YOUR CHAMBER. YOUR ADVOCATE . 2016 LEGISLATIVE SESSION WRAP-UP
A MESSAGE FROM OUR LEADERSHIP This year’s legislative session produced action on some long-awaited projects for the Capital Region. However, some policies were enacted that will undoubtedly harm our region’s economy for years to come. This report provides highlights of the good and bad. The Capital Region Chamber is now one year old, and we’re pleased to report that our local, state and federal officials know, respect and listen to us. Through our ongoing professional and energized advocacy efforts, your Chamber is a proactive voice for our region’s business and community priorities. Your input and participation is crucial to the success of our advocacy program. To help advocate or to discuss public policy issues, please contact Tom O’Connor, Director of Government Relations, at 518.431.1413 or toconnor@ capitalregionchamber.com. Because of you, our voice is stronger.
ADVOCACY IMPACT The Chamber is dedicated to promoting legislation, regulations and policies that support economic growth and job creation. Following are the highlights from the 2016 State Legislative Session.
BUDGET The Chamber was disappointed that an increase in the minimum wage, as well as mandated paid family leave, were included in the final budget. We opposed and advocated strongly against these two proposals. We believe that these mandated benefits impose incredible burdens on our region’s employers. The fact is that a higher minimum wage will force many unskilled and inexperienced workers out of the job market and will diminish the demand for new employees. The Chamber believes that a mandated paid family leave will increase costs to business. The budget allows for the transfer of $10 million from money already paid by employers (for the purpose of operating the Workers’ Compensation Board) to set up the paid family leave program. If New York State wants to be economically competitive, its policies must encourage – not hinder – business and job growth. Here are the specifics of each of these mandates: Minimum Wage A three-tiered minimum wage increase was adopted; $15 in NYC by 12/31/18 (one year later for employers of 10 people or less); $15 in Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk County by 12/31/21; and $12.50 in the remainder of the state by 12/31/20, then indexed based on economic growth factors. The tip wage for food service workers was increased to two-thirds of the applicable minimum wage. Upstate:
Mark N. Eagan, CCE Chief Executive Officer
Charles P. Steiner, CCE President
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$9.70 effective December 31, 2016 $10.40 effective December 31, 2017 $11.10 effective December 31, 2018 $11.80 effective December 31, 2019 $12.50 effective December 31, 2020
Paid Family Leave Effective January 1, 2018, employees will be eligible for up to 12 weeks of “paid leave” (with benefits up to two-thirds of wages, capped at two-thirds of the state average weekly wage); employees must work for 26 consecutive weeks (six months) to qualify; benefits are based on an expanded Disability Benefits Law system, with paid leave premiums to be paid through employee payroll withholdings.
In addition, the final budget included the following Capital Region investments: •
$38 million in funding for local roads and bridges
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$50 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative (URI) Runner-Up
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$1.5 million for the Anti-Poverty Initiative in Albany; $1.5 million in Troy
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$35.7 million for operating assistance to the Capital District Transportation Authority
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$32 million to replace the Rexford Bridge carrying Route 146 between Clifton Park and Niskayuna
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$250,000 to develop Tivoli Lake Park, a 70-acre park owned by the City of Albany, into a destination for visitors to hike, fish, and learn about the environment
Infrastructure The historic investments in our transportation infrastructure are a big win for the Chamber and the Capital Region.
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$2.675 million for the Albany Pine Bush, including $50,000 for the Woodlawn Preserve in Schenectady, to support hiking, wildlife observation and hunting
A $50 million investment will construct a direct connection between I-87 and the Albany Airport.
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$2.9 million for Grafton Lakes State Park to build a new visitor center
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$450,000 for Saratoga Spa State Park to rehabilitate historic spa campus buildings and grounds
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$2 million for Saratoga Spa State Park to rehabilitate the Peerless Pool bathhouse
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$725,000 for Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site to rehabilitate the northeast steps and stone wall.
Personal Income Tax The budget includes personal income tax rate reductions for individual and business filers of up to 20 percent. Without these tax reductions, taxpayers would have seen their taxes increase on average by $155 per year when the current tax rate expires in 2018. This amounts to an annual total savings of $700 million. Capital Region residents will see an average savings of $721 per year.
The budget includes $25 billion over six years, the largest NYSDOT capital plan in history, and a significant new investment to rebuild New York’s crumbling roads and bridges. The Chamber has been a strong advocate for increased infrastructure investment, transportation funding parity and relief from the state’s tax burdens.
A delegation of Chamber members visits Senator George Amedore.
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LEGISLATION Business Climate Reform Shortly after the budget was passed, the Governor appointed a Business Regulation Council that was charged with reviewing the state’s current business climate and making recommendations for reform. Our Chamber, in conjunction with other major business organizations, submitted a list of meaningful recommendations to the Council. Our recommendations included small business tax relief, workers’ compensation reform and reforms to reduce the cost of health care. Unfortunately, the Council ultimately did not incorporate our proposal and instead released recommendations that we believe missed the mark. The Chamber will not give up on promoting policies that improve our business climate.
legal authority to penalize licensees based on perceived violations of the laws of other states. The alcoholic beverage industry is an important component of our economy, and any effort to provide this vital industry with additional regulatory clarity and enforcement predictability is welcomed.
CDTA-Taxi Oversight Legislation sponsored by Senator Breslin and Assemblymember McDonald would allow the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) to enter into an agreement with municipalities relating to the registration and licensing of taxis. The Chamber, the Convention & Visitors Bureau, CDTA, and Assemblymember McDonald have been working with area municipalities to Film Tax Credit address problems Legislation with our region’s sponsored taxi industry. by Senator This bill passed Amedore and both houses and Assemblymember will improve the Woerner and overall customer supported by experience when the Chamber traveling by taxi. would extend the The Chamber current additional supports this From left: Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara, Chamber CEO 10 percent Film collaborative Mark Eagan, Congressman Paul Tonko, restaurant owner Andy Zhang, Production effort by CTDA Chamber Director of Government Relations Tom O’Connor, Chamber Tax Credit to and our local President Chuck Steiner. the counties governments. of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Credit Privacy in Employment Act Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Suffolk, Legislation was introduced that would Sullivan, Ulster, Warren and Washington. prohibit employers from using consumer By expanding this credit to other counties, credit reports in hiring and employment the upstate economy and the upstate film industry will benefit. The Chamber advocated decisions. The Chamber opposed this bill. Employers have an obligation to their for this bill, and it was ultimately passed by businesses, as well as to consumers, to both houses of the legislature. We urge the ensure that their employment decisions governor to sign this bill into law. are based on thorough background checks, SLA Reform including the use of consumer credit The Senate and the Assembly passed a bill reports. Conducting thorough and proper supported by the Chamber and sponsored employment screening can help mitigate by Assemblyman Phil Steck that would risk and allow employers to make better amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law hiring decisions. Thanks to the Chamber’s to clarify the State Liquor Authority’s (SLA) opposition, this legislation did not gain legislative approval.
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Health Care Staffing Mandate The Chamber strongly opposed a bill that would mandate nursing staff ratio on hospitals and nursing homes throughout the state. The bill represents an enormous unfunded health care mandate, does nothing to improve patient care and will drive already profoundly high health care costs remarkably higher. Thanks to the Chamber’s opposition, this legislation did not gain Senate approval. Permanent Tax Cap The Senate passed a bill which would make the municipal and school district tax caps permanent. The Chamber strongly supported this legislation. Unfortunately, the Assembly failed to take action on this bill. The adoption of the cap has controlled local government spending. In fact, since the tax cap has been in place, NYS taxpayers have enjoyed over $7.6 billion in tax savings. Capital Region taxpayers alone have realized tax savings of more than $587 million. The current cap must be made permanent. The Chamber will continue to push for a permanent cap coupled with meaningful mandate relief. Veterans/Military Service The Chamber proudly supported two bills aimed at assisting our veterans and those currently serving in the military. The first bill, sponsored by Senator Marchione and Assemblymember McDonald, would expand the availability of state contracts to all veteran-owned business enterprises in New York State. Under current state law, six percent of state contracts are reserved for service-disabled veterans. The Chamber believes it’s time for New York State to recognize that both servicedisabled veteran-owned businesses and non-servicedisabled veteran-owned businesses should be entitled to the set-a-side for the procurement of state contracts. The second bill would permit the granting of academic credit at state-operated institutions to veterans, members of the military and reservists. The Chamber believes that no veteran or military personnel should have his or her military training and experiences denied for course credit. Although these bills were not approved this year, the Chamber will continue to advocate for their passage.
The Capital Region Business Political Action Committee (PAC) of the Capital Region Chamber enables the business community to participate in the political process to promote a favorable business climate and quality life in the Capital Region and New York. The Chamber has a focused legislative agenda and is at the Capitol representing your interests to make the Capital Region and New York State more competitive to retain and create jobs. The PAC provides dedicated resources to better position the organization to have a greater impact on legislative matters. It does not endorse candidates; contributions are distributed on a non-partisan basis and for advocacy on issues of importance to the region. To contribute, contact Tom O’Connor, Director of Government Relations, at 518.431.1413 or toconnor@captialregionchamber. com. For more information on the PAC, visit capitalregionchamber. com/political-action-committeepac/.
From left: Congressman Paul Tonko, Chamber CEO Mark Eagan, Colonie Town Supervisor Paula Mahan and Government Affairs Committee Chair Rich Sleasman of CBREAlbany.
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ISSUE SPOTLIGHT Ridesharing Legislation The Capital Region continues to grow as a business and tourism destination. It’s ironic that our region is recognized for its tech sector, but residents, businesses and visitors are prohibited by the state from using rideshare technology. The Chamber believes it’s crucial that the Capital Region provide transportation options such as Uber and Lyft that are reliable, courteous, clean and convenient. Ridesharing is available throughout much of the country. In fact, at least 28 states – Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin – as well as DC, have some sort of regulatory framework for ridesharing. Regrettably, current state law does not allow for ridesharing companies to operate outside of New York City. This session your Chamber advocacy team worked tirelessly to grow support and inform our state lawmakers how important ridesharing is to the Capital Region in terms of both improving transportation options and growing our economy. Our voice was amplified through our active particapaton in the New Yorkers for Ridesharing Coalition. Passage of this legislation would have allowed the Capital Region to be competitive with markets that already have Uber and Lyft. Our efforts were greatly assisted by the support of our Chamber members. In fact, many of our members joined the Ridesharing Coalition. Although the Senate passed ridesharing legislation, and many of our Capital Region Delegation voiced their support for bringing ridesharing upstate, the Assembly did not take action. The main sticking point was a disagreement regarding the amount of insurance coverage required for ridesharing drivers. While this was a diappointing end to the legislative session, your Chamber will continue our fight until ridesharing is a reality in the Capital Region.
Non-CPA Ownership The Chamber supported a bill that would allow non-CPAs to be minority owners of CPA firms. New York is one of only three states that do not allow accounting firms to offer ownership to non-CPAs. This puts New York’s accounting firms at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent. Although the Senate passed the bill, unfortunately the Assembly did not take action. The Chamber will continue to advocate for the passage of this bill. Upper Hudson Wine Trail Legislation supported by the Chamber and sponsored by Senator Marchione and Assemblymember Woerner would designate the “Upper Hudson Wine Trail” within the “Upper Hudson American Viticultural Area” in order to promote regional agriculture. By enacting this legislation, the state can shine a spotlight on our region’s agri-tourism, vineyards and wineries. Although this bill was passed by the Senate, the Assembly did not take action on it. The Chamber will continue to advocate for its passage. E-Bikes The Chamber supported a bill that would legalizing the use of electric-assisted bicycle (e-bikes). From a tourism and recreational standpoint, legalizing the use of e-bikes would have a positive impact on New York’s fast-growing bike tourism industry, particularly upstate. Although the bill was not approved this year, the Chamber will continue to advocate for its passage.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul addresses Chamber members at a breakfast in February.
ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT We’re thrilled that the state budget includes $50 million to construct a direct connection between I-87 and the Albany International Airport. This project has been a top priority of the Chamber, and we have been a leading advocate. The Capital Region’s infrastructure is an important asset for all businesses and residents. Without proper investment, our region’s economic stability, potential for job growth and competitiveness are threatened. Although it was a long process, the Chamber never gave up. We continued to meet with the governor’s staff, the Commissioner of the NYSDOT and members of the legislature in order to convey how desperately-needed this project was to the Capital Region. Our efforts finally paid off.
When completed, the revamped exit will not only improve public safety, it will reduce the all-too-familiar bottle necks in the area and greatly enhance economic development opportunities throughout the region. This project could not have moved forward without our many partners. We particularly thank Governor Cuomo, Senator Breslin, Assemblyman Steck, County Executive McCoy, Colonie Supervisor Mahan, Albany International Airport CEO John O’Donnell, NYSDOT Commissioner Driscoll and Regional Director Sam Zhou, counties and chambers of commerce from throughout the Greater Capital Region and our entire legislative delegation for their bipartisan support.
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Committed to making a difference CDPHP® and the Capital Region Chamber share a goal of serving the community we’re so proud to be a part of. CDPHP cares about local businesses and residents and strives to fulfill their current and future needs. We take pride in our history and reputation for providing award-winning products, programs, and services designed to keep our members healthy. Thank you for your continued and valued support of CDPHP. www.cdphp.com
Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, Inc. Capital District Physicians’ Healthcare Network, Inc. CDPHP Universal Benefits,® Inc.