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Policy Priorities

LIA 2024 Policy Priorities

To view a PDF of the Long Island Association's 2024 Policy Priorities, click here.

Introduction

On Long Island, we enjoy an unparalleled quality of life, with our pristine beaches, vibrant downtowns, beautiful parks, award-winning schools and hospitals, dynamic arts and cultural institutions, and safe communities. While Long Island is a great place to call home, our residents are being strangled by the astronomical cost of living and doing business.

Our regional affordability is truly at a breaking point - $700,000 to buy an average price house, thousands of dollars for child care, and among the highest property taxes in the entire country. Recent economic conditions including record interest rates, inflation, and energy costs have squeezed businesses just as they have emerged from the pandemic.

The Long Island Association (LIA) is non-partisan, and advocates for policies that cultivate business success. We partner with elected officials who seek to solve our most pressing challenges and encourage investments and programs that result in an economic return for our region – including jobs and expansion of the private sector.

When the LIA is asked for our position on a policy issue, our organization has several questions. These include:

Will this policy address our region’s existential crisis of affordability while maintaining our extraordinary quality of life?

Will this policy drive up costs for businesses or create more mandates which will make it more difficult for them to operate?

Will this policy generate an economic return and stimulate targeted growth?

 

It is with this mindset that we will advocate for our region in 2024 – so Long Island is not only a great place to live and work, but also an affordable one for generations to come.

The following LIA Policy Priorities on the federal, state, and local levels of government are organized into three sections: Addressing our Existential Crisis of Affordability; Addressing the Cost of Doing Business; and Generating an Economic Return.

The Long Island Association's Five Most Critical Priorities in 2024

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I. Addressing our Existential Crisis of Affordability

Taxes 

  • Oppose new taxes and fees on the business community.
  • Continue to advocate for lifting the federal SALT cap before it expires in 2025 and ensure the expiration is permanent.
  • Support business expansion and transformative economic development projects that expand the tax base, including the Sands New York project at the Nassau Hub, Midway Crossing, and the modernization of Belmont Park adjacent to the UBS Arena sports and entertainment complex.

Housing 

  • Create more available and affordable housing by providing incentives to municipalities, residents, and developers and streamline the environmental and permitting process for builders.
  • Address the lack of housing options for the region’s younger and older populations, including additional support for first-time homebuyers and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
  • Expand public-private partnerships to support workforce housing and offer employers a resource to attract and retain talent.

Energy 

  • Oppose a municipally-run LIPA as recommended by the Legislative Commission on the Future of LIPA, as it would adversely impact both ratepayers and Long Island’s energy future, and instead solicit a competitive procurement to ascertain the value of the system.
  • Modernize the electric transmission and distribution system to improve reliability and integrate renewable energy while limiting cost impacts.
  • Keep offshore wind and renewable energy projects moving forward that will create jobs and decarbonize our energy mix, including Sunrise Wind, which is mature in the implementation process, Empire Wind, Beacon Wind, and emerging projects in the New York Bight.

II. Addressing the Cost of Doing Business

Oppose Mandates 

  • A single-payer healthcare system.
  • Expansion of rent regulations and prohibiting eviction without “good cause,” which would make it more difficult for developers to manage their properties and create new housing opportunities.
  • Modifications to anti-trust, data privacy, and wrongful death laws which would have negative consequences for many industry sectors, including small businesses.
  • Increasing the New York State prevailing wage.

Streamline Regulations 

  • Implement statewide professional certification to expedite the municipal permitting process.
  • Address the backlog of cases in the New York State Unified Court System.
  • Reduce the timeline for the SEQRA and local permitting processes.

Public Safety 

  • Continue to maintain a safe environment for businesses by supporting law enforcement and stronger gun laws, as well as addressing human trafficking, drug abuse (including the opioid and fentanyl crises), hate crimes, gangs, and cyber threats.

III. Generating an Economic Return

Targeted Business Development 

  • Support investments that expand our tax base and create jobs, including tax credits, capital grants, and incentives through New York State Empire State Development, Industrial Development Agencies, and other economic development entities on all levels of government.
  • Continue to support our small businesses, which comprise the majority of businesses on Long Island, as they navigate economic challenges so they can thrive.
  • Help the manufacturing and life sciences sectors grow and support them in their efforts to attract and retain talent.
  • Boost Long Island’s tourism industry, a major economic driver.
  • Increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate to sustain our healthcare institutions, our region’s largest industry sector.
  • Support the agriculture, aquaculture, and viniculture sectors, primarily on the East End of Long Island.

Child Care 

  • Enact new and sustainable investments in our child care workforce to ensure that safe, high-quality child care is available for all working families.
  • Support the modernization of day care facilities and related infrastructure.
  • Increase options for employer-supported care, and before- and after-care programs for school age children.

Infrastructure 

  • Continue to modernize and upgrade the Long Island Rail Road, Long Island MacArthur Airport, our region’s roads and bridges, and the regional broadband network.
  • Increase the New York State Department of Transportation Capital budget.
  • Develop a long-term solution to sewers and septic systems on Long Island, especially in Suffolk County.
  • Redevelop Penn Station.
  • Advance the exploration of an Amtrak connection at the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road station.

Environment 

  • Leverage funding from the New York State Environmental Bond Act to protect and improve Long Island’s water quality and create green jobs.
  • Develop a regional waste management solution.

Inclusive Economic Growth

  • Support inclusive business practices, which result in a more diverse workforce, greater innovation, and will increase the bottom line.
  • Increase opportunities for minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses and business owners with disabilities.
  • Cultivate a business environment that is tolerant and respectful of all groups, confronts discrimination, and embraces diversity.

Education 

  • Continue to fully fund Foundation Aid and study the existing formula to address inequities and regional cost differences.
  • Support federal and state education policies that increase achievement in our K-12 school districts.
  • Streamline admission processes for BOCES technical education programs.
  • Support our K-12 schools and colleges and universities as they train our next generation for in-demand fields and administer critical workforce development programs.
  • Stimulate innovation in next-gen technologies including, but not limited to, biotech, clean energy, and artificial intelligence to create startups and new jobs.

Not-for-Profit Organizations

  • Modify the region’s federal poverty limit formula to reflect Long Island’s higher cost of living.
  • Sustain and expand federal and state programs so our region’s food bank network has additional resources to respond to food insecurity.
  • Support organizations addressing homelessness, mental health, and health inequities on Long Island.
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