NYS Legislative Session Ends
Randy Wolken, President & CEO

Last weekend, the New York State Legislature completed its annual legislative session with a flurry of activity. Like we do every year, we worked with our members and partners throughout the State to advance manufacturing and business growth. I am happy to report some critical successes in our joint efforts.

Green CHIPS was passed, which positions New York State well for enormous opportunities for some of the most significant investments of the semi-conductor and other tech industry sectors. We applaud the Governor and the Legislature for passing these key tax credits necessary to capitalize on the federal investments. We must be competitive to be successful in attracting and maintaining these key companies and existing companies already in New York State. This effort positions us to win this competition.

We also achieved a significant breakthrough in advancing Tax Parity for all manufacturers in this session. It was included in the one-house budget of the Assembly. We thank Assemblyman Stirpe for his hard work and his colleagues in supporting this vital effort to make New York State one of the most attractive states from a corporate tax perspective. MACNY successfully got a zero-tax rate for C-Corporation manufacturers passed and signed into law in 2014. We will not rest until all manufacturers are treated equally concerning corporate taxation.

We also worked with our business and state-wide partners to educate legislators and the administration on crucial legislation concerning renewables and accelerated building electrification. Both bills would have set us back instead of moving us forward towards a greener, more sustainable future. We appreciate all our members and other business groups who weighed in on these issues.

Assemblyman Stirpe advanced another key end-of-session initiative. He championed an unemployment tax amnesty program. Although it was not ultimately successful in the Senate, we are committed to finding ways to help manufacturers and businesses lower this cost caused by the pandemic and not by anything they did as businesses. If we don’t address this issue, it will make New York State businesses less competitive with the rest of the country.

To review a brief summary of the session, click here. And please join us next week for a webinar where we will recap the session and what is next on our agenda to help you be more successful. Click here to register for the webinar.

Let me conclude by thanking Tiffany Latino-Gerlock, our Director of Government Relations and Communications. She did an excellent job this session despite the challenges. Our lobbyists, Rebecca Marino and Casey Marvell from Ostroff Associates, did outstanding work as well. Together with our Manufacturers Alliance partners state-wide, we achieved significant outcomes. And of course, you, our members, sent your letters and i360 emails sharing your examples and views. It all made a huge difference. Thank you!