Joseph Spector reports today on Pressconnects.com - “More than 2,000 companies in New York will have to prove they are producing jobs and investing in their companies in order to keep lucrative state tax breaks, according to letters sent out to businesses this week.

The state’s economic-development arm, Empire State Development Corp., said it sent letters to more than 8,400 companies informing them of their status in the Empire Zone program.

About 6,400 companies were notified they would be re-certified under new Empire Zone standards adopted in the 2009-10 state budget. The firms employ about 300,000 people….

But business leaders ripped the state’s decision, saying the new law will take away benefits from companies who were promised the tax breaks and may impact companies who simply re-incorporated to continue to make investments in their businesses. The state has sought to stamp out companies who re-incorporated solely to continue to receive tax breaks.

“It’s a bad policy implemented in a bad way,” said Ken Pokalsky, senior director of government affairs for the state Business Council.

He added that the state is seeking to penalize companies “that made positive contributions to the state’s economy.”

To read the entire story click here.

Patrick Yoest of the Wall Street Journal reports - “The average family with health insurance in 2008 paid a “hidden health tax” of $1,017 to cover the health-care costs of the uninsured, according to a report released Thursday by advocacy group Families USA.

The report by the group, which promotes universal health insurance, found that a total of $42.7 billion in care for those without insurance was passed on to health insurers. The insurers, in turn, passed on the costs through higher premiums, the report said.

The report comes as Congress debates proposals to provide health-insurance coverage to all Americans — a key part of President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda. The report uses data primarily from consulting firm Milliman Inc.

When those without insurance sought care, often in emergency rooms, government and charities picked up more than a quarter of the $116 billion tab last year, the report said. More than a third was paid for by those seeking the care, and the rest was passed on to health insurers and eventually to insured people through higher costs, it said.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Ceci Connolly of the Washington Post reports - “Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating the outlines of sweeping health-care legislation that would require every American to have insurance and would mandate that employers contribute to workers’ coverage.

The plan in the summary document, provided by two Democrats who do not work for Kennedy, closely resembles extensive changes enacted in the senator’s home state three years ago.

In many respects it adopts the most liberal approaches to health reform being discussed in Washington. Kennedy, for example, embraces a proposal to create a government-sponsored insurance program to compete directly with existing private insurance plans, according to one senior adviser who was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The draft summary also calls for opening Medicaid to those whose incomes are 500 percent of the federal poverty level, or $110,250 a year for a family of four.

President Obama, meanwhile, is urging his most loyal supporters to reactivate the grass-roots machine that helped elect him and direct it toward health-care reform.

“If we don’t get it done this year, we’re not going to get it done,” he said yesterday in a call to members of Organizing for America, the political group formed to advance his agenda. “And to do that we’re going to need all of you to mobilize.”

A top administration official said the White House expects Kennedy to unveil his bill Monday. A timetable released by Kennedy’s office calls for Democrats on the Senate health committee to meet Tuesday, with a bipartisan session scheduled for Friday. Committee markups could begin June 16.

If the ailing lawmaker keeps to that ambitious schedule, it would put him ahead of several other Democratic leaders crafting health bills.

Kennedy spokesman Anthony Coley declined to discuss the summary document, saying, “We are still actively negotiating with members” of the committee, which Kennedy chairs. “There is no final policy.”

The Buffalo News posts the following opinion.

Local-government bill improves process while keeping decisions at right level

“The impenetrable jungle of local governments that burden New York taxpayers is rooted in a morass of laws, spread throughout the state statute books, that can easily frustrate the progress of even the most resolute citizen reformer.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has now offered those reformers the promise of a sharp machete. It comes in the form of a bill he calls the New New York Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act. Though even the passage of the act by the Legislature—far from a done deal—would only begin the process of cutting down on the number of redundant, overlapping and expensive local government units, lawmakers should be quick either to pass the bill or give overtaxed constituents the reason why. ”

To read the rest of the opinion click here.

Elected officials are not leading the charge

By Jennifer K. Levine

Recently I attended a meeting of Marcellus Shale landowners coalitions in the Southern Tier.  Coalitions of landowners have been forming in Central New York and the Southern Tier since drilling companies began knocking on their doors anxious to negotiate land leases.  Grouping together landowners have a more attractive acreage for bidding and more power to control the process.  The size of the coalitions range from a few thousand acres to upwards of 150,000 acres and growing.   Many have websites where members can share information and keep current on relevant issues.  The members of these coalitions are farmers, businesspeople and professionals with a common goal:  to negotiate and draw up leases and easements that protect their interests and the environment.

A common theme during the meeting was why elected officials are not leading the charge to promote safe, clean drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.  Landowners are frustrated that this issue seems to be getting little attention in Albany and worry that many obstacles will be erected to prevent drilling and that the drilling companies will become impatient and go to Pennsylvania where they are welcome.  It is such a huge issue for them but Albany isn’t listening.  The coalitions are compiling all their numbers (both acreage and member totals) to present to legislators and hope that the size and scope of their memberships will get Albany’s attention. 

Sometimes in the midst of the controversy over drilling we forget that the landowners have the most at stake.  They love this land and in many cases it has been in their families for generations.  Sure, they look forward to securing lucrative leasing agreements but they don’t want to see any bad environmental outcomes and will negotiate their leases with this concern as a top priority. 

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Jennifer Levine has been invited by The Business Council to be a guest contributing author to the Capital Business Blog to enhance our readers understanding of the Marcellus shale issue and the job creating opportunities that surround it.

Jennifer Levine, recently worked at the New York State Assembly for a member whose district includes five counties in the Marcellus play where she gained exposure to this issue. Previously, she worked in government relations for MCI Communications in Washington, D.C. Jennifer can be reached at jklevine@nycap.rr.com.

Jay Gallagher reports on Pressconnects.com today - “Gov. David Paterson and legislative leaders agreed Wednesday to temporarily extend a key energy-subsidy program for businesses, but couldn’t come up with a consensus on how to permanently reform it.

The leaders all pledged to work to renew the Power for Jobs program that sends low-cost hydropower to businesses that pledge to maintain or expand jobs.

The state launched its Power for Jobs program through the state Power Authority in 1997. It was intended to be a three-year bridge to continue supplying relatively low-cost power to energy-intensive industries until the newly deregulated market drove down prices across the board.

Instead, prices went up, and the program has been extended in several stages to its current expiration date of June 30.”

To read the rest of the sotry click here.

Joseph Spector reports in today’s pressconnects.com - “A federal judge Wednesday issued an injunction that stops the state from charging a nickel deposit on bottles of water starting next week.

Bottlers last week filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the law from going into effect, saying they will not have enough time to implement it and put New York- specific bar codes on all bottles and cans.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Griesa agreed and ruled from the bench that the state and the bottlers need to work on a reasonable time frame to start the new law.

“This gives us some breathing room to set an effective date that will work,” said Tom Lauria, a spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association, one of the plaintiffs along with Nestle Waters North America, Inc. and The Polar Corporation.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

The following op-ed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears in today’s New York Times.

“THIRTY-EIGHT years ago, Oregon passed America’s first bottle deposit law, leading the way for states like New York and Connecticut to enact their own bills to reduce litter from single-serving containers. Those first laws, aimed at soft drinks and beer, then the most prevalent canned and bottled beverages, succeeded spectacularly, generating redemption rates reaching 70 percent…

A good new deposit bill could encourage recycling of new classes of beverage bottles and also provide financing for curbside programs that capture other kinds of recyclable waste, like juice cartons, ketchup bottles and mayonnaise jars. These are all made from the same plastic and glass as soda, beer and water bottles, yet fewer than one in five of them are being recycled. Since such containers are not subject to deposit laws, their recycling is driven only by moral imperative or local ordinances, and these incentives function best when supported by robust curbside recycling programs or other easy recycling options.

Unfortunately, the New York Legislature passed a bottle law last month that not only fails to accomplish these goals but will actually harm the recycling programs New York has. It is an ugly sausage that was cooked up by lobbyists for makers of sugared drinks and their allies in the Legislature. Instead of requiring deposits for all the new beverage categories, as Gov. David Paterson originally proposed, New York’s new bottle law covers bottled water only — unless that water contains added sugar. ”

To read the entire op-ed click here.

Why Albany Should Start Paying Attention!
by Jennifer K. Levine

I’m posting this entry on the Capital Business Blog to raise awareness about natural gas development of the Marcellus Shale in Central New York and the Southern Tier. You will occasionally find an article or editorial about drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, but it doesn’t appear that state leaders in Albany are paying very much attention. They should - development of the vast natural gas reserve in the Marcellus Shale is one of Upstate’s best hopes for economic recovery.

The Marcellus Shale reserve covers 95,000 square miles (DOE-Modern Shale Gas Development in the U.S.: A Primer) and includes New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and bits of Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee. It represents one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. Natural gas found in shale exists in pores and fractures and is released very slowly. Geologists have known about the enormous gas reserves for years but until recently it wasn’t possible or economically feasible to extract the gas. Recent advances in the technology of horizontal drilling and hydrofracing have made drilling for natural gas in shale profitable. These technologies have been used with great success in the Barnett Shale formation in Texas and the local economies and the state have benefited enormously from the development.

There are so many issues associated with the Marcellus Shale including: the environmental concerns, proximity to market, JOBS, technology of drilling, geology of shale, regulatory issues, legislative measures, coalition news, and, oh, did I mention JOBS! I hope to start a conversation so that when drilling actually begins we all have a little background.

Here on the Capital Business Blog, I intend to provide links to useful background materials and current events and articles from around the state. I look forward to an exciting dialog as the state moves closer to developing the vast Marcellus Shale reserve.

Thank you, and let me know what you think.

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Jennifer Levine has been invited by The Business Council to be a guest contributing author to the Capital Business Blog to enhance our readers understanding of the Marcellus shale issue and the job creating opportunities that surround it.

Jennifer Levine, recently worked at the New York State Assembly for a member whose district includes five counties in the Marcellus play where she gained exposure to this issue. Previously, she worked in government relations for MCI Communications in Washington, D.C. Jennifer can be reached at jklevine@nycap.rr.com.

The Democrat and Cronicle reports today - “Struggling to reorganize without going bankrupt, General Motors Corp. has agreed to take back five parts plants from already-bankrupt Delphi Corp., including the powertrain operation in Rochester, according to the United Auto Workers.”

To read the rest of the story click here.