Vivek Wadhwa, a senior research associate at Harvard Law School and executive in residence at Duke University writes in the Washington Post about the transfer of technology at universities and how the economy can benefit.

“If university research were a business, it would be bankrupt.

In 2009, the federal government, industry and philanthropic organizations invested $53.5 billion in university research. The total licensing revenue of all U.S. universities amounted to $2.3 billion that year, including royalties from technologies licensed over decades.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that universities do not automatically own the rights to the inventions that result from federally financed research. The ruling is limited in its scope but sheds light on an important issue: Universities are more focused on maximizing licensing revenue than sharing the fruits of federally funded research.”

To read more click here.

“Gov. Andrew Cuomo has introduced a bill that would allow every campus in the State University of New York to raise tuition five percent a year for the next five years.” writes Scott Waldman in the Times Union.

“The bill would also allow the university system’s four research centers, which includes the University at Albany, to add an additional three percent tuition raise on top of that as part of a “Rational Plus Plan.” The NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant legislation allows each research center to present development plans that could see each campus receive $35 million in state grants.”

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher and Business Council board member said, “Governor Cuomo is fulfilling the promise he made to New Yorkers in his State of the State address by submitting legislation that positions SUNY to be a key driver of our state’s economic recovery. Furthermore, rational tuition will allow SUNY to flourish while protecting access for New Yorkers and providing students with the resources they need to complete their degrees on time. Governor Cuomo is proving himself to be a staunch advocate and supporter of public higher education.”

To read more click here.

To read the Governor’s press release click here.

The Business Council of New York State SUPPORTS this legislation that would amend the Waterfront Commission Act to empower the waterfront commission to accept applications in the longshoremen’s register and repeals section 5-p of the act.

Forty-five years ago, New York and New Jersey supplemented their bi-state Waterfront Commission Compact by enacting Section 5-p, the “controlled register statute.” The statute empowers the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor to control the size of the longshore workforce in the PONYNJ by periodically opening and closing the register of persons licensed to work on the docks. Employers in the PONYNJ are the only employers in the nation denied the ability to perform the basic management function of hiring new workers or replacing those lost through attrition and retirement.

To read more click here.

On Saturday, June 4th , state house members in Connecticut voted to mandate paid sick leave for hundreds of thousands of service workers. The House voted 76 to 65 to approve the bill which had been approved by an 18-to-17 vote in the state Senate on May 25. Gov. Malloy, a first-term Democrat, is expected to sign the bill.

The bill applies only to businesses with 50 or more employees. It exempts manufacturing companies and nationally chartered nonprofit organizations, day laborers, independent contractors and temporary workers. The measure covers only service workers including waiters, cashiers, fast-food cooks, hair stylists, security guards and nursing home aides.

It mandates employers to credit one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked, with a maximum of five days per year.

Here is New York State, state level bills mandating sick time for employees have been introduced for years but have stayed in committee with no further action. However, in New York City, the City Council held hearings on mandated sick days in both 2009 and 2010. In October 2010, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn decided that she would not bring the bill to a vote. However, a vote by the NY City Council remains possible anytime in the future.

Tom Precious of the Buffalo News writes in a story that appears in the Times Union - “The state university system has an economic impact on the state of at least $20 billion, according to a new report due to be released Wednesday.

The State University of New York, poised to become a player in the state’s new regional-based economic development efforts, supported 173,000 jobs and that created $460 million in state and local taxes in 2008-09, the report states.

In Western New York, SUNY’s economic impact totals $3.7 billion. The report noted that one in four residents of Western New York are connected to SUNY either as students, employees or alumni.”

To read more click here.

The State University of New York on Tuesday launched the SUNY Report Card, an exclusive evaluation tool that will publicly track the university’s system-wide work as an educator, job creator, community partner, and generator of boundary-breaking research.

With the release of its report card, SUNY takes the unprecedented step of measuring the university system’s performance against New York’s greatest social and economic needs, including the alignment of SUNY’s research capacity to statewide job growth and the state’s ability to capture a greater share of the global green energy market, among other measures.

“Part of what makes the Report Card unique is that it doesn’t merely measure SUNY’s value in terms of the number of degrees it bestows or the breadth of its curricula, but by the tangible, long-term impact SUNY will have on the economy and quality of life in New York State,” said Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “No other university system in the country is doing this. We are thinking outside of the SUNY box – inviting the public to measure the system’s actions against its ability to address our state’s greatest needs.

“We are asking New Yorkers to hold us accountable,” Chancellor Zimpher continued. “We want the public to know where we succeed and where we may fall short. It’s a level of accountability that many would consider a gamble, but the risks are outweighed by the opportunity to present all New Yorkers with SUNY’s advancement and our impact on the economic revitalization of New York State.”

Heather Briccetti, Acting President & CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc., said: “The Business Council applauds the Chancellor for this initiative to set a standard for transparency and accountability at SUNY. Business owners rely on SUNY to provide an educated workforce, and taxpayers across the state deserve to see how their hard-earned dollars are being spent. The three-pronged Report Card will enhance SUNY’s accountability to communities and reinforce economic development initiatives.”

According to the governor’s office - “Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher unveiled the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program. Phase one of the program is worth up to $140 million to the SUNY University Centers in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook.

The NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program will initially consist of $35 million in capital funding per school ($20 million administered by Empire State Development Corporation and $15 million from SUNY’s construction fund) for the four SUNY University Centers.

The mission of the program is to make SUNY a leading catalyst for job growth throughout the state, strengthen the academic programs of the University Centers and demonstrate that New York is open for business. The funding will be integrated with the Governor’s Regional Economic Development Councils and administered by ESDC. The approach will leverage private sector and other source funding to further the goals of job creation and economic development.

“NYSUNY 2020 brings our economic development goals together with the world-class SUNY system in a way that boosts higher learning and creates good paying jobs all over New York,” Governor Cuomo said. “We need to put New Yorkers back to work, and this new partnership with SUNY will be a major part of the reinvention of New York.”

“Governor Cuomo’s vision of reopening New York to business fits perfectly with SUNY’s ability to be an economic driver for our state - a ready-made asset for New York’s recovery,” SUNY Chancellor Zimpher said. “We have pledged to educate the most adept workforce in the nation, discover innovative solutions to some of the most vexing scientific and socio-economic challenges, improve the business climate in our state, and enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers.”

To read more click here.

“Schools are seeking an average increase of 3.4 percent in their property-tax levies in the 2011-12 school year, data released Wednesday by the state Department of Education show.” writes Joseph Spector in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

“The average tax increase is about the same as in the current school year, when schools limited the growth in taxes to 3.2 percent. The newest figures show that even as schools curb spending, taxes continue to rise — fueled by growing costs and a decline in state aid.

Spending increases for the upcoming school year, which starts July 1, average about 1.3 percent, the data show. Also, school enrollment is virtually flat, going up just 0.7 percent.”

To read more click here.

Tell Speaker Silver to enact a 2 percent property tax cap Now! Click here to send a Message to the Speaker and your local legislators!

“Leaders at the University at Buffalo, after meeting several roadblocks in Albany, are considering ways to scale back their UB 2020 plan and its lofty $5 billion price tag.” writes Tom Precious of the Buffalo News.

If UB is to succeed in getting state backing of its ambitious plan for the future of the university and the Buffalo community, UB leaders are being told that they must scale back the master plan unveiled more than two years ago.

That means new UB President Satish K. Tripathi will need to provide more specifics on what public-private partnerships the university has in mind.”

To read more click here.

The long awaited information from the state labor department on employer’s implementation of the wage theft prevention act is now available on the labor department’s website. This new law affects all private sector employers in New York State and all employers must take action now.

A quick look will show you the information that you need to include on the notice to all new employee’s hired on or after the act’s April 9^th effective date. You may use your own form as long as all required information is included or you may use the forms provided by the labor department. Including this new information in a hire letter does not satisfy the requirements of the new law. It must be a separate form. For the labor department’s forms, just scroll down. You are also urged to read the labor department’s Frequently Asked Questions about the WTPA.

If you have new employees whose primary language is Spanish, Chinese or Korean, those foreign language forms are here. Scroll down for the applicable form; then find the needed language. If you have new employees whose primary language is other than Spanish, Chinese or Korean, you only need to provide the information in English. Other foreign language forms may be released by the labor department in the future. We’ll let you know.

After you’ve checked out what you need to do beginning with new employees hired on or after April 9, 2011, please call the HR Line at 800-332-2117 if you have any other questions.