PUTNAM POSTING: Will NY State Ever be Business Friendly? Putnam County Can Lead by Example

2016 was a record-breaking year for non-business-friendly regulations with the onerous minimum wage increase and the most generous family leave mandate in the country. Heather Briccetti, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, said, “These mandates, combined with the lack of any meaningful, broad-based business climate reforms, left our state’s small, medium and large job creators wondering when Albany was going to get back to business and start working for them.”

This year isn’t starting out much better, with the new state window tint law taking effect. This new law puts the burden on auto shop owners to buy a new expensive tool and elongates the time required to make inspections. Both of these will cost businesses more money, which of course the bill does not take into consideration. Why is New York always creating new ways to make doing business more difficult? Other state proposals have also raised concerns, such as limits on employers’ political advocacy, new labor law requirements, additional “pay equity” requirements, and more environmental mandates and restrictions.

Putnam County has taken a turn for the better when it comes to business legislation. The Putnam County Chamber of Commerce has successfully worked with the legislators to eliminate and prevent laws that do not promote a healthy business climate in our county. We have a County Executive who is committed to the success of our small businesses. Still, we really need to hear from the business community itself. The Chamber’s 2017 Legislative Priorities Committee is creating a Legislative booklet for upcoming roundtable discussions with village, town, county, state and federal elected officials. Join us for the committee meeting on Wednesday March 15th from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Elected Officials’ Forum to discuss the legislative priorities scheduled on Sunday, April 2 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Both sessions will be held at Spain Cornerstone Park in Carmel.

Jennifer Maher
Jennifer Maher is a partner of J. Philip Real Estate and Founding Chairwoman of the Putnam County Business Council.