BUSINESS & ECONOMY

For more than 20 years, the New York State Senate Majority has pursued an agenda to cut taxes, remove bureaucratic red tape, revitalize distressed urban and rural areas, and invest in high technology. New York has many Senate-led economic development programs in its portfolio to spur economic growth and assist businesses. Such programs include; the Centers for Advanced Technology; the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program; the Linked Deposit Program; the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Industrial Effectiveness Program; and the "Power for Jobs" Program. Below is a sample of what the State Senate Republicans are doing for businesses.

BROWNFIELDS

In 2003, the Senate passed and the Governor signed a comprehensive Brownfield Redevelopment Program that will enable municipalities to access $200 million in State funds for investigation and cleanup. It created the nations first refundable tax incentives that will provide at least $145 million a year to aid private firms to remediate and redevelop these contaminated sites that have acted as a major impediment to the redevelopment of our cities and large tract abandoned industrial sites.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Since 1995, vast opportunities have emerged in New York State in the areas of research, development and technology.  Senate Majority members have worked with industry and institutions of higher education to establish promising partnerships that will create high skilled labor pools, provide State assistance, and bring greater national and international recognition for New York as an innovator.

These new, fully refundable credits, aid companies in the purchase or rent towards cutting edge equipment, and create the nation’s first program to provide assistance in marketing ad intellectual property protection and support for high technology and science training at New York State colleges and universities. Since 2002, members of the Senate Majority have been successful in getting legislation passed that invests more than $1 billion in high-tech research and job creation.

SINGLE SALES FACTOR

The majority members of the Senate adopted a single sales factor which allows New York companies to allocate income based on sales alone, and not payroll and property which had increased the tax liability of businesses putting them at a competitive disadvantage.  Presently, corporate taxpayers must apportion income and capital to NYS based on an allocation percentage:  50% to sales, 25%  to payroll, and 25% to NY property.  When businesses either increase payroll or capital investments in NYS, they incur higher corporate income tax liability.  This is the single best tax policy move New York could make to attract and retain jobs, and discourage outsourcing, and will save New York companies $130 million a year.  

SMALL BUSINESSES

Small businesses are the backbone of the New York State economy.  In fact, 99% of the State's businesses, are small businesses (i.e., employing fewer than 500 workers).  The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy found, in its 2004 "Small Business Profile," that small businesses play a vital role as job creators.  In 2003, New York had 478,270 businesses with employees, and had 588,736 self-employed persons.  Also in 2003, 60,569 new employer firms were formed in New York, which is 1.7% more than the number of new employer firms formed in 2002.

Understanding the importance of small businesses, the members of the Senate Majority have assisted and continues to fight for the small business owner by passing a Small-Business Tax Relief package; a Small-Business Health Insurance Reform package; Health Insurance Tax Credit for those small businesses that do provide health insurance benefits; reducing regulations on small businesses as well as establishing a Micro Business Revolving Loan Assistance Grant Program.

Small-Business Tax Relief in New York - The 1998-99 State Budget lowered the tax rate for small businesses to 7.5 percent and lowered the fixed dollar minimum from $325 to $100.  In addition, the "sub-chapter S differential" was also lowered to promote the development of small businesses that file under the Personal Income Tax, saving these firms $80 million a year. In 2000-01, the rate for small businesses was further reduced to 6.85 percent saving these small businesses an additional $20 million. In the 2005-06 State Budget, a small business was redefined to include those companies with an Earned Net Income of up to $390,000, allowing more businesses to take advantage of the lower small business tax rate. In addition, the tax rate for these small firms was further reduced to 6.5 percent saving these companies an additional $5 million a year.

The Senate’s Small Business Health Insurance Reform package (2005) contains the following provisions:

1) permits small businesses to purchase the Healthy New York insurance product without having to first drop coverage for 12 months prior to qualifying;

2) creates the "New York Health Benefit and Cost Commission" which would provide a reliable cost/benefit analysis of any proposed health insurance coverage mandates before the Legislature; and

3) authorizes new "Freedom Health Insurance Policies," costing employers approximately 40% less than existing policies. These policies would be "mandate free," giving a choice of benefits and providers. This bill would also provide individuals and small businesses a state tax credit equal to 43% of the cost of health insurance premiums.

Health Insurance Tax Credit - Approximately 40% of workers employed by small businesses are currently covered by employment-based health insurance. According to the 2002 Small Business Health Benefits Survey, over 90% of small businesses that provide health insurance coverage pay more than half the cost of the health insurance premium. The average premium cost for health insurance is projected at $4,000 per year for individual coverage and $10,000 per year for family coverage.

Due to the high cost of health insurance premiums, many small businesses cannot or do not provide health insurance for their employees.  For those small businesses that do provide benefits, the expense is a growing burden. In order to ease the burden of providing health insurance, the Senate Majority proposed to allow small businesses a tax credit of 43% of their cost of health insurance premiums against their income tax liability when the employer provides a benefit of 50% or more of the cost of health insurance. This proposal would save New York's small businesses approximately $1.8 billion annually, but it did not pass in the Assembly.

Reducing Regulations - A recent bill that passed both houses (S.5632, Chapter 680, L. 2005) would require the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform to issue quarterly reports identifying the alternative approaches utilized by State agencies to minimize the adverse economic impact of regulations on small businesses and local governments.

The Micro Business Revolving Loan Assistance Grant Program was established in 2004 to deliver financing and technical assistance to micro businesses (S.2208-A, Chapter 236, L. 2004).

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

As seen in Crains New York Business, a question and answer discussion with NYS Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on the future of the State of New York, its economy and our ability to protect and enhance NYC's quality of life.

JOBS FOR NEW YORK

Since 1995, thanks to the perseverance of the Senate Majority members, New York has added more than 542,000 private sector jobs and is becoming a job growth leader in the nation.  New York's increase in private sector job growth from 1998 to 1995 represents the most rapid year-over-year growth in 15 years. The average unemployment rate thus far in 2005 is 4.9%, which is considerably lower than 8.6% in 1992. The March 2005 issue of Site Selection magazine reported that New York State now ranks third in the nation in attracting new and expanded corporate facilities–the state’s strongest ranking ever and a step above last year’s fourth place finish

Year after year, it has been the Senate Majority that has made the creation of jobs its economic priority. By promoting pro-competitive policies, championing aggressive development programs, and holding the line on taxes, the Senate has given businesses the tools to create good paying jobs and develop real careers for New Yorkers

It is the Senate Majority’s belief that the true way to pay for services is by allowing people the chance to work, through the creation of jobs, expanding businesses and attracting businesses to New York. People who have jobs create revenue, and revenue pays for quality services.

The Senate has proved its long-term commitment to creating jobs with 3 landmark programs; "Jobs 2000" (J2K), "Generating Employment Through New York Science" (Gen*NY*sis), and the EXCELL-NY economic development program.

Implemented in 1999, the J2K program was a $522M comprehensive economic development program that provided funds for high-tech academic research, to retrain employees to operate new high-tech equipment, for infrastructure improvements to supply water to accommodate business growth, and venture capital funds for emerging technologies.

Enacted in 2001, the Gen*NY*sis program built upon the J2K program. The program was created to make the Empire State an international leader in high-tech biotechnology-related research by maximizing the research and development potential of life sciences research being conducted at New York State public, not-for-profit and private academic research institutions. When coupled with the governor's "Centers of Excellence" initiative, the Gen*NY*sis program has invested approximately $1.2B in biotechnology and high tech research and has created 1,000’s of jobs.

Currently the majority members of the Senate have proposed a new program called EXCELL-NY, which is based on the findings and recommendations made by the Senate’s NextGen Task Force. It builds upon the J2K and Gen*NY*sis programs and will serve as a catalyst for innovation and job growth. At the center of the EXCELL-NY program is the creation of 5 regional EXCELL-NY Centers for Innovation which would provide emerging businesses with innovation capital and venture capital. These centers will also provide technical and business expertise to further their growth into vibrant, competitive job creating firms. The program also calls for the creation of 12 new Empire Zones that guarantee that tax and other incentives that have created thousands of jobs throughout the state will be available in every county and region of the state. 
 
Every year the Business Council of New York rates state legislators based on what action each of them takes on critical job issues facing the state? This year 10 out of 19 legislators who received an "A" from the Business Council are members of the Senate Majority. They are:  
 

Hon. Joseph L. Bruno                                 Hon. Mary Lou Rath
Hon. John A.DeFrancisco                           Hon. James L. Seward
Hon. Elizabeth O C Little                            Hon. Dale M. Volker
Hon. George D. Maziarz                             Hon. George H. Winner Jr.
Hon. Raymond A. Meier                             Hon. James W. Wright

For more information about the grades of these Senators and other legislators, visit
http://www.voteforjobsnewyork.com/reportcard/index.cfm

CRIME

The Sex Offender Registration Act, which is New York’s version of Megan’s Law, was sponsored by Senator Dean Skelos (Rockville Centre). The act requires sexual offenders to register annually with the State Division of Criminal Justice Services, sets up a 900 telephone number to inform the public about known offenders as well as permits law enforcement agencies in some cases to alert the public through community institutions. The Senate also passed an Internet Access bill, also sponsored by Senator Skelos, extending Megan’s Law by posting information about level-three sex offenders on the State Division of Criminal Justices’ web page at http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us

The Sexual Assault Reform Act, also known as SARA, created significant reforms in New York State's sexual assault and child sexual abuse laws. Sponsored by Senator Dale Volker (Depew), the act makes changes that are intended to address both long-standing and more current problems in the area of sexual assault. SARA creates new crimes, increases protection for victims of sex offenses with additional protections for child victims, and increases and strengthens consequences for offenders.

More recently the Senate Majority initiated:

S.4793-B and S.3273

Child safety zones, which prevent certain sex offenders from residing near or entering places where children are cared for;

Extension of the statute of limitations for sex offenses against children;

Civil confinement of sexually violent predators;

Global positioning system tracking (GPS);

Mandatory community notification of the presence of a sex offender;

Lifetime registration for all sex offenders;

All information collected about sex offenders be available on the Internet;

No Medicaid Viagra for sex offenders;

Increasing the penalties for offenders who try to lure or entice a child into a  secluded area; and

Expanding the crime of endangering the welfare of a child to include a sexual  act, thereby requiring registration.

Require all offenders to have an updated photo

With sexual predators having the ability to anonymously lure and prey on children over the Internet, the Senate Majority is dedicated to, and will continue to safeguard our children from dangerous predators.

EDUCATION

SCHOOL AID AND FUNDING

The Senate this year made it it's priority to give New York's schools the resources they need to educate our children. The Senate Majority believes that we must invest now in our next generation to ensure this state's future prosperity.

The budget agreed on by the Legislature includes a record school aid increase of almost $1.3 billion and included 2.6 billion in new school construction funds for schools across the state with $1.8 billion going to New York City. For New York City, the monies will help finance $11.2 billion in new school construction over the next 5 years, more than satisfying the recent court ruling on CFE.

Showing it's commitment to education, the legislature's budget also increased:

• BOCES aid by $58.1 million
• Building aid by $91.6 million
• High tax aid by $20 million and;
• Teacher support aid by $67.5 million.

The budget restores funds for Teacher Resource and Computer Centers to $37 million (an increase of $20.6 million) and $6 million was restored for the Teacher Mentor Intern program (a $4 million increase).

* Library aid was increased by almost $6 million, to a total of $94.6 million and $14 million is included for library capital projects.

Click here to learn more about the specific school aid for your school.

SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY

The problems of several school districts across the state, has given us a glimpse of what can happen when school board oversight is lax or nonexistent. Property tax-payers in those school districts were watching their money go to things other than helping their children to learn. This year the Senate Majority initiated legislation (S.5050) and (S.890-B) to protect the investment of hardworking tax-payers by making school districts more accountable for their finances. The Senate wanted to restore public confidence in the handling of school district finances as well as ensure that tax-payer money was being spent on educating our children.

The bill (S.5050), which has been signed by the governor, increases accountability by;

Enhancing the effectiveness of external audits which all school districts are required to obtain every year;

Require audit committees in school districts so that audit findings and other accountability issues receive adequate oversight;

Require a competitive RFP process for selecting auditors when contracts expire, or at least every five years;

Create an internal audit function within each school district's financial management team;
 
and require six hours of financial oversight training for all newly elected school board members.

The bill (S.890-B), which was also signed by thw governor, requires every school district, BOCES, and charter school in the state to be audited by the State Comptroller in the next five years. After that five year period, the Comptroller is required to establish a policy for the in-depth auditing of schools throughout the state, as well as, create a report for the Governor and Legislature analyzing those audits.

To help tax-payers retrieve some of their money back, and to deter school officials from committing crimes, the Senate also sent a bill (S.2969A) to the Governor. This piece of legislation increases penalties for crimes committed by school officials and authorizes a court to impose a civil penalty for restitution when a school official is found guilty of larceny.

By passing this package of reforms, the Senate Majority shows its dedication to protecting property tax-payer investment in schools, and provides taxpayers an extra measure of confidence in the handling of their schools’ finances.

HEALTHCARE

MEDICAID FRAUD
New York’s Medicaid program is the fastest-growing, largest single component of the state budget. In 2005, the state’s Medicaid expenditures are projected to exceed $44.5 billion.

Fraud accounts for approximately 10% of those expenditures. Based on these projections, Medicaid fraud could be costing New York taxpayers $4.5 billion this year. It is also one of the underlying reasons property taxes are so high in this state.

The State Senate Republican Majority has taken a leadership role in making Medicaid work again for the people who need it. To restore accountability and clean up the system, the Senate Majority has created a Medicaid Taskforce and has introduced legislation that would establish an independent Office of Medicaid Inspector General.

The Inspector General would consolidate and coordinate investigation efforts to detect Medicaid Fraud and contribute to the prosecution of fraud. In August, the Governor signed an Executive Order to establish such an office; yet the Democrats have yet to act on this issue.

In May, the Senate Majority passed legislation, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos (Rockville Centre), that would overhaul the state's Medicaid fraud detection effort with the goal of dramatically reducing corruption and waste, and increasing the amounts of money returned to taxpayers. The legislation proposed;

1) creates the Office of Medicaid Inspector General to consolidate and coordinate the investigation of Medicaid fraud and contribute to the prosecution of people who commit fraud.

2) the Office, which would have an established working relationship with the Attorney General's office and the State Department of Health, would be overseen by an eight member board. The Governor, Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the Assembly would each appoint two board members; the minority leaders of each chamber would each have one appointment.

3) the office would have a budget of $100 million, which would come from $25 million in Medicaid fraud recoveries, which would leverage over 2 ½ times as much in federal funds. The 2005-06 State budget includes $1 million to initiate creation of the office. New York would continue to qualify for federal anti-fraud funding to defray the cost of the new program

4) calls for the new office to obtain a state-of-the-art, computerized Medicaid fraud detection system that could be integrated with other involved systems to routinely survey Medicaid-related billing services to identify possible incidents of Medicaid fraud.

Although the Assembly is opposed of the legislation, the Senate Majority's Medicaid TaskForce will continue its commitment and efforts to save taxpayers money and create accountability.

MEDICAID REFORM

The Senate Majority Medicaid Reform Task Force proposed, and ultimately enacted, the Medicaid cap, Family Health Plus takeover and accountability measures to begin reigning in New York's out-of-control Medicaid spending. Thanks to these measures, counties throughout the state have been able to hold the line and even reduce property taxes. This Year county officials passed along $190 million in Medicaid savings to overburdened property taxpayers.

Last year’s budget included a State takeover of local Medicaid costs, beginning with the takeover of costs that exceed an annual growth rate, set as follows: 3.5 percent in 2006, 3.25 percent in 2007 and 3 percent in subsequent years.  To help fund the Medicaid takeover, counties would be required to remit a set level of local revenues to the state and be subject to new accountability standards aimed at checking excessive local spending growth.  The cap and accountability standards will save taxpayers $6.4 billion over five years.

Additionally, last year’s budget included an accelerated state takeover of the local share of the Family Health Plus Program for counties outside of New York City that will save taxpayers $2.5 billion over five years.  Under the Senate plan, the state began assuming all local costs for the Family Health Plus Program on October 1, 2006.

Together, the Medicaid cap, accountability measures and state takeover of the local share of the Family Health Plus program, will save local taxpayers a cumulative total of almost $9 billion over five years as the plan is phased in

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF PLAN

Property taxes in New York State are the highest in the country. For over 12 years it has been the members of the Senate Majority that initiated tax relief plans that have significantly reduced business and personal income taxes by over $100B.This year the Senate Majority members are making property tax relief their top priority for 2006.

Did you know that when combined with local sales, income and other taxes, the local tax burden in New York averaged $6,377 per household? That is the highest in the continental US and more than twice the national average of $2,952. In an effort to reduce the enormous burden of some of the highest property taxes in the country, The Senate Republican Majority has proposed the REBATE-NY plan.

This comprehensive, 24 point plan will provide more than $2.4 billion in school and municipal property tax relief over the next three years when implemented. The REBATE-NY plan includes direct rebate checks to property taxpayers, expanding the STAR program and the property tax circuit breaker, and encouraging consolidation of local government services. The Senate's plan would save property taxpayers approximately $1.4 billion in the 2006-07 State fiscal year.

At the core of the REBATE-NY plan, are direct rebate checks that will be sent to each property taxpayer providing immediate tax relief.  By expanding STAR to adjust for assessment increases ($250M savings); expanding the property tax circuit breaker ($100M in savings); establishing an income tax credit, in lieu of property tax exemption, for volunteer firefighters ($39M in savings); holding a single school budget vote ($150M in savings) billions of dollars will be saved.

The property tax rebate check amounts would be based on the following percentage of STAR benefits:

Percent of STAR Savings in Rebate Check

The following table displays average tax rebate check amounts for selected counties under the Property Tax Rebate Program.

AVERAGE REBATE CHECK AMOUNTS

The Senate property tax refund is just the start. To lower the cost of local government, the Senate Majority members understand we also need to take steps to ensure that the tax dollars we invest are spent wisely, and that the people who pay the bills have a direct say in how their taxes are used. This comprehensive plan not only increases accountability,  it gives more control to taxpayers by encouraging localities and school districts to share services, which lower costs and operate more efficiently.

The Senate property tax reduction proposal is the first step towards providing real relief.  Look for public hearings across the State, as the Senate gathers input from educators, local officials, taxpayers and others affected by high property taxes so that they can refine this plan and get the best possible result in the 2006-07 State budget. For more information contact your Senator today or contact us and we will help you get the information you need.