State Considering Natural Gas Ban The state’s draft climate plan would make many far-reaching changes to New York’s economy. Among them: a ban on natural gas, coupled with an electric building mandate that would send construction and manufacturing costs soaring. The state’s Climate Action Council recently held a hearing on
Today, Governor Hochul and the state legislature are finalizing the FY2023 budget. The budget is Hochul’s first as Governor and her only one before facing voters this November. In total, the budget will spend $220 billion, a record amount made possible by historic federal aid. The BNP was in
Lawmakers Finalizing State Budget This weekend, state lawmakers are finalizing the 2022-23 budget. The wide-ranging plan meets many community needs, but neglects others. The budget adds a steep application fee to the Brownfield Program, fails to protect employers from the looming unemployment insurance crisis, and does not adequately leverage the
Today, the State Legislature is passing a short-term budget extender, indicating a continued lack of consensus on a budget deal. The extender allows the state government to continue operations while buying time for the Governor and Legislature to reach an agreement on a number of outstanding issues. As we
New York State is poised to miss its budget deadline. The budget is due when the state’s fiscal year begins at midnight tonight. However, lawmakers are returning home tonight without a deal, and they plan to reconvene in Albany on Monday. Over the weekend, Gov. Hochul and legislative leaders will
Today, the Buffalo Bills, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced an agreement to finance the construction of a new stadium and to keep the Bills in Buffalo for decades to come. According to the Buffalo News, the Pegulas will spend at least $350 million on the
Without fanfare, the New York State Department of Labor updated its website to announce the relaxation of some NY HERO Act provisions. Employers can now forego enforcing their workplace safety plans. Private-sector employers are no longer required to implement their workforce safety plans. However, employers are still required to have
State of Emergency Extended Governor Kathy Hochul has issued an Executive Order extending New York’s state of emergency declaration for COVID-19. The state of emergency was scheduled to expire today, but Hochul extended the declaration through April 15. Declaring a state of emergency triggers the NY HERO Act, meaning employers
Advocacy Alert: NY Legislators Release Budget Proposals This weekend, the state Senate and Assembly released their one-house budget proposals. These proposals are symbolic documents the chambers use to highlight their priorities as they take their marks before a two-week sprint of budget negotiations. Governor Hochul’s proposal, released in January, serves
Last night, President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address. The speech, which outlined his agenda for the upcoming year, is available here. Among the top issues: Inflation. The President said that addressing soaring costs is his top priority. Biden intimated that businesses’ reliance on foreign supply chains