Report: New York State Must Take Action Immediately to Fix Its Business Climate or Risk Additional Economic Issues
Report Compiled After One Year of Focus Groups with Over 500 Business Leaders and 40 Associations
Regulation, Taxation, Affordability: Some of the Main Concerns
Stunning: Only 2% of Business Leaders Think Albany Lawmakers Represent Their Interests
Albany, NY (September 17, 2025) – A new report released today concludes that New York State must take action immediately to fix its business climate or risk additional economic issues.
The Public Policy Institute of New York State, Inc., an affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. (BCNYS), along with the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC), commissioned this report to find out what was driving New York to the bottom of every major business category, and what needs to be done to stop the economic freefall that is being documented day-after-day. More than 40 associations and over 500 business leaders from across the state participated in this project.
The results, as detailed in the recently released report, ‘Blueprint for New York – Creating a Roadmap for Change’, are stunning and concerning.
“We are focused on expanding our business…. in any other state but here.” This is just one of the many concerning comments from business leaders.
The disturbing trends over the last few decades should be a wake-up call. Some of the trends, just to name a few:
- Population: Down.
- Job growth: Lower than the national average
- Cost of living: Significantly Higher and Growing
- State & Local regulations: Through the roof.
In 1950, 9.8% of Americans lived in New York. In 2024, that number is now 5.8%.
Over the past ten years, jobs in the state have grown 7.3%. Though that number sounds impressive, it is anemic compared to the rest of the country. Nationwide that number is 12%. Florida’s job growth is 24.9%. Texas stands at 20.3%.
Let’s take one industry as an example: insurance. In New York, insurance industry jobs declined 3.4% since 2014. Nationally, the number of jobs in the insurance industry rose 20%. In both Florida and Texas, insurance jobs skyrocketed by over 50%.
New York has always had the reputation of being the home of company headquarters – the place where management wanted to work and live. The numbers are poking holes in that theory. Between 2014 and 2024, New York management jobs grew a stagnant 2.8%. Nationally, that number is 19.7%. Management jobs in Texas soared by 64.2%.
The report found that New York has over 300,000 regulations on the books, second to only California creating a maze for businesses to navigate.
New York also leads the nation in new legislation introduced with over 24,000 bills introduced in 2023-2024, five times the national average and double the next closest state.
In-person forums were held across the state to hear from business leaders, big and small, who are in the trenches about what needs to be done to fix New York. The forums started in December of 2024 and were held in:
- Hudson Valley
- North Country
- Capital Region
- Southern Tier
- Buffalo
- Rochester
- Syracuse
- Mohawk Valley
- New York City
- Long Island
Eleven video conference forums were held with industry leaders in:
- Manufacturing
- Energy
- Hospitality, Beverage, Tourism
- Food Industry & Retail
- Gig & Tech
- Insurance (P&C, Life)
- Financial Services & Accounting
- Healthcare
- Transportation
- Small and Independent Businesses
- Housing & Construction
The responses were raw.
- “Sarasota, Florida does as many permits in a month as NY State does in a year.”
- “I’ve applied for and received state research grants across the country. In New York, I am treated like a hero right up to the press release announcing the grant, after that I am treated like a criminal”
- The responses were brutal.
- “This is a painful environment to be functioning in.”
- “Slow. Difficult. Challenging. Three words to describe paperwork here.”
- One business owner truly explained the issue with one question:
- “Does New York even really want to grow manufacturing in the state?”
Data from the statewide survey was equally as jarring:
- Only 2% of business owners surveyed feel lawmakers represented their interests in Albany.
- Only 3% of business owners surveyed feel lawmakers and state regulators understand and support their business.
- Only 8% of business owners say government actively supports innovation
- 21% say New York State is on the right track
- 72% of businesses do not see the current economic conditions of New York as good.
The consensus was that New York needed to make immediate improvements around:
- Prohibitive regulatory and legal environment
- The high cost of doing business due to taxation as well as antiquated policies
- Lack of agency coordination, communication and accessibility
- Lack of modernized digitized public sector
- Dismal outlook on population loss
- Lack of support
- Worrisome energy policy
The next question: what changes are needed based on the extensive conversations?
The answers are clear:
- Reduce state and local government regulations
- Reduce business taxes
- Take a more active role in business retention and expansion efforts
- Greater emphasis on addressing energy issues
- Better support for businesses
The Business Council of New York State and the New York State Economic Development Council are calling on lawmakers to act. The blueprint provides several recommendations to improve our economic climate. This upcoming year, we are calling on the state to, among other things:
- Utilize Empire AI to review NYS Laws and regulation for redundancy, duplicity, and/or contradiction of existing laws and statutes. Ohio has undertaken a similar project to streamline its regulatory environment.
- Bring back the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform (GORR) or appoint a regulation czar in the executive chamber to review and conduct economic impact studies on any new regulation introduced by state agencies.
- Update SEQR, land use regulations (including zoning), and permitting to support desired “sustainable” development and help meet the state’s development priorities, including affordable housing, renewable energy, green manufacturing and others.
- Repeal the Scaffold Law.
“What was made clear to us as we traveled the state and spoke to business owners, leaders and organizations is this: rather than being treated as a partner or lifted up by government, businesses feel dragged down by high costs and excessive regulation”, said Ryan Silva, Executive Director, New York State Economic Development Council.
“As business leaders, we want to partner with government to provide expertise, jobs, economic growth, and opportunity to everyone in the state. We have work to do. But this report shows that we are all willing to work together with state leaders to address these challenges and make necessary changes to enhance our business climate, quality of life, and ultimately, strengthen our economic competitiveness to improve economic opportunities for all New Yorkers,” said Heather Mulligan, President & CEO, Business Council of New York State.
