Helming Backs Measures To Cut Red Tape For Small Businesses

GENEVA, NY – Senator Pam Helming today announced the passage of two bills she supported to help improve New York’s business climate by removing obstacles that hurt job creating businesses and slows the state’s economy. The measures are among several legislative initiatives being spearheaded in the Senate Majority Conference’s Opportunity Agenda – a multipronged plan to cut regulations, invest in workforce development, and strengthen New York’s existing economic development programs.

“Every year reports come out highlighting New York as one of the least business friendly states in the nation. This needs to change if we are going to restore New York to its right status as the Empire State. These two bills are a first step in providing real reforms that will keep jobs in our communities by reducing burdensome regulations and helping businesses grow jobs. I was proud to support these measures, and will continue to do all I can to help New York become more competitive and businesses friendly,” Senator Helming said.  

One bill (S3751A) would make improvements to the process for evaluating the potential impact of proposed rules on jobs and employment opportunities. The current process, while useful, does not provide sufficient information on the quality of jobs that could be gained or lost by pursuing various policy choices, and does not guarantee that the most appropriate data and methodologies are used.

The second bill (S244) addresses concern about giving insufficient time to businesses or other regulated entities required to comply with a new state rule. The lack of an additional public hearing or implementation period prior to the initiation of new rule changes can lead to significant hardships in efficiently and effectively operating, providing services, or conducting business. There are also concerns that without an implementation period prior to the effective date of a new regulation, public comments made later in the comment period are less likely to be taken into account due to time constraints. This bill adds a 90-day implementation period to alleviate this situation and increase the efficient and effective implementation of new rules.

In recent years, the Senate has passed numerous bills – including several that have become law – to help reform the decision-making processes and practices that have for years put New York’s businesses at a competitive disadvantage compared other states. From 2006 to 2015, approximately 2,750 new rules were proposed by state agencies – an average of 275 each year – and these add more than 140,000 pages of state regulations currently in place.

These bills have been sent to the Assembly.
 

Senator Helming represents the 54^th Senate District, which consists of Seneca and Wayne Counties, parts of Cayuga and Ontario Counties, and the towns of Lansing and Webster. For more information, please visit Senator Helming’s website, or follow @SenatorHelming on Facebook or Twitter.


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