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CAPITOL
IDA reform bill passes in state Senate
BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS Gazette Reporter

    A bill that would change how the state’s industrial development agencies do business has cleared a hurdle in the state Senate for the first time.
    A proposed law that would require companies getting IDA benefits to pay higher wages and be more accountable for job creation promises was approved by the Senate’s Local Governments Committee Tuesday in Albany.
    The bill, whose initial sponsor was Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, DBuffalo, has won Assembly approval in the past but is still in committee this year. It is expected to pass.
    With the Democratic takeover of the Senate in January, the bill’s passage by both houses of the Legislature is more likely, both supporters and opponents say.
    “We’re excited about seeing it move forward,” said Kristi Barnes, a spokeswoman for New York Jobs With Justice, one of the groups supporting the reform legislation.
    The state has 115 local and county IDAs, which have the mission of attracting new business to their communities and retaining existing businesses. Their principal tool is the ability to offer businesses property tax exemptions, as well as other tax breaks, in return for job creation.
    There are more than a dozen IDAs in the Capital Region. The Schenectady County IDA has aided a number of businesses, and the Saratoga County IDA has had a hand in bringing the Target warehouse to Wilton and other projects.
    However, critics — including state Comptroller Thomas Di-Napoli, in a 2008 audit — have said that statewide, companies often don’t create as many jobs as promised and IDAs aren’t held sufficiently accountable.
    The Hoyt bill would set new accountability standards and also require higher construction wages to be paid on many private business projects that have IDA financing.
    The bill has been approved by the Democrat-controlled Assembly in the past two years but not in the state Senate, which until this year was under Republican control.
    E c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t agency representatives say the changes would raise the cost of IDA financing for businesses and do more harm than good.
    “We are deeply concerned,” said Brian McMahon, president of the New York State Economic Development Council in Albany.
    The cost of doing business is already high in New York state, he said, and it will be higher with fees and taxes imposed in the new state budget. The new budget also lays the groundwork for phasing out the Empire Zone business incentive program, the state’s other main avenue for encouraging business.
    “It will make it cost-prohibitive for businesses to pursue IDA financing,” McMahon said of Hoyt’s bill. “They will go instead to Connecticut, Pennsylvania or Ohio.”
    Chief among provisions the council objects to are requirements for prevailing union wages during a project’s construction and that IDA governing boards include specific interest groups like school boards, organized labor and environmental organizations.
    Backers say the changes will make IDAs more accountable for the public benefits they grant and provide better wages for workers.
    Barnes said New York Jobs With Justice doesn’t believe the changes would kill the state’s job creation efforts.
    “All of the most competitive states have wage standards attached to their projects,” she said. “For us, it’s all about the best use of taxpayer dollars.”
    Gov. David Paterson hasn’t said whether he would sign the bill if it came to his desk.
    “The governor is committed to IDA reform. The administration has been meeting with...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01103