The Business Council's Agenda for the New Legislative Session
January 24, 2006
by Dylan Skriloff
With a new year and a new legislative session upon us, the business community's reform agenda is again up for debate. New York's Business Council has declared their mission as "spurring innovation and razing barriers to growth." One of their key initiatives is promoting math and science education.
They vow to oppose any legislation that aims to weaken academic standards and have proposed a $20,000 scholarship program for 500 students entering college who agree to major in math or science, earn a teacher's certification and teach in New York for at least five years.
Math and Science education was emphasized as critical to the State's future at September's RBA luncheon, by guest speaker New York State Education Commissioner Richard M. Mills. It was again emphasized at a state summit that brought together over 700 leaders in education. Both the Council and Governor Pataki have acted on the pleas of education leadership in proposing laws to encourage the field.
Other issues high on the reform agenda are taxes, debt reform, workers compensation, energy, health insurance and lawsuit abuse. The Council proposes tax exemptions for telecommunications companies installing fiber-optic cables, reform of the estate tax and reducing the state's property taxes.
The Council is calling for a general reining in of debt, spending, and taxes at the state and local government levels. They support state Comptroller Alan Hevesi's debt-reform proposal; seek repeal of the Wicks Law, which inflates construction costs for school districts by forbidding the use of a general contractor on major projects; and seek more flexibility for counties in designing and administering Medicaid programs.
Both Governor Pataki and the Republican-controlled Senate have made major tax-cut proposals, which the Council commends.
"The Senate majority is sharpening its focus on reducing property taxes, which are among the highest in the nation, and represent the largest tax burden for millions of New Yorkers," Senator majority leader Joseph Bruno said in recent Senate press release.
The total tax burden in New York is the highest in the continental U.S. and more than twice the national average. Local taxes averaged $3,750 per household, a figure that was exceeded only by Connecticut and New Jersey, the release said.
The Council suggests the state relies more on apolitical experts from New York's private sector to steer economic-development investments.
"The state doles out about $1 billion a year for development, but this spending usually reflects legislative deal-making, not strategic investment," the Council's report states.
Other issues on the busy agenda this session include support for Governor Pataki's proposed workers' compensation reforms, addressing long-standing concerns about the high costs of energy in New York, restraining growth in health-care costs, particularly employer-paid health insurance, reform of the Scaffold Law (see newsletter article) and exempting upstate employers from policies that inflate business costs if legislators continue to refuse to provide statewide relief.
