Wednesday, June 7, 2000; 10:00 a.m.
Legislative Office Building Hearing Room C Albany, New York
Chairwoman Pheffer, Chairman Parment, Chairman Sweeney, members of the committees. My name is Edward Reinfurt and on behalf of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. I want to thank you for the holding this hearing on a topic which is receiving increasing attention in capitols throughout the nation and the world
The Business Council plans
to testify at a hearing that the Assembly will conduct June 7 on the privacy
interests of individuals who conduct business on the Internet.
The hearing will take place
at 10 a.m. in Hearing Room C of the Legislative Office Building in Albany.
It is being sponsored by the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection,
the Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation, and the Assembly
Legislative Commission on Science and Technology
New York State's
business community, research institutions, and state government should collaborate
to develop a statewide "corridor" of new research and business
activity to foster new research and business development related genomics
and the life sciences, a Cornell University scientist has proposed
The Business Council is strongly
supporting a bill that would allow New York businesses to buy "business
interruption" insurance against economic losses stemming from government
actions in response to emergencies.
The bill (S.7576) was originally
a Governor's program bill
The Business
Council is pleased that employers' workers' compensation premiums may go
down this year, and will continue to monitor the second key component of
comp costs, which appears poised to increase, said Kerry Kirwan, The Council's
legislative analyst specializing in workers' compensation issues
Two Senate committees have
scheduled a joint public hearing for 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 31, on the prices
of prescription drugs.
Sen. John J. Marchi, chairman
of the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, and
Sen. George D. Maziarz, chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, will
conduct the hearing in Hearing Room B of the Legislative Office Building
in Albany
For a detailed story on
the May 2000 conference on genomics and life sciences sponsored by The Business
Council and Cornell University, click here.
Advances in
many fields are being made possible by new knowledge in the life sciences
in general, and genomics in particular, according to Steven Tanksley, a
professor of plant breeding at Cornell University
The Business Council's Manufacturing
Council met this week to work on a new strategic plan, and to address key
legislative and regulatory issues for the remainder of the year.
The May 9 planning discussion centered on getting more participation by
plant managers and other key executives in focused advocacy efforts
Declaring that "this
university can serve you as a powerful tool for economic development,"
State University of New York Chancellor Robert King told a Business Council
audience this week that SUNY is creating a new position that will focus
on helping the business community use university resources in economic development
Cutting New
York's taxes "has been Governor Pataki's constant focus every day,
and it will remain so as long as he holds public office," the head
the state Division of the Budget (DOB) told business and government leaders
at The Business Council's Annual Dinner May 8 in Albany