PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jerry Kremer, Former New York State Assembly Member, on Intro 991-B
1:28:50
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135 sec
Jerry Kremer, a former New York State Assembly Member, testified in opposition to a portion of Intro 991-B, specifically the requirement for a collective bargaining agreement to obtain a city license for hotels. He argued that this requirement is unprecedented and potentially burdensome for small businesses.
- Kremer emphasized his experience in the New York State Assembly and his familiarity with legislation.
- He pointed out that collective bargaining agreements typically involve issues unrelated to the bill's main concerns and can take over a year to negotiate.
- Kremer compared the proposed legislation to hotel licensing laws in other major cities, stating that they do not have similar mandates.
Jerry Kremer
1:28:50
Okay.
1:28:51
Great.
1:28:51
Thank you, our chairperson, men and council member, Brewer.
1:28:55
I appreciate the opportunity to tell you my specific opposition to a portion of this legislation.
1:29:02
I served in the New York State Assembly for 23 years, chaired the Ways And Means Committee for 12.
1:29:08
I've written and seen thousands of pieces of legislation, including the 1 my sponsorship of the or it'll be a Lemon Law.
1:29:17
But what I find it about this legislation is I've never seen a state or local law in existence that says that you have to go to an outside private party to qualify for a city license.
1:29:30
And I'm talking about the requirement of a collective bargaining agreement.
1:29:34
If there is a collective bargaining agreement, it should be understood that it typically involves discussions about a host of issues that have absolutely nothing to do with this bill.
1:29:46
The average collective bargaining negotiations take 407 days, and first time negotiations take 465 days.
1:29:56
What does the applicant do to stay in business during that period of time?
1:30:00
In order to qualify.
1:30:02
I think the introduction of a collective bargaining agreement has nothing to do with all of the evils that I've heard about today that have been recited by council members.
1:30:11
From my perspective, this legislation puts gives preferences to those who already have the agreements and puts the small businessman in a position where that person can barely survive, and then you're selecting them pushing them into the collective bargaining process.
1:30:28
There's other issues, if you will, but the commissioner who testified earlier today said 2 things of our 3 criteria.
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One of them that licensing shows still licensing laws must not be unnecessarily burdensome.
1:30:42
To any industry.
1:30:43
And in addition, this should not be unnecessary red tape.
1:30:48
I've looked at the laws in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and other cities.
1:30:54
They do not resemble this particular proposal They do not mandate it.
1:30:59
They do not require it.
1:31:00
And I think it's an unnecessary burden on an industry that has so many other burdens.
