July 8, 2008
Paid Family Leave
The Business Council campaign against legislative proposals to impose a paid family leave mandate on businesses were blocked thanks to the grass roots efforts of Chambers including the Rockland Business Association, the Chamber of Schenectady County and the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Unshackle Upstate played an active role in the successful efforts to stop passage of this onerous mandate.
Care to see which regions mobilized the most action? Click here to see the geographic distribution of the more than 1,335 New Yorkers who sent nearly 17,000 faxes to their elected representatives on the paid family leave.
The fight is not over! While our e-advocacy campaign generated 1,335 unique participants, the PFL Coalition was able to muster an equal if not greater number of advocates for their position. Click here to read the NYS Paid Family Leave Coalition's end of session take.
Property Tax Cap Coalition
The newly formed New York Property Tax Cap Coalition has launched its new website and is accepting online signups. The proposed property tax cap, recommended by The Commission on Property Tax Relief, is a signature issue for Governor Paterson and supported by 74 percent of New Yorkers in a recent Siena poll. The coalition is made up of individuals, associations and businesses from around the state to collectively support the property tax cap.
Kudos to chambers who joined early on; several chambers including the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, the Rochester Business Alliance, the Rockland Business Association, and the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, are going beyond joining and recruiting supporters.
Click here for the latest news on real property tax relief in New York.
Legislative Wrap Up
The legislature has enacted legislation, strongly supported by the Chamber Alliance and the Business Council, to help keep health care affordable for sole proprietors. The bill (S.7550-Seward/A.10656-Morelle) extends until 2011 the maximum premium rate differential established for group coverage for individual proprietors who buy group health insurance through associations.
The Business Council and coalition of business groups were successful in defeating labor proposals that would have crippled Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs); however, the legislature refused to re-instate low-cost financing for civic facilities.
There is still time to weigh in on legislation important to your members. The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce continues to oppose changes to the eligibility requirements for Healthy NY. Reach out to the Governor and let your voices be heard.
Visit The Business Council website for the 2008 Legislative End of Session Wrapup.
In the News ...
The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Schenectady County, the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County and the Center for Economic Growth have partnered and entered into an agreement with Capital Region Global Business Network. The partnership will align economic development organizations around the issue of educating and providing networking opportunities for companies interested in global trade.
The Cheektowaga Chamber of Commerce recently received a grant for Workplace Safety Training from the Hazard Abatement Board. The Cheektowaga Chamber worked with the Lancaster Area Chamber of Commerce and Erie Community College Workforce Development to create a consortium to provide safety training to business members who may not have had the opportunity to provide training to their employees. The purpose of the grant is to train and educate workers, supervisors and/or employees with a focus on preventing workplace accident and injury prevention.
Mike Linehan, President of the Yates County Chamber of Commerce, recently spoke with the Albany Times Union on the state of the upstate economy including Yates County.
"I Live NY"
The Livingston County Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated the 2008 graduating class of the "Leadership Livingston" program, which included a college student from SUNY Geneseo. A goal of the program is to expose young people to mentors, community and career opportunities in upstate New York before they graduate from college.
The New Paltz Chamber of Commerce participates in the Tech Valley Teacher Externship Program, a program designed to expose teachers to math and science in modern technology fields through hands-on work experience. This summer, the Tech Valley model supports 21 teacher externs across Tech Valley with 75 teacher having successfully completed their externship over the past 5 years. Teachers have taken the hands on private sector experience and applied it in the classroom.
Summer Youth Program
Employers that hire eligible inner-city youth can save up to $2,400 in wage tax credits by accessing the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). Eligible youth are those that reside in designated Federal Renewal Communities and/or Empowerment Zones in Buffalo/Lackawanna, Jamestown, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse and Yonkers. Businesses do not have to be in these zones to hire eligible youth. Businesses participating in local summer youth programs, ages 16-17, can earn between $600-$750 for each unsubsidized job. For more information, see the WOTC Youth Program fact sheet.
The Business Council has a New Look
The Business Council of New York State has an exciting, new logo. Please update the Business Council logo on your website and publications by visiting the new Link to Us page at the Business Council website. If you need assistance or have any questions regarding the use of The Business Council logo, please contact Skye Heritage.
Mark Your Calendar
The next "All Chambers" conference call is scheduled for July 18, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Please let us know of topics or speakers that you would like to hear from on the "All Chambers" call.
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