In an op-ed in today’s Times Union, Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council, expresses his concern that state government is creating a climate of uncertainty in New York, rather than fostering an environment that encourages private sector investment and job creation.

“The nation may be creeping out of the recession. Second quarter corporate earnings reports are encouraging. Manufacturing is doing well. The banking sector is on solid ground again. Exports are up.

Still, employment numbers remain grim, and if there is one state likely to suffer a “jobless recovery,” it’s New York.

Just when the rest of the state recognizes that the only thing that matters is private sector job growth, Albany has come up with a new strategy to deter investment and discourage companies from hiring: uncertainty.

New York business owners have had to cope with high taxes and burdensome regulations for decades. Now there’s more. It has become increasingly hard to predict what’s next in the state’s business environment. The uncertainty created by state government is stripping away something business owners depend on in tough economic times: predictability.

It’s not just that politicians have spent seven months unable to agree on a state budget. The sense of uncertainty is exacerbated when policy makers can’t make up their minds or break promises previously made to the business community.

Beyond several anti-business measures built into the 2011 budget, the two worst decisions for the long-term economic health of New York involve the state violating commitments it made to firms that have been playing by the rules and investing here.

First, a three-year deferral of already earned tax credits. Many companies have made significant investments to create and retain jobs in New York, clean up brownfields or make their facilities cleaner and more efficient. Part of their calculation in making those investments included tax credits to offset the high cost of doing business here. Now the state says, “Hold on, you can’t get your credits until 2013.”

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A bi-partisan coalition of lawmakers today introduced new legislation the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide an investment tax credit for new innovative technology that produces clean, zero-emission electricity from waste heat generated by industrial processes. The Heat is Power Act, sponsored by Representatives Paul Tonko (NY-21), Jay Inslee (WA-01), Shelly Berkley (D-NV-01) and Ron Paul (TX-14), would help stimulate growth in the waste heat to electricity market and create new jobs.

“This tax credit creates an incentive for a renewable technology with the potential to create jobs and allow American companies to export to other countries,” said Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-21). “It’s critical that we embrace these new innovations in clean energy that will help lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and reduce energy costs.”

“We shouldn’t allow clean energy produced by waste to go wasted,” said Rep. Jay Inslee (WA-01). “By implementing this policy, we will be able to incentivize the deployment of technologies that can capture thermal energy from waste and convert it to electricity.”

The Heat is Power Act would modify sections 45 and 48 of the U.S. tax code to include waste to heat and provide a 30% investment tax credit for the installation of the technology in industrial settings. American companies have created technology that can harness heat waste from smokestacks and other industrial processes such as oil and gas production and turn that energy into zero-emissions electricity. The tax credit will put this technology on the same footing as other renewables such as wind and solar power, and help develop a new, American clean energy industry that will lead to job growth.

The development of a domestic waste heat market will also position the U.S. to capture the global market in clean energy exports and create manufacturing jobs here in America for decades to come.

It is critical that the legislature adopt a new, statewide economic development power program in the 2010 session.

The Power for Jobs and the Energy Cost Savings Benefit programs expired on June 2, 2010, leaving several hundred energy-intensive businesses facing higher costs and uncertainty regarding future power supply and prices.

Kenneth Adams, President & CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. stated, “New York needs a permanent economic development power program now. Competitively priced power is crucial for employers and workers across New York, and particularly for upstate manufacturers. We support legislation that has already passed the Senate with broad, bipartisan support, and deserves broad Assembly support as well. A permanent power program will support hundreds of energy-intensive businesses and tens of thousands of high paying jobs.”

We strongly support Assembly approval of S.8065, which has already passed the Senate with broad, bipartisan support (vote of 59 to 2).

This legislation includes key provisions necessary to support high paying jobs and promote new capital and energy efficiency investments, resulting in significant economic returns to the state. These include:

• A new, permanent program to replace the Power for Jobs and Economic Development Power programs that will provide predictability and certainty for program participants.
• A 910 MW program that will give the state more economic development power resources than are available under expiring programs, that can accommodate new program participants statewide.
• Allocation-based power benefits and long-term contracts of up to seven years that will provide competitive, stable electric power prices to energy intensive businesses.
• Eligibility criteria that assure significant, long-term economic return to the state, including the number and value (wages and benefits) of jobs created and retained, investments in capital equipment and energy efficiency, the significance of energy costs to a business’ competitiveness, and the local economic significance of the facility.

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In response to Governor Paterson’s announcement that he is calling the Legislature back to address unfinished business, statewide business groups have joined together in urging the Assembly to immediately take up and pass Energize New York. Energize New York, a long term fully sustainable energy economic development power program bill, has been endorsed by the Administration, and previously passed the Senate this session with overwhelming support. To date, Assembly leadership has refused to bring the critical bill to the floor for a vote.

This issue has risen in urgency with the already expired short term Power for Jobs, Energy Cost Savings benefits and High Load Factor Programs that were discontinued over a month ago. If the current programs expire without a long term solution passed, businesses statewide will be heavily impacted, seeing an immediate sharp rise in their electricity costs, already some of the highest in the nation. If not addressed immediately, a lapse in energy benefits, coupled with the high costs of doing business in New York State and our current economic crisis will cause catastrophic results to the state’s economy, including employee layoffs, downsizing, relocation and potential closings.

Energize New York has already received praise and overwhelming support from businesses and economic development organizations statewide. Supporters understand that a long term program will assist New York State in weaving through this current economic crisis by supporting jobs and critical businesses that sustain our economy, produce vast economic benefits to the State, allow businesses to make long term investments, and make New York State more competitive in retaining businesses to open or relocate to our State. The Energize New York bill also contains substantial retroactive language, meaning businesses would be held harmless for any high costs of electricity they may encounter during the current lapse in the preexisting short term Power for Jobs programs.

Of additional importance, the Energize New York bill has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate, passing with a vote of 59-2, with cosponsors Senator Aubertine (D-Cape Vincent) and Senator Maziarz (R-Newfane) leading the charge. The Administration also publicly endorses Energize New York. Governor Paterson made this point known when he released his list of unfinished and important items to be addressed this week, and included Energize New York as one of these issues.

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“The New York metro area will have dirtier air, higher energy prices and thousands more unemployed workers if the state insists on cooling towers for the Indian Point nuclear power plant, speakers said Tuesday,” reports Jim Fitzgerald of The Associated Press.

“Testimony at a public hearing a few miles from the plant was overwhelmingly critical of a state ruling that said Indian Point has been devastating the Hudson River ecosystem through its use of up to 2.5 billion gallons of river water per day to make steam and cool its reactors.

Screens keep out most full-grown fish. But baby fish, fish eggs and other small life forms are sucked in and killed. Some of the fish that hit the screens also die or are injured.

“I feel sorry for the fish, I really do,” said Jerry Gershner, a real estate agent from Ossining who predicted higher taxes and other living costs. “But the person that I most feel sorry for is me, my family and my neighbors.”

Read the full story.

New York is a leader in high taxes and spending but lags the nation in most economic growth categories. That is the finding of “Unique New York”, a new service of the Public Policy Institute of New York State (PPI), the research affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.

“Unique New York” is available here. It tracks 21 standard indicators of economic performance. Unfortunately, in most metrics New York State’s performance is dismal.

“The message is clear — New York must reduce spending and lower taxes to become competitive and allow the economy to create jobs,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State. “Upstate New York has been especially hard hit by Albany’s misguided tax and spend policies.”

Read more.

Buffalo Business First has just released a new study on the manufacturing sector in Buffalo Metro area. The report compares the loss of job in this sector to job losses in other Metros across the country.

“A new Business First study shows that the Buffalo area has lost 35,600 manufacturing jobs in the past 10 years.
That means, on average, that 300 manufacturing jobs are disappearing from Erie and Niagara County every week — roughly 10 every day.

We’re not alone, of course. Ninety-eight of the nation’s 100 biggest markets have fewer manufacturing jobs now than they did a decade ago. Six have lost more than 100,000 positions.

The database below has the complete breakdowns for all 100 of those metros. You can sort the list by any column just by clicking the appropriate header.

To read more: Manufacturing jobs keep slipping away - Business First of Buffalo click here.

According to a Siena Poll released this morning, “Overall Consumer Confidence increased in three of nine New York State MSA’s in the second quarter of 2010, according to the latest Quarterly Consumer Confidence survey released today by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). At 71.9, the New York City region had the highest overall consumer confidence of the nine regions, and the Binghamton region had the lowest, at 55.7. Current confidence increased in eight of nine regions while future confidence decreased in eight of the nine regions. ”

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Syracuse.com reporter Rick Moriarity reports on the various views on the new Excelsior Jobs program.

He writes: “New York’s new jobs program is most notable for what it doesn’t include.

What the Excelsior program does not include are tax credits for law firms, shopping malls, power plants and other businesses that are unlikely to leave the state. It also will not help companies that fail to create promised jobs.

In other words, it won’t make the same mistakes made by the much-maligned Empire Zone program, the program it is replacing. That’s a promise from the man in charge.

“We’ve got a solid program, a lot different than the one we had before,” said Dennis Mullen, chairman and CEO of Empire State Development Corp., the state’s economic development agency.”

But, Moriarity goes on to note concerns of The Business Council of New York State: “Ken Pokalsky, senior director of government affairs for the state Business Council, said the council agrees with the program’s focus on strategic industries. But he said its limit of $50 million in new tax credits each year is not enough. That’s less than half the new credits issued each year of the Empire Zone program after it was amended to limit abuses, he said.

Pokalsky said the program’s property tax credit, in particular, is too limited. High property taxes are among the most pressing problems for businesses in New York, so greater relief is necessary, he said.

The Business Council also objects to the program’s prohibition against “double dipping.” A company that is receiving Empire Zone benefits will not be allowed into the Excelsior program. Pokalsky said companies should be allowed to collect tax credits under either program for separate facilities. As the law is written, a company that has a facility in an Empire Zone cannot receive benefits for a different facility under the Excelsior program, he said.”

Read the story.

The Business Council has joined with a bi-partisan group of legislators, other business groups and Gov. Paterson to call on the Assembly majority to vote on an economic power program.

The coalition’s release states:  “Working in partnership, Senate Energy Committee Chair Senator George Maziarz, co-sponsor with Energy Vice Chair Senator Darrel Aubertine prime sponsor, and Governor David A. Paterson worked together with the Assembly to develop a unified solution to a longstanding problem.  The Power for Jobs and Energy Cost Savings Benefit programs have provided low-cost electricity discounts to businesses, institutions and non-profit organizations across the State in return for capital investment and job commitments.

However, for the last five years these programs have been extended one year at a time, thus failing to provide program recipients with long-term certainty on their energy costs, a key factor in recipients’ decisions to expand operations and investments in New York.  Additionally, the Power for Jobs and Energy Cost Savings Benefit programs were not backed by actual hydropower, but rather, were dependent on the availability of revenues from the New York Power Authority.

Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. said, “New York needs a permanent economic development power program now. Competitively priced power is crucial for employers and workers across New York, and particularly for upstate manufacturers.  We support legislation that has already passed the Senate with broad, bipartisan support, and deserves broad Assembly support as well.  A permanent power program will support hundreds of energy-intensive businesses and tens of thousands of high paying jobs.”

The Energize New York legislation (S.8065), crafted under an extensive public and bipartisan process, which included joint Senate and Assembly hearings and roundtables across the state, would create a sustainable economic development program supported by an actual power resource, and would provide businesses with certainty through seven year contracts.

Business groups across the state including the Business Council of New York State, the Manufacturers Alliance, the New York Federation of Independent Business, the Long Island Association, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the New York City Partnership and other regional economic development and business associations and unions have come out in broad and enthusiastic support of the S.8065’s well developed approach to a long standing and annually recurring debate on the reliability and extension of these important programs.

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