July 5 , 2006
By Dylan Skriloff
The legislative session in Albany has ended without the passage of the so-called "Fair Share for Healthcare Act" (S.7090-Spano/A.10587-Gottfried), sponsored by the Working Families Party.
The bill as originally drafted asked that employers with 100 or more workers be required to spend at least $3 per work-hour on healthcare benefits for each employee. Manufacturing and Agricultural sectors were exempted from the proposed bill.
Business leaders said the bill would cause a skyrocketing of business costs, encourage even higher health insurance premiums, lower wages and lead to tens of thousands of layoffs and the possible relocation of many businesses. Upstate leaders especially stressed the bill could only hurt an already struggling economy.
Democratic candidate for governor, Eliot Spitzer, weighed in against the bill; saying it did not offer the comprehensive healthcare reform the system needs to increase coverage and decrease costs. Working Families Party organizers said in a mass email that this was only a momentary defeat and they will come back stronger next session on the issue.
The Business Council of New York had lobbied hard against the bill. They claimed proponents of the bill were seeking to "address a societal problem stemming from high health-insurance costs with policies that would drive those costs dramatically higher for countless employers."
The Rockland Business Association joined dozens of other business and economic organizations in signing a Memorandum of Opposition to the bill.
In Other Late Session Activity
Taken from www.bcnys.org
Workers' comp assessments:
Lawmakers passed a bill (S.5612B-Winner/A.8713-B/Farrell) that would enact a key change to the workers' comp system that has been a top Business Council priority.
Under this legislation, group self-insureds would pay their workers' compensation assessment for special funds through a surcharge based on premium, in accordance with rules set forth by the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board. The change of payment from an indemnity-loss basis to a premium basis was authorized for commercial carriers by the Legislature in 1999. This legislation would provide parity for group self-insureds.
Assessments are placed on all employers to pay the expenses of the state's Workers' Compensation Board and to finance special-purpose funds, such as the Second Injury Fund.
Workers' comp reform:
Legislators took no action on a Council-supported bill (S.8212-Alese/A.12000/Morelle) that would enact significant cost-cutting reforms to workers' compensation and significantly increase the maximum weekly benefit available to injured workers.
New York State's workers comp costs are the nation's second highest, 86 percent above average on a costs-per-case basis, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). These costs remain high largely because of high costs of claims in cases for which benefits are unlimited under statute.
These claims account for only 11.7 percent of claims in New York, yet they account for 73 percent of the aggregate cost of workers' comp. New York is one of only nine states that does not limit the duration of awards in these cases. The bill would limit the duration of these benefits and require the use of objective medical guidelines to evaluate injuries in comp cases.
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The bill would also reform the state's notorious Scaffold Law, which holds property-owners and contractors absolutely liable for worksite injuries regardless of their safety records or worker negligence. The bill would permit the consideration of evidence of worker negligence and employer safety in determining liability.
Debt reform:
The state Senate passed a constitutional debt-reform proposal (S.8333-Bruno) under which:
All appropriation-backed debt would be eliminated.
Total state-related debt outstanding would be capped at 4 percent of personal income.
Revenue debt would only be allowed for existing capital projects and/or maintenance and improvements on capital projects that have already received voter approval.
Issuance of debt would be limited to capital works only.
Legislators took no action on a Council-supported bill (S.8176/Libous-A.11516-Morelle) that proposed a constitutional amendment to enact debt reform as state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has proposed. Specifically, this bill would:
Define state-funded debt to include all debt supported by state resources, which includes most debt held by public authorities.
Limit outstanding state-funded debt to 5 percent of personal income -- it is now 7 percent -- and limit new borrowing to 95 percent of the previous year until debt as a percentage of personal income is below 5 percent.
Create an independent debt management board which would conduct an "annual debt affordability study." The study would examine the state's debt level and analyze the state's ability to issue new debt.
Require voter approval for debt exceeding $1 billion and authorize ballot initiatives to consolidate state-funded debt.
Health-insurance for sole proprietors:
In a significant victory for the Council and the state's smallest businesses, lawmakers passed a bill that would allow sole proprietors to buy health insurance from chambers and other associations at a price that is no more than than 115 percent of the group rate the association charges to groups of 50 or fewer employees. Albany first passed such sole-proprietor legislation in 2002, when the maximum allowable charge was 120 percent of the group rate.
July 5, 2006
All Voices are Heard at the Government Affairs Committee
"Fair Share" Healthcare Tax Act Defeated in Albany Session; Some Workers Compensation Reform Achieved
but no action taken on Assemblyman Morelle's more comprehensive workers compensation and debt control proposals
New Media Seminar Receives Good Reviews
RBA Members and RCC Staffers look forward to more presentations in "Distinguished Speaker Series"
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