 29 percent increase in workers' compensation
rates, the Business Council plans to renew its "electronic
advocacy" effort to advance the case for cost-cutting
workers' compensation reforms
Roughly one in six proposed school budgets statewide was
rejected by voters, the Associated Press reported.
The rejection rate was apparently the highest in nearly a
decade, with budgets going down to defeat in at least 100
districts in Tuesday's voting, according to AP
ALBANYUpstate New York State's economy has been lagging for
years behind the nation's growth rate and behind such "Rust Belt" competitors
as Michigan and Ohio, according to a new analysis by the Public Policy
Institute, the research affiliate of The Business Council of New York
State, Inc