2 0 1 6

Taxes & Regulation

Development & Construction

Workforce Development

Transportation & Infrastructure

Our policy priorities at the

federal, state and local level.

ADVOCACY AGENDA

January 2016

The release of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s 2016 Advocacy Agenda signifies an important milestone for our organization. This is the first time we have identified our policy priorities at the federal, state and local level in one central document. This agenda is also a reflection of our ongoing efforts to more actively involve our dedicated members in the development of our agenda through a comprehensive issues survey and alignment with the advocacy focus of our five key industry councils.

Our 2016 Advocacy Agenda articulates nearly two dozen specific positions focused in one of four broad policy areas: Taxes & Regulation, Development & Construction, Workforce Development, and Transportation & Infrastructure. Instead of just a listing of priorities, our Advocacy Agenda aims to provide context and explain why these issues are critical to employers and economic development efforts in Buffalo Niagara.

This document will drive the Partnership’s advocacy work for the year, guide our discussions with elected officials and decision makers, and focus our programming and events over the next 12 months. We want to thank our members and staff for all their efforts to help produce the Partnership’s 2016 Advocacy Agenda. We look forward to working with our members and elected officials to accomplish as many of these priorities as possible and build an even better, stronger Buffalo Niagara in the process.

Sincerely,

Grant Loomis

Vice President, Government Affairs

Dottie Gallagher-Cohen

President & CEO

2 0 1 6

Advocacy Agenda

2 | 2016 ADVOCACY AGENDA LOCAL STATE FEDERAL

STRATEGIES KEY:

Oppose Minimum Wage IncreaseGovernor Cuomo’s proposal to raise the minimum

wage to $15 an hour is unprecedented in its size and

scope. This hike will mean fewer jobs for those who

are already struggling and higher consumer prices for

goods and services across the board. This 67% increase

will not only negatively impact employers, but local

property taxpayers, first-time job seekers, and senior

citizens on fixed incomes. We are joining forces with

more than two dozen state and regional organizations

to build the Minimum Wage Reality Check coalition to

better educate the public on the consequences of this

proposal.

Reform Workers’ Compensation New York State’s Workers’ Compensation program

was substantially reformed in 2007. Unfortunately,

all these years later, many of the reforms have not

been fully implemented and, as a result, employers’

costs continues to climb.

Taxes & RegulationBuffalo Niagara employers operate in the one of the most highly taxed and overly regulated economic environments anywhere in the country. Our members continue to identify taxes and regulations as the number one barrier to their growth and success. Government at all levels must work overtime to address these very real concerns. Unfortunately, instead of just advocating for the elimination or rollback of several regressive policies, we must turn our attention to blocking new and expanding proposals that will continue to strangle entrepreneurship and economic investment.

S T R A T E G I E S

Small Business Tax ReliefNew York State must make a strong commitment

to delivering targeted tax relief for small

businesses. Personal income tax reductions and/or

percentage exemptions must be advanced since the vast

majority of small business owners pay their business

taxes through personal income tax.

Lower Healthcare Costs Despite attempts at reform, healthcare costs

remain far too high for Buffalo Niagara employers.

We support affordable and comprehensive access

to health insurance without imposing new

mandates and taxes on employers. In

addition, the medical tort system must be

reformed to discourage defensive medicine

which remains a significant cost driver.

MINIMUM WAGE REALITY CHECK:

18-a Utility TaxImmediately eliminate remaining section of the 18-a

utility tax to lower energy bills for manufacturers and

other high demand users.

Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Ensure this initiative is market driven and

transparent.

Projected job losses200,000

in NYS15,400 in WNY

= $16.71Current Buffalo Niagara median

wage for all occupations

25% of all employees in Buffalo Niagara work in non-food service jobs paying

less than $15/hr.

No developed country has a

minimum wage above $12/hr.

when adjusted for purchasing parity

d Align Scheduled Loss of Use (SLU) payments with

updated evaluation guidelines to accurately reflect

medical advancements that have improved recovery

times and outcomes.

d Reduce SLU compensation awards that are unrelated

to actual lost work time.

20142008 2010

19th

13th

4th WORST

New York State has the fourth highest Workers’ Compensation premiums in the country, up from the 19th highest back in 2008.

1

2

3

4

5

THEPARTNERSHIP.ORG | 3

Development & ConstructionThere is no denying the building boom currently underway in Buffalo Niagara. Our regional economy continues to benefit from new construction projects and the redevelopment of existing properties. The Buffalo Niagara Partnership and other groups successfully secured a 10-year extension of New York State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program in 2015 to help continue our current momentum, but more must be done. Additional reforms are critical to lowering construction costs and incentivizing the redevelopment of contaminated properties. Our community also needs to coalesce around sound public policy to encourage private sector investment, instead of building barriers with anti-business regulations.

S T R A T E G I E S

Scaffold Law Reform New York is the only state in the

nation operating under an outdated

Scaffold Law unfairly holding property

owners, employers and contractors

absolutely liable for injuries when a

worker falls on a construction site.

Under the current law, any contributing fault of the

worker – even gross negligence, intoxication or refusal to

use safety equipment – cannot be considered in court.

Reduce the costs and barriers to redevelopment by reforming remediation requirements and incentivizing abatement of:

d Reform the Scaffold Law by replacing absolute

liability with a comparative negligence standard.

This change would allow liability to be apportioned

based on fault – the standard that exists in every

state except New York.

Number of Scaffold Law cases has increased 500% since 1990, even though the rate of injury has decreased

Taxpayers

New York’s general liability insurance costs are highest in the nation

year

THE COST OF SCAFFOLD LAW:

/$785M

$1.49BPrivate business

year/

• Asbestos

• Lead Paint

• Mold

Establish a vacant property registry in the City of Buffalo to better tackle urban blight and highlight redevelopment opportunities

Support policy alignment between local Industrial Development Agencies and the goals of One Region Forward and the WNY Regional Economic Development Council

6

7

8

9

LOCAL STATE FEDERAL

STRATEGIES KEY:

4 | 2016 ADVOCACY AGENDA

Workforce DevelopmentJob creation efforts are moot if employers cannot find employees. Government, education and training entities, and employers must work together to build a qualified workforce with 21st century skills. To accomplish this, we need to invest in and support education and workforce development initiatives that adequately prepare workers to be career-ready, especially for occupations in targeted industry sectors with high and immediate demand. By 2022, those sectors alone are expected to create approximately 50,000 new jobs locally, but that figure does not tell the whole story. Buffalo Niagara has an aging population with many workers at or near retirement age - magnifying the significant needs in certain industries, specifically manufacturing, which faces workforce challenges now and in the future.

S T R A T E G I E S

Buffalo Niagara Job Market Snapshot: Manufacturing

Support Pell Grant funding and broaden program eligibility to reflect today’s job readiness needs, including:

Tool & Die Maker

AVERAGE STARTING SALARIES:

$44,374

Ensure Workforce Improvement & Opportunities Act (WIOA) implementation is employer focused to provide skills that align with local job opportunities

Employs 50,000 People

17,000 job vacancies by 2020RESUME

Industrial Engineer Technician

$43,840Engineering Technician

$39,221Machinist

$38,169Chemical Operator

$35,987Metal/Plastic Fabricator

$30,904

d Make short-term occupational

certificate programs eligible for grants

d Make demand-driven non-credit

programs eligible for grants

d Take advantage of industry sector

partners to ensure short-term and

non-credit programs are

meeting job market needs

d Encourage city and county leaders to appoint

employer representatives to local Workforce

Investment Boards (WIB)

d Target WIB resources for training programs

matching WNY Regional Economic Development

Council priorities and targeted industry sectors

10

11

12

THEPARTNERSHIP.ORG | 5

PASSED

Transportation & InfrastructureEconomic development does not happen without well-designed, well-maintained, and well-funded infrastructure. The safe and efficient movement of goods, services and people is at the core of our economy. Government at all levels must make infrastructure funding and transportation initiatives a priority, and commit to working with employers to identify areas of concern and opportunity.

S T R A T E G I E S

Support upgrades to New York’s aging power grid to improve reliability and ensure Buffalo Niagara’s economy benefits of moving locally produced electricity downstate

Implement border efficiency measures outlined in the Beyond the Border agreement to better move goods and people across Buffalo Niagara’s international border crossings, including:

96% of trucks could clear Customs in

under 15 mins.

Support a multiyear surface transportation bill that includes sustainable funding levels to fix and maintain our nation’s crumbling highways, roads and bridges

Develop New York’s natural gas transmission system to effectively move gas from Pennsylvania through New York and to other markets to improve reliability, keep consumer prices low, and spur investment

TRUCK WAIT TIME4 mins. 22 mins.

Require electronic filing of freight manifests

Require advance payment of bridge user fees

18 minutes saved

Congress passed and the President signed into law a $305 billion, five-year highway bill in December 2015.

*13

*During peak times

6 | 2016 ADVOCACY AGENDA LOCAL STATE FEDERAL

STRATEGIES KEY:

Push for WNY to receive its ‘fair share’ of transportation infrastructure funding by supporting the agenda of the Fair Apportionment of Infrastructure Revenue (FAIR) committee

WNY = DOT Region 5Receives less than 9% of statewide

DOT spending, but accounts for:

Funding levels must be increased to at least historic average of 10%.

Support the development of the South Buffalo Riverbend Infrastructure Master PlanThe plan should ensure the project area has adequate

infrastructure to support intense and anticipated

development, including:

• Reliable power grid

• Telecommunication services

• Accessible transportation

• Freight network

• Other utility infrastructure

REGIONAL PRIORITY PROJECTS

d Lewiston-Queenston Bridge Plaza improvements

d Accelerated completion of Cars Sharing Main Street

d Canalside/Cobblestone Transit Enhancements

d Transit Options Amherst-Buffalo

Establish sustainable funding mechanism dedicated to local street and public space infrastructure in downtown Buffalo

Bridges

Lane miles

STATE: LOCAL:

12%

12%

13%

10%SOUTH BUFFALO & RIVERBEND:

2015: 3,136,607 sq.ft.

2020: 5,961,563 sq.ft.

90% increasein Total Sq. Ft. of Development

14

15

THEPARTNERSHIP.ORG | 7

thepartnership.org

Please contact the Partnership’s Government Affairs team at advocacy@thepartnership.org

to learn more about our Advocacy Agenda or to participate in our events and programs.

Please consider getting involved in the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s advocacy efforts.Our message is stronger when employers join us to discuss these important issues with elected officials and demonstrate how the public sector can best work with the private sector for the benefit of all Buffalo Niagara.

CITATIONS:1 – “Higher Pay, Fewer Jobs – Employment and Earnings Effects of

Raising New York’s Minimum Wage to $12 and $15,” Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Ben Gitis, American Action Forum, November 2015

2, 3 – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

4 – The Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) (in 2015 dollars, assuming 2% inflation)

5 – “2014 Oregon Workers’ Compensation Premium Rate Ranking Summary,” The Department of Consumer & Business Services, the State of Oregon, October 2014

6, 7, 9 – “The Costs of Labor Law 240 on New York’s Economy and Public Infrastructure,” Hattery, Geddes & Kay, Rockefeller Institute, 2013

8 – “Memo: Labor Law 240 and Loss Costs,” Richard Geddes, Cornell University, 2014

10, 11 – New York State Department of Labor

12 – Dream It, Do It Western New York

13 – “Pilot project for inspecting Peace Bridge trucks in Canada declared a success,” The Buffalo News, April 22, 2015

14 – Fair Apportionment of Infrastructure Revenue (FAIR) Committee

15 – “South Buffalo & Riverbend Area Infrastructure Needs Assessment,” Buffalo Niagara Partnership, National Grid & UB Regional Institute, August 2015