January 30, 2012
Contact: Joshua Reap,
Dir. of Govt. Affairs (518) 449-1062
ALBANY – Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Empire State Chapter today unveiled its 2012 legislative priorities. The agenda, “Rebuilding New York,” is centered on meaningful reforms that will help the construction industry get New York residents back to work and provide for a stronger state economy.
“Unemployment rates for construction workers have been in the double digits since the start of the recession in 2008,” said Steve Lefebvre, president of the ABC Empire State Chapter. “With little improvement in sight, working class New York families depending on construction jobs face great uncertainty. By passing the items in this agenda, state leaders can restore confidence to an industry in search of signs of economic improvement, which will lead to increasing employment.”
Lefebvre applauded state leaders for the successes of the 2011 legislative session, and noted that “Rebuilding New York” is designed to build upon those accomplishments through reforms that lower construction costs for public work projects and encourage more private sector construction.
“Lowering construction costs in New York means the Empire State will be a more attractive place to build,” said Lefebvre. “These effective policy changes will help get more shovels in the ground and put more New York construction workers back to building our state’s future.”
The “Rebuilding New York” agenda is a direct result of input from member construction firms, suppliers and affiliated professional services companies that serve the construction industry.
“Rebuilding New York”
Solutions to Put the Empire State Back to Work
Jan 5, 2012 -
by Nora Niedzielski-Eichner, Ph.D.
Attached please find the written version of the Governor’s State of the State address, which was delivered yesterday afternoon. Maintaining the new "tradition" he launched last year, Governor Andrew Cuomo again delivered the speech in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center and accompanied himself with a Power Point presentation to drive home key messages. The delivered version was substantially shorter than the written version, and it was the economic development aspects of his text that he dwelled on most heavily in the speech.
Key priorities appear to be building the nation’s largest convention center in Queens ( the Daily News is reporting this morning that the Cuomo administration has already signed an agreement with the company that operates the Aqueduct racino); redeveloping the resulting Javits Center site; devoting $1 billion in economic development funds to Buffalo; legalizing casino gambling; building an "Energy Highway" to transport energy from Upstate to Downstate; and a second round of Regional Economic Development awards. The Governor also signaled his intention to turn his attention this year to education reform, declaring himself the "students’ lobbyist."
In contrast to last year's State of the State announcement of the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), no mention was made either of the MRT's achievements over the past year or of any future Medicaid-related initiatives. The text contains a reference to the need to pass legislation authorizing the Health Benefit Exchange, but that issue was not included in the Governor’s delivered speech.
The Speaker of the Assembly and the Majority Leader of the Senate were both invited to speak by the Governor prior to his own speech. Their statements are also attached. Speaker Sheldon Silver called for an increase in the State’s minimum wage and the full funding of the State’s obligations to its community colleges. Majority Leader Dean Skelos spoke more generally about mandate relief, a statewide transportation plan, and encouraging job creation.
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