New York business organizations are warily eyeing the end of a legislative session that also saw an increase in New York’s minimum wage and measures aimed at offsetting the effects of climate change, but those they worry will lead to additional costs for utility bills soon. future
The private sector has a lot at stake in what happens in the last week of legislative work for lawmakers in Albany this year: Overall, New York’s economy has struggled to fully recover all the jobs lost immediately after the covid pandemic.
At the same time, sustained inflation has driven up both wages and costs.
What companies want
For years, employers have been calling for relief from a New York unemployment insurance surcharge as the state tries to address the billions of dollars it owes the federal government because of rising the ranks without work at the start of the pandemic.
Employers have been forced to pay unemployment insurance debt, which in some cases has caused employers to triple their monthly costs. But the provision was not fulfilled in the state budget.
At the same time, retailers want state lawmakers to address the rise in shoplifting, as legislation has been proposed to increase penalties.
“We’re at the start of the 2023 Legislative Session, and if we know anything about Albany and how legislative leaders do business, we know a lot can happen in just four days,” said Justin Wilcox, executive director of the pro . -Upstate United company. “As an organization, we were able to identify a handful of strong proposals that we would like to see passed in the last few days, but not surprisingly, we identified many more measures that we believe would be problematic for industries, employers, and taxpayers in Nova Scotia. York”.
The end of the session has also marked an alignment with some business organizations and advocates for changes to the criminal justice law amid ongoing negotiations over a proposal to seal many criminal records in the state.
Groups like the Business Council, the Association for the City of New York and companies like National Grid support the measure.
What business doesn’t want
But there’s one thing many private-sector companies and lobbyists don’t want this year: an expansion of New York’s wrongful-death statute, a measure that adds new restrictions on solid waste containers.
The packaging measure is supported by environmental groups that argue it is intended to reduce solid waste production across New York State and increase recycling efforts. Businesses should also reduce their use of paper and solid waste in the coming years.
The move has drawn the ire of The Business Council, which has argued it would place a significant burden on the private sector.
“Not only will this legislation be costly for private sector employers, it will lead to increased costs for consumers and fewer choices for consumers,” said Ken Pokalsky, the group’s vice president of government affairs. “Entire categories of packaging materials will be restricted and companies will change their offerings to respond to new state-specific mandates and prohibitions, also harming consumer choices.”
But much of the onus falls on businesses to reduce paper and solid waste in the state in the coming years if the bill is finally passed.
