Business Council statement on New York budget agreement

ALBANY, NY (03/21/2013)(readMedia)-- "In the big picture, the agreed-upon budget again controls the growth of state government to less than 2 percent, reversing a long trend of unsustainable budget growth – an outcome that we strongly support.

However, the budget will also add to the cost of doing business by extending assessments on electric, natural gas and steam energy (a total of $1.5 billion), and by increasing the minimum wage – a measure whose impact will be felt by many businesses, with total cost estimates as high as $2 billion per year. While the final agreement on both of these measures is an improvement over the original Executive Budget proposals, they are not consistent with a strategy to promote economic growth and the creation of good paying jobs.

We look forward to reviewing the final details of the agreements on unemployment insurance and workers' compensation reform, on targeted business tax reform, and on economic development program reforms, before we can provide a final assessment on the FY 2014 budget."

Heather Briccetti, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.