2-1-1 in the Hudson Valley and Long Island region will be available 24/7 to answer non-emergency calls throughout the weekend, in response to the onset of Hurricane Earl. United Way of Long Island and United Way of Westchester and Putnam are working with their local governments and emergency managers to coordinate the provision of accurate and up to date information.

2-1-1 Hudson Valley provides services to Long Island and the North Country in addition to its own region.

From within the service area residents can dial 2-1-1. From outside the service area (for example if a family member who lives in another part of the state is looking for assistance for a family member who lives in the area) 2-1-1 Hudson Valley can be reached through an 800 number: 800-899-1479.

In New York City 2-1-1 can be reached by dialing either 3-1-1 or 2-1-1.

According to a new Siena College Poll released this morning - ” New York State consumer confidence decreased 0.5 points in August, while the nation’s confidence increased 1.1 points, according to the latest poll by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). At 62.5, New York’s overall consumer confidence is 6.4 points below the nation’s* 68.9 confidence level.
In August, buying plans were up for: major home improvements, 0.1 points to 13.8%. Buying plans were down for: cars/trucks, 2.6 points to 7.0%; computers, 1.8 points to 11.0%; and furniture, 2.1 points to 15.3%. Buying plans remained unchanged for homes, at 2.0%.

“It’s hard to put a positive spin on these numbers,” according to Dr. Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI Founding Director. “Statewide our numbers are weak and depict worried consumers very reluctant to spend. Under the hood, we see Democrats saying the economic glass is nearly half full, but Republicans, 25 future index points lower, are now more pessimistic about their own prospects as well as the five-year state outlook than they have been since we began measuring consumer confidence in 1999. Over six of every ten Republicans expect poor business conditions in New York this year and widespread unemployment through 2015. Democrats forecast a somewhat rosier picture for the state and are much more likely than Republicans to insist that somehow, someway, they personally will be better off in a year.”

Each month since January 1999, the SRI survey establishes a Consumer Confidence index number for New York State consumers. This index number allows a direct comparison of New Yorkers to all Americans (“the nation”) as surveyed by the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment index. The SRI survey measures current and future consumer confidence, which combined provides the overall consumer confidence. SRI further looks at confidence in New York State by region (metro New York City and Upstate), age, income, gender and party.”

To read more click here.

Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he has acted on 92 bills, signing 66 bills into law and issuing 26 vetoes.

Among the bills signed by Governor Paterson is the Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Policy Act, which establishes Smart Growth criteria in State law, requires several State agencies to create Smart Growth Advisory Committees that would evaluate public infrastructure investments based on the Smart Growth criteria, and requires such infrastructure investments, to the extent practicable, to meet the criteria.

Governor Paterson also signed into law A.2563-A/S.6177-A, which requires employers who provide funeral leave for family members of a deceased person to provide the same leave to same-sex committed partners.

Additionally, Governor Paterson has signed into law the Construction Industry Fair Play Act, which creates a clear litmus test to distinguish the difference between a worker and an independent contractor. It also provides a method to clearly define which business on a construction project is responsible for which workers. Finally, for the first time in State history, it imposes monetary and criminal penalties specifically for the act of employee misclassification on construction projects.

Unshackle Upstate, a coalition representing more than 70,000 employers with 1.5 million workers, released today its rankings of all 212 state legislators.

They have two goals for these legislative scorecards. Primarily, Unshackle Upstate wants to provide all New Yorkers with a thorough informational tool that clearly demonstrates which elected officials have acted in the best interest of the taxpayers of this state and which ones have not. Secondly, we want to encourage all elected officials to embrace our agenda of reducing taxes, fees and assessments; cutting state and local spending; reducing state borrowing and curtailing mandates.

To see your local legislator’s score click here.

The November elections will be critical to shaping the future of our state. We hope that you find the information on your Senators and Assembly Members valuable when you’re considering who to support on Election Day.

The Business Council joins Unshackle Upstate in the belief that for those elected officials that scored well, you should consider keeping them in office. For those that did not, ask them why they did not support the taxpayers of the state of New York and then ask yourself if you should support them. We encourages you to challenge our elected officials to defend the interest of taxpayers…or get a new job!

NEW YORK

(This region covers New York and parts of Connecticut and New Jersey.)

According to a report released by the Federal Reserve, the economy showed more signs of strengthening. Tourism in New York City was robust, helped by a pickup in business travel. Manhattan hotels said occupancy rates rose to a record high for May and stayed strong in June. Broadway theater attendance was brisk. Retailers said sales met or beat expectations. Sales of clothing were healthy. But sales of big-ticket appliances were sluggish. Auto sales retreated a bit, but are up from a year ago. Factories reported some “leveling off” in activity. The commercial real estate market was mixed, although office leasing activity rose in New York City and vacancy rates dipped. The housing market was soft. More banks reported rising demand for consumer loans.

To read more from the Associated Press report and results from other parts of the country, click here.

New York state employers responding to a Business Council survey have once again overwhelmingly identified employee health care as their top cost-of-doing-business concern. The new survey also showed strong employer concern about business taxes and economic development incentives.

To read more about how Business Council member firms ranked various public-policy issues within each of two areas: cost-of-doing business and economic development click here.

The Buffalo News reports - “National Fuel Gas Co. executives keep seeing more and more potential in drilling for natural gas on its vast land holdings in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The Amherst-based energy company is nearly doubling its estimates of how much natural gas lies beneath the nearly 750,000 acres it controls in the Marcellus Shale region in northwestern Pennsylvania. And the company is further ramping up its plans to drill new wells in the region to tap into that pool of gas.

The company now believes between 8 trillion and 15 trillion cubic feet of gas can be tapped on that land, and National Fuel executives said Friday that the new wells it plans to drill in the Marcellus Shale region will account for all of the projected 31 percent increase in its oil and gas production next year.”

To read more click here.

According to a Quinnipiac Poll, “New York State government is dysfunctional, 83 percent of voters say, the highest number ever measured in the state, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

A total of 80 percent of New York State voters are “somewhat dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the state, also the highest dissatisfaction ever in New York, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

New York State voters say 59 - 21 percent that all candidates for state office should sign a pledge that they will support the creation of an independent group to draw legislative district lines. There is no difference in support among Democrats, Republicans or independent voters.

Nineteen percent of voters would vote against a candidate who refuses to sign the pledge on that issue alone. There is little difference in support among political or regional groups.

New York State voters disapprove 76 - 16 percent of the way the State Legislature is doing its job, the highest disapproval ever recorded for this group.

To clean house in Albany, all New York State senators, even their own local senator, should be voted out of office this November, voters say 51 - 36 percent. Voters say 50 - 34 percent that State Assembly members, even their own representative, should go, too.

“New Yorkers are fed up with Albany. The resentment is bigger than we’ve ever measured. Just about half think that the whole Legislature should be voted out of office - even their own state senator and Assembly member,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.”

To read more click here.

Here’s a real headbanger! As a result of a NYS Court of Appeals decision in the Labor Ready case, New York State employers may no longer adjust an employee paycheck overpayment in the next employee paycheck. To do so would now violate section 193 of the state labor law regulating paycheck deductions. I’ve read a January 2010 Request for Opinion letter from the department of labor’s Counsel’s office that clearly states while it was permissible in the past to correct overpayments in paychecks as long as the amount didn’t exceed 10% of gross wages, this court case changes everything.

So what are employer options? While a paycheck deduction is now not permitted for pay overages, employers may ask employees to voluntarily repay them for the pay overage. The employer cannot threaten or imply retaliation of any kind if the employee refuses to voluntarily repay the overage. If the employee declines to voluntarily repay the overage, the employer may pursue repayment through court action. Thinking that Small Claims Court was an option, I checked the NYS Small Claims Manual and read that corporations, partnerships, associations or assignees could not use small claims courts. So, it looks like regular civil court if the employee refuses to do what’s right and return the pay overpayment. Good luck!

From the Times Herald-Record - State Sen. Thomas P. Morahan, R-C-New City, died Monday after a six-month battle with leukemia, according to spokesman Ron Levine.

Morahan, 78, died at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan at around 4:30 p.m. He died peacefully, surrounded by his family, Levine said.

Morahan represented all of Rockland County as well as the towns of Tuxedo and Warwick in Orange County. He served in the New York Senate for more than 11 years and had a reputation as a strong advocate for mental-health reform.

Morahan was one of only two Senate Republicans asked by the Democratic majority to resume his service as chairman of a committee this year. As chairman of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee, he championed Timothy’s Law, a landmark piece of legislation that mandates mental health insurance parity in New York state. He was also co-chairman of the Senate’s Hudson Valley delegation.