As the new year brings a new legislative session to the state Capitol, New Yorkers have many reasons to beoptimistic about the direction ofour state — if lawmakers remain steadfast in making the Empire State friendly to job-creation.
Thepast two years have seen vast progressin the policy decisions coming from Albany. Key signs that New York is headed in the right directionweretheadoptionof 1) two state budgets in a row that controlled spending and didn’t rely onnewtaxes,2) a statewide cap on property taxes and 3) reform of public-employee pensions.
But these were only critical first steps toward correcting the problems caused by years of fiscal mismanagement and bad policy decisions.
Our elected leadersmust also begin to address the numerous impediments to economic growth. Many barrierspreventour statefrom regainingitsstature as one of the nation’s economic drivers—most notablyhigh state and local taxesand job-killing, special-interest-driven mandates.
This year, the first priorityfor Gov.Cuomo and the Legislatureshould betowork together toward a fiscally responsible state budget that doesn’tburdenNew York’s taxpayerswith new taxes and fees.
And if our elected officials want New York to again truly be the Empire State,thegovernor and Legislature shouldact swiftly toreformthese mandates and regulatory burdens:
Repeal the 18A Assessment: This energy surcharge only adds to our high cost of electricity. Repealing it early would help businesses and homeowners reduce their energy costs.
Reform Workers’ Compensation:The administration and operation of thestateworkers-comp programneeds improving — but withoutundermining the important 2007 reforms, which capped permanent partial-disability benefits and raised the maximum benefit to workers.
Fix the Wage Theft Prevention Act: This law imposes onerous compliance requirements on employers that are of dubious value inactually protecting employees.This statute isn’t addressing the problem it was intended to deal with, and should be substantially revised to be less burdensome tothe state’sbusinesses.
Rebuild the Scaffold Law: Lawmakers should revise this outdated and unfair lawto make liability proportional to fault — for example, to take into accountsituations where a worker’s injury is caused by a failure to follow safety training, intoxication or commission of a crime.
Scrap the Wicks Law: This subjects most New York public construction projects to unique separate bidding requirements.In 2008, it was amended to exempt projects below $3 million in New York City and $1.5 million in Westchester and on Long Island — but the threshold is only $500,000 for Upstate projects. If lawmakers won’t repeal Wicks completely, they should raise the thresholdto $10 million across the state.
Streamline SEQR: The State Environmental Quality Review process is a major impediment to construction projects of all kinds; it’s often used to stifle economic development.Update it to establish an efficient, predictable and fair environmental-review process.
Gov. Cuomo should also continue advancing initiatives to help contain costs on public construction projects and create jobs and tax revenues:
More Design-Build: The state recently embraced “design-build,” in which a single firm designs and builds a major piece of infrastructure, for key projects — it’s a big reason why the price tag for a new Tappan Zee Bridge is so low. This practice should be expanded to deliver projects faster, more efficiently and at a lower cost to taxpayers. (Increased use of public-private partnerships may also help.)
Finally, it is time to move forward and develop our greatest natural resource:
Allow ShaleGas Development: The Marcellus Shale can be developed responsibly, and New York must begin totake full advantage of this transformativeeconomic opportunity. The state should finalize its comprehensive review and adopt regulations that strike an appropriate balance between economic development and environmental protection as soon as possible.
The decisions our leaders make today can greatly improve oureconomic outlook. The past two years have brought significant progress in making New York a place where businesses and families can grow and prosper. We only have to ask our elected officials tokeep fighting for our future.
Brian Sampson
is the executive director of Unshackle Upstate.