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Use your "face time" wisely
July 15, 2008

An important Partnership member benefit is opportunities for "face time" with elected representatives and their staffs. That's why we work hard to put together a series of government affairs events that provide members with direct access to these folks from all levels of government. In 2008, we've already had a luncheon with the WNY state delegation, had discussions with Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Brian Higgins (other sessions with the rest of our congressional delegation will follow), were the audience for one of Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster's first speaking engagements, and celebrated the release of the 2008 Regional Agenda with a wide range of government officials from throughout the region.

Tonight, at the Buffalo Launch Club in Grand Island, the Partnership is presenting our popular "Buffalo Niagara Night" event. This event normally is held each spring in Albany, but with the changeover in the governor's office in March, that was not the optimal time this year. As a result, Buffalo Niagara Night "in Buffalo Niagara" was born. While we will likely return to the Albany format for the event next year, we are looking forward to the casual cocktail reception with our state senators and assemblymembers this evening. Building key relationships, using these types of events, is vital to the success of our efforts on behalf of the business community.

While this bi-weekly e-mail sometimes is critical of our elected officials, it also needs to recognize the positive outcomes that they have helped to achieve. Certainly, none of the good work the Partnership does on behalf of the business community can be accomplished without your support - financial or otherwise - but, in the end, progressive economic policy changes, important defensive stances against legislation that would make Upstate much less business competitive and vital resources for economic development programs require formal policy, project and budget decisions by our elected officials. So, especially for those of you attending tonight's event, I want to take a moment to talk about some of the areas in which our representative leaders have recently delivered.

WHTI/Enhanced Driver's Licenses - We were pleased to recently hear the governor's office announce the target date for the first issuances of Enhanced Driver's Licenses (EDLs) - September 9. This is an issue in which the Partnership has been engaged for several years (WHTI opposition first appeared in the 2006 Regional Agenda), and it was our WNY Congressional Delegation that led the charge, first for delay of the implementation of WHTI until June, 2009, and then to make available an alternative form of identification - EDLs - that would satisfy its requirements.

Brownfields Reform - When New York State created its Brownfields Clean-up Program in 2003, no one realized that the program would be so beneficial to certain redevelopment projects that it would end up costing the state over $1 billion. With a moratorium on new entries into the program put in place simply to "stop the bleeding," it was imperative that the program be re-crafted. To the credit of the governor and our state legislators, it was - into a "new and improved" program that saves the taxpayers from out-of-control costs and provides developers with a clearer definition for eligibility.

Stalling the IDA "Reform" Bill - Each year, legislation to "reform" the IDAs (the "Hoyt" IDA bill) comes along and becomes a priority target for labor, which would like to see costly wage requirements attached to any IDA incentives that are granted. Downstate, this is no problem, as with a strong economy, mandated higher wages can be absorbed. Upstate, they're a deal killer for businesses, raising costs 28% and essentially eliminating the purpose of the IDA incentives. With this understanding, the Partnership vocally opposed the "reform" bill, and the state senate was able to block it for now, preserving the integrity of the IDA program for Upstate.

While the tone of tonight's event is definitely casual - no formal remarks or heavy advocacy push - if you have the chance to attend, be sure to:

1. Thank our state delegation members for their leadership on brownfields reform
2. Thank our state senators for saving the IDAs (and remind all of our representatives of the need to continue to keep burdensome wage mandates away from IDA incentives in the future, as well!).
3. Remind our state legislators of the importance of continuing efforts to "Unshackle" Upstate - the items listed above are the good things; plenty of outcomes of this year's legislative session, however - such as the costly Wicks Law stipulations that exponentially increase the cost of public works projects by alienating non-union bidders - were not as favorable.

Of course, these events are also beneficial to you, our members, for the direct access to elected officials to discuss your own business needs - which is what makes them such a great value! Please take advantage of the opportunity, and keep watch on the Partnership's calendar of events for additional upcoming "face time."

Andrew J. Rudnick
President & CEO