ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION AGENDA

TECH TEACHING INCENTIVE
Bill: S.6458-C/A.9558-B (Legislative Budget), Part P
TBC Supports
The Business Council supported this legislation that would establish a program to provide up to 500 competitively based tuition grants (equal to SUNY tuition levels) for students at the state's public and private colleges who commit to teaching math or science in New York's public schools for five years.
Status: This program was adopted as part of the FY 2007 state budget.

PfJ / ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POWER
Bill: S.8440 (Wright)/A.12013 (Tonko)
TBC Supports
S.8440 / A.12013 Legislative Memo
Extends Power for Jobs and “Energy Cost Savings Benefit” programs through June 30, 2007; authorizes restitution for excess PfJ costs during 2006; allows manufacturers to opt into energy rebate savings option for PfJ benefits. The Business Council supported the extension of the reduced cost energy programs; we represent about 125 businesses that receive either PfJ or EDP power benefits.
Status: Passed both houses; Approved by Governor Pataki.

BUDGET AND TAXES

MEDICAID SPENDING
Bill: S.6454-C/ A.9554-C (Legislative Budget)
TBC Opposed
The Business Council has long called emphasized the need to control state spending. The rapid growth in state spending is clearly illustrated in our medicaid program, whose total costs has increased from $ 35 billion to $45 billion in the last 10 years. The VfJ Index uses the medicaid appropriation bill as a proxy for the issue of overall state spending. This bill increased Medicaid and other health-care appropriations by more than $2 billion.
Status: This legislation passed both houses. The Governor vetoed more than $1 billion in legislative-approved medicaid spending. However, the Governor and the Legislature ultimately agreed to restore more than $500 million in such funding. The final enacted budget increases total state spending by an estimated $10 billion, or 10 percent, according to the Office of the State Comptroller. The comptroller's office further estimates that the Legislature approved off-budget, capital spending of $4 billion.

GOVERNOR'S TAX PACKAGE
Bill: S.6460 (Executive Budget)/A.9560 (Executive Budget)
TBC Supports
The Business Council supports this legislation that would:

• Reduce the corporate tax rate from 7.5 to 6.75 percent
• Allow immediate expensing of capital investments
• Eliminate the 2.5% alternative minimum tax and the "capital-base" alternative minimum tax
• Repeal New York's estate tax. Exemptions allowed under the tax would increase in 2007, and the tax would be eliminated entirely in 2010.
• Eliminate the tax on subsidiary capital.
• Reduce by half the 2003 tax increase on life insurers.

Status:Three of these measures were partially or fully contained in the Senate’s one-house budget legislation. None of these measures were included in the final FY 2007 budget agreement.

DEBT REFORM
Bills: S.8333 (Bruno) and A.11515 (Morelle)
TBC Supports
A.11515 Legislative memo
New York ended Fiscal 2006 with $48.5 billion in state debt, a figure that excludes nearly $80 billion in state authority debt. Several major proposals were introduced in 2006 to limit the ability of the state to incur additional debt. The Senate bill would limit the issuance of debt to capital works projects; caps the total debt outstanding at 4 percent of personal income to be phased in over ten years; revenue debt would be allowed for existing capital projects and/or maintenance and improvements on capital projects that have already received voter approval; all appropriation-backed debt would be eliminated. A.11515, based on a proposal by State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, would enact statutory and constitutional changes to cap state funded debt at 5 percent of personal income; preclude debt for non-capital purposes; and establish an independent debt management board. (Note: the Comptroller’s bill was also introduced in the Senate.)
Status: The Senate passed S.8333; the Assembly did not act on debt reform legislation.

MEDICAID INSPECTOR GENERAL
Bill: S.8450 (Skelos)/A.12015 (Gottfried) and A.10406-A (Tedisco)
TBC Supports
Studies suggest that up to 30 percent or more of medicaid spending is consumed by fraud and abuse, a figure that could be as high as $18 billion per year in New York. The Business Council supported this legislation creates a new office of Medicaid Inspector General by consolidating staff from six agencies. Establishes new protocols and procedures to ensure the effective sharing of information and evidence regarding Medicaid fraud and creates new health care fraud offenses to aid in the criminal prosecution of Medicaid fraud.
Status: S.8450/A.12015 passed both houses; Approved by Governor Pataki.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

ARTICLE X/ REINSTATEMENT
Bills: S.4961 (Wright) and A.9486 (Kolb)-- Article X reinstatement/reform – TBC supports
A.10371-C (Tonko) and S.848 (Parker) -- Power Plant Restrictions – TBC Opposes
S.4961 Legislative memo
A.9486 Legislative memo
A.10371 Legislative memo
The Business Council supports the re-enactment and improvement of the state’s siting process for major electric generating facilities, known as Article X, which expired in 2003. We supported S.4961, which re-establishes the pre-existing Article X power plant siting law until 2016, and provided a 12-month "one-stop" review process for electric power plants 80MW or larger. A.9486, an Assembly Minority proposal, extends the Article X program through the end of 2010, and establishes a preference for facilities sited on brownfield sites. In contrast, the Assembly Majority proposal would lower applicability threshold to 30 megawatts; require health impact, cumulative impacts, environmental justice and open space assessments; analysis of alternative power sources; and increased intervener funding. The Senate Minority proposal contains similar provisions.
Status: S.4961 moved to the Senate floor, but was not voted on. The Assembly passed A.10371-C

HEALTH CARE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

MENTAL HEALTH PARITY
Bills: S.1372 (Seward)/ A.6193 (Crouch) – Mental Health Parity – TBC Supports
A.2912 (Tonko)/S.6735-A (Duane) – “Timothy’s Law” – TBC Opposes
A.2912 Legislative memo
These bills take different approaches to imposing a mental health benefit mandate on group health plans. The “mental health parity” bill, supported by The Business Council, requires insurers to provide mental health insurance coverage for biologically based mental illnesses; provides exemption for businesses that would experience premium cost increase of 2 percent or more; provides exemptions to businesses with 50 or fewer employees; creates a two year study of the program's costs and benefits granted; and includes a 12/31/07 sunset. The so-called “Timothy’s Law” would require all health insurance policies provide full coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, including nervous disorders, emotional disorders, and dependency on alcohol or other drugs, with no limit on coverage of disorders not imposed on physical disorders. Estimated annual cost: $200 million for policy holders; $130 million to state budget.
Status: The Senate passed S.1372; the Assembly passed A.2912. At the end of the 2006 regular session, the legislature announced agreement on a compromise bill that contains several key cost containment measures of importance to The Business Council. S.8482 (Libous)/A.12080 (Tonko) mandates that health insurance policies include a base of 30 inpatient days and 20 outpatient days of treatment for mental illness; the state will pay the costs for coverage for any business with 50 or fewer employees; the bill sunsets December 31, 2009.

WORKERS COMPENSATION ASSESSMENTS
Bill: S.5612 (Winner)/A.8713-A (Farrell)
TBC Supports
S.5612 / A.8713-a Legislative memo
This bill, proposed by The Business Council, changes the methodology for paying assessments for self-insured groups from an indemnity loss basis to a premium basis. Commercial insurance carriers were authorized to pay on a premium basis in 2000. The bill also raises the level of medical treatment expense above which an injured employee must receive prior authorization from $500 to $1,200. This legislation would benefit the six hundred manufacturers participating in the The Business Council’s workers’ comp trust, as well as thousands of other employers in other group self-insured programs.
Status:This bill passed both houses of the legislature, but was vetoed by Governor Pataki.

COVERAGE MANDATES / EMPLOYER TAXES
Bill: S.7090 (Spano) / A.10583 (Gottfried) – Health Care Coverage Mandates /Employer Taxes
TBC Opposed
S.7090/A.10583 Legislative memo
New York, as well as a number of other states, introduced legislation to either impose new taxes on businesses that failed to provide health care benefits to employees, or that failed to spend above a specified threshold on employee health benefits. This bill requires employers of 100 or more to pay an assessment of $3 per hour worked by such employees; employers can claim credit against this assessment for direct health care expenditures.
Status:This bill did not move in either house in 2006.

WORKERS COMP IMPROVEMENT ACT
Bill: S.8212 (Alesi) / A.12000 (Morelle)
TBC Supports
This legislation, developed by The Business Council and Unshackle Upstate, contains a number of major reforms, including:

• Creates a system of tiered benefit levels for unscheduled injuries, including "permanent partial" injuries;
• increase maximum weekly benefits to $550;
• establish objective medical guidelines to evaluate injuries and illnesses;
• authorize fee schedules for pharmaceuticals;
• creates pension/SSI offset;
• ease creation of preferred provider organizations;
• modifies labor law 240-241.

Status: Stayed in Assembly Labor and Senate Rules Committee.

OTHER ISSUES

TAYLOR LAW / IMPROPER PRACTICES
Bill: S.3178 (Robach) / A.6222 (Abbate)
TBC Opposed
This legislation, opposed by The Business Council, creates the right for public employees to receive pay raises up to 2.5 percent a year, on top of negotiated increases, if their union does not reach agreement with the state, school district or other public employer. It would shift the balance of power in negotiations by punishing public employers for “improper” labor practices, while creating no liability for such practices by unions. The result would be significant added costs for taxpayers.
Status: Passed both houses; vetoed by Governor Pataki.