ALBANY
The Business Council today called on the legislature to adopt needed reforms
to the states Superfund program as part of any refinancing effort.
These reformswhich are being adopted by an increasing number of stateswould
base cleanups on actual risks at a site, provide post-cleanup liability releases,
and reduce or eliminate liability for entities that did not cause contamination
The Council is asking members
and state lawmakers to consider a recent speech on privacy by Louis Gerstner,
chairman and CEO of IBM, in ongoing discussions of privacy issues.
Earlier his month, Business Council President Daniel B. Walsh sent state
legislators and Council members a reprinted speech on privacy that Gerstner
gave last month
The
Business Councils electronic-advocacy campaign
to encourage repeal of the states gross receipts tax
(GRT) on energy is continuing, with 1329 persons having sent
24,207 pro-repeal letters to lawmakers and their staff
A new employer-driven workforce
development program created last year by the Legislature is seeking requests
for grants to support training by employers.
The Strategic Training Alliance Program was established last year as part
of the J2K program championed by Senate Majority Leader Joseph
Bruno and Democratic Assemblyman Robin Schimminger (D-Erie)
The Business Council is opposing
two legislative proposals that would authorize so-called "citizens'
suits" for various violations of various state environmental laws.
The Council's environmental committee is sponsoring a meeting at 11 a.m.
Wednesday, May 3, at Council headquarters to discuss the bill and strategies
for opposing it, said Ken Pokalsky, director of environmental and regulatory
affairs for The Council
A wide-ranging
new survey of upstate residents by Utica pollster John Zogby and Colgate
University shows that upstate New Yorkers' concerns closely mirror the top
priorities of The Business Council.
In the poll,
which was released April 25, taxes (cited by by 29% of respondents) and
the economy and jobs (cited by 23% of respondents) were by far the top responses
to the question, "in your opinion, what is the top issue facing New
York State?" The issue ranked next-highest was education
(cited by 9
The
Business Council is asking its members to identify the issues
they consider top priorities for legislative action after
agreement is reached on a state budget.
Albanys agenda after a budget is passed offers
both risk and opportunity for business, said Business
Council President Daniel B
State lawmakers have suspended
formal action on a state budget and made plans to resume on May 1.
Lawmakers had been striving for a budget agreement before the start of Passover,
and there were reports early Wednesday that a budget announcement was near.
But none was made.
There were reports that lawmakers have agreed that the budget would include
new tax cuts that, when fully phased in, would return $1
The Business Council, Cornell
University, and other top universities and research institutions in New
York State will hold a conference on genomics May 17-18 at the Holiday Inn
in Saratoga Springs.
Other New York institutions that are participating in the event include:
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; New York University; Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute; the University at Albany; SUNY-Buffalo; and SUNY-Stony Brook
By Bob
Crandall
Proposed state regulations on group self-insurance trusts that offer workers
compensation insurance to trust members are welcome news to employers that
participate in The Business Councils trust for manufacturersbecause
the new, more comprehensive regulations reflect our longstanding procedures