ALBANY - A coalition of business groups led by The Business Council of New York State, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and Unshackle Upstate Monday called on state lawmakers to enact an agenda for an affordable New York.

The agenda includes Governor David Paterson's proposed state spending cap. The cap should be enacted in statute and then put forward as a Constitutional amendment; the property tax cap and mandate relief proposals put forward by the Commission on Property Tax Relief; local government consolidation proposals consistent with the recommendations of the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Tier V pension reform.

"All of these reforms would significantly reduce the cost of government in New York State and put us on a path to economic success," said Kenneth Adams, president & CEO of The Business Council of New York State. "These reforms would make New York affordable and competitive."

"New York has one of the nation's most oppressive tax burdens and the second highest cost of doing business in the country. That's hardly a blueprint for job creation and growth. Only by reducing the key underlying driver of those costs--a government our taxpayers, businesses and citizens can no longer afford--can we turn New York around. These common sense proposals, which have bipartisan support, would be a critical step in that direction, and we urge the Legislature to adopt them before the conclusion of this session," said Mike Elmendorf, New York State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business.