News

December 7, 2018

Advocacy Wins

The Chamber’s advocacy team is happy to report some end of the year wins.  Due to the Chambers very strong opposition to Albany County’s proposed paid sick leave, the bill did not make it to a final vote.  This proposed government mandate would have been costly to many Capital Region for-profit and non-profit employers. While the Chamber is not opposed to providing benefits such as paid sick leave to employees, we are opposed to government mandated benefits. The sponsor will attempt to pass this proposal next year.  You can be assured that the Chamber will continue to vigorously fight this costly mandate.

The Chamber and our partners in the hospitality & tourism industry were united in our opposition to Albany County’s proposed “Fair Hotel Consumer Practices Law.” This proposal would have placed a tremendous burden on Albany County hotels due to ill defined “service disruptions.” Ultimately, due to the strong opposition from the Chamber and our hotel industry members, the County Executive vetoed this proposal.

The Chamber also opposed Albany County’s proposal to mandate the installation of a fire sprinkler system in every newly-constructed home. The cost of such an installation has been estimated to be $10K-$40K.  Such a mandate would make it impossible for many home buyers to purchase a new home in Albany County. Albany’s residential market would become uncompetitive, many realtors and home builders would avoid doing business here and as a consequence much needed revenue would be lost by Albany County and its municipalities. Due to the Chamber’s opposition and that of our many members, the sponsor has withdrawn the proposal.

We will begin next year as we begin every year: with a Chamber advocacy team focused on making the Capital Region and all within our community prosperous. Because of you, our voice continues to be strong.