Four Business Council member companies have won the 1998 Governor's
Awards for Pollution Prevention for their outstanding environmental protection
efforts through the use of pollution prevention measures.
The awards were presented by Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) Commissioner John P
The government affairs staff of The Business Council has prepared a complete
summary of how major issues of concern to the business community
were addressed in the legislative session that ended June 19.
The 21-page document summarizes both bills that were passed and those
that were rejected, and indicates the position taken by The Business
Council if any
Our expanded web page now offers information about all Council programs
- and connections to many relevant web sites in Albany
The Business Council has significantly increased the amount and breadth
of information on its page on the World-Wide Web.
The web page is intended to offer members and any other visitors information
about The Council, its programs and services for members, its research
and its legislative agenda
Fresh from a successful legislative session in which lawmakers addressed
many Business Council priorities, The Council is again asking its members
for input in developing new priorities for future sessions.
"The Business Council is a member-driven organization, and that means
that we pursue a legislative agenda that is based on priorities that
are set by our members," said Elliott
A
The Business Council is creating a new Coalition for Mandate Reform
that will unite local government and business leaders in a grassroots
campaign for relief from state mandates that drive up government costs
and property taxes.
The Council has asked chambers of commerce around the state to play
leading roles in the effort
A call for higher standards for public school teachers to match new
higher standards for students is "an important step forward in the effort
to improve the quality of public education," according to Margarito
Mayo, The Business Council's specialist in education issues.
But Mayo said that standards for teachers can be raised without undermining
or eliminating existing alternative certification methods for teachers
Gov. George Pataki has agreed to present the keynote address Wednesday,
September 16, at The Business Council's Annual Meeting at the Sagamore
in Bolton Landing, New York.
At the annual meeting, which is open to all Business Council members,
Business Council leaders will outline future plans, and discuss what
can be expected from state lawmakers in the year ahead
Strong opposition from The Business Council and many other groups helped
quash a number of trial lawyer-backed bills designed to expand liability
and, in the process, fatten trial lawyers' portfolios and bottom lines.
Opposition to expanded liability was so strong that the broader initiative
of tort reform gained considerable momentum, said Business Council President
Daniel B
A proposal to change the basis of employers' workers' comp premiums from payroll to "hours worked" has been rejected by the Legislature.
The Business Council had strongly opposed the hours-worked proposal, arguing that since workers' comp is intended to replace lost wages, employers' taxes for workers' comp should be based on wages
The Business Council has scored a major victory on one of its top legislative
priorities: a comprehensive unemployment insurance (UI) reform bill.
Governor Pataki is expected to sign the bill, which would:
Create new, more balanced UI tax tables.
Reform disqualification procedures so all employers whose accounts
might be tapped for benefits can introduce disqualifying evidence
in an applicant's benefits hearing