News from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb
Assembly Office:
933 Legislative Office Building • Albany, NY 12248 • (518) 455-3751
District Offices:
607 West Washington Street • Suite 2 • Geneva, NY 14456 • (315) 781-2030
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For Release: IMMEDIATELY, June 7, 2013
Contact: Doug Finch, (315) 781-2030
My Job-Creation Checklist
Legislative column from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,C,I-Canandaigua)

The last few weeks of the legislative session are a flurry of activity in Albany, and all too often, the truly important issues get lost in the mix. One issue that is critical to all New Yorkers and especially important to Finger Lakes families is job creation. In this week's column, I will share my checklist for creating and retaining jobs in the Finger Lakes and across New York.

UPSTATE NEW YORK NEEDS QUALITY JOBS, NOT GIMMICKS

Most of us make our resolutions in January, but it seems like June is the month when Albany is full of fancy new plans for "improving" our state. The question is - what will truly work to get folks back on the job and fill the empty storefronts on Main Streets across the state with bustling businesses? Certainly, the answer is not slick commercials or tax credits for Hollywood. Instead of picking winners and losers, Albany must cultivate a fair, business-friendly economic environment that fosters our family-owned, mom-and-pop shops and creates quality jobs.

MY PLAN FOR BUILDING UP OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES

My job-creation checklist includes measures that will cut taxes, assessments and fees imposed on businesses, deliver unfunded mandate relief to reduce the local tax burden and remove regulatory roadblocks that hinder prosperity. Creating financial flexibility and cutting bureaucratic red tape for current businesses will keep jobs in the Finger Lakes and send a clear message that New York is open for business. My legislative checklist includes:

  • Eliminating the job-killing corporate franchise tax and personal income tax on manufacturers (A.4568, Kolb);

  • Immediately repealing the onerous temporary 18-a utility assessment that is handed down to families and businesses (A.382-A, Hawley);

  • Providing comprehensive mandate relief to help drive down property taxes (A.1570, Kolb and A.4972, Kolb);

  • Enacting a state spending cap and Medicaid reforms (A.6546, Kolb);

  • Establishing the Division of Regulatory Review & Economic Growth (D-RREG) to review and make binding recommendations for the elimination of burdensome regulations (A.5044, Kolb); and

  • Allowing counties to opt for an alternative to current Scaffold Act provisions (A.1556, Kolb).

Quite frankly, as the former President of Refractron Technologies, co-founder of the North American Filter Corporation and the only legislative leader in state government who has started and run successful manufacturing companies, I know firsthand the challenges of creating and retaining jobs in New York. There is a real solution: lowering the taxes, fees and surcharges, reforming state regulations and truly supporting the small businesses we already have here in New York.

SUPPORTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES IS THE KEY TO CREATING JOBS

If you were interested in starting a business, wouldn't you ask a local business owner about their experiences? All too many times, the answer a potential job creator hears is a story of high taxes and fees, confusing bureaucracy and a state government that doesn't seem to care about their well-being and success.

Albany must support the small businesses already in New York - the folks who have set up shop on our Main Streets and employ our friends and neighbors. Whether they are growing, manufacturing or selling the food, clothing and other items we use every day, or providing much-needed services like health care when we are sick, these folks are the real backbone of our local economies.

What do you think? I want to hear from you. Send me your feedback, suggestions and ideas regarding this or any other issue facing New York State. You can always contact my district office at (315) 781-2030 or email me at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us.