"Consumer and Small Business Protection Act", is not all that good for business.

0:00 Speaker 1 What is today’s Paul Zuber. He’s senior vice president of the New York State Business Council, and he keeps us in, all consumers and all citizens informed of what the heck is going on in Albany. Paul, good morning. What’s going on?

0:18 Speaker 2 Well, you know, John, they’re coming towards the end of the legislative session here in Aubany, and this is the point in time where generally we see a bunch of really bad bills that potentially could get passed in Aubany.

0:35 And you know, one of my frustrations dealing with Aubany is how they misname bills to, in my opinion, trick people into thinking that they’re doing something that’s pro consumer or pro business. And there’s this bill that is being pushed along in the legislature, which is called the Consumer and Small Business Protection Act. And that makes sense, right,

0:57 you want to protect consumers, you want to protect small businesses. But this bill is so bad that thirty four organizations have sent in and signed onto a letter opposing this bill. These organizations go from business organizations that represent some of the largest companies in New York to companies associations that represent some of the smallest businesses in New York, such

1:21 as the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, the Queen’s Chamber of Commerce, the Brooklyn Chambers of Commerce, the Western New York Chamber of Commerce, the Rochester. It’s across the board, as people are concerned with this bill. And why are they concerned with this bill? They’re concerned with its bill because in writing it, they have created a standard, a potential standard

1:42 within the law which is going to make it easier for people to sue businesses and sue them without any actual real harm because in the bill they do not find define what deceptive is. So quite honestly, and you know this, this example was used to me by by a lawyer who deals in this in this field. He says,

2:06 the way this bill is written, if I walk into a small coffee shop somewhere in New York State, and that coffee shop markets it’s it’s coffee as the best coffee in New York, and I taste that coffee, and I taste and I go, you know what, that’s not the best coffee in New York. That’s perceptive. I can

2:24 now sue them. I can now sue them because in my opinion, it is not the best coffee in New York. And the way this bill is written, it also creates a new dynamic in which it allows not for profit organizations to bring these actions on behalf of itself or members of the general public. So imagine that that is

2:50 I don’t.

2:50 Speaker 1 That is crazy. I mean, if I said I love that coffee, and if I said I think this is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted in my life.

3:03 Speaker 2 My opinion is my opinion, it’s your opinion. And they’re giving standing to not for profit organizations in the bill, So a’m not for profit organization can sue now on behalf of himself or a member of the general public.

3:17 So what the concern is, especially from some people who actually practice in this area, is you don’t even need a client to sue. All you need is a not for profit organization. And I had one lawyer, lawyer sit down and tell me, he said, Paul, He goes, if you pass this bill in New York, you know what

3:36 I’m going to do. I’m going to come to New York. I’m going to form a not for profit organization. He goes, I don’t even need a client. I am just going to sue everybody who I think is deceptive. And he goes, here’s the best part of it. These cases are nuisance cases, so they usually settle between five and ten thousand dollars.

3:56 He goes, no small business, no medium sized business, Nobody is going to challenge you in court because it’s going to cost more money for you to hire a lawyer than it is to challenge this. And he goes, I’m going to make five to ten thousand a pop. And here’s one better, John, One last point I want to

4:13 make the way the law is written. The plaintiffs, the person filing the suit. If they win, they get attorney fees pay to them. If they lose, there are no ramifications. They don’t have to pay to the defendant.

4:30 Speaker 1 They don’t need to lose proposition.

4:32 Speaker 2 Or the no lose proposition.

4:34 Speaker 1 All the ambulance lawyers will make a fortune.

4:37 Speaker 2 Will make a fortune. And you know, one of the associations call that a litigation bomb. And why New Yorkers should be concerned about this is because it’s going to impact everybody. It’s going to unpack small businesses, go back grocery stores. It’s going to we have the Grocery Store Association opposents it’s going to pack restaurants, and you, as

4:55 a consumer, you know what’s going to happen when these businesses get hit. Your prices are going to go up. They’re going to go up because guess what, the business has nothing else you can do because they just lost five thousand here and ten thousand here and five thousand there.

5:09 So this is another ridiculous effort on the part of the New York State legislature to legislate something that doesn’t need legislation. If they’re really concerned about the consumer, if they’re really concerned about small businesses, are there’s legislation out there in other states that works. That’s good that people can point to that works. But this bill, this bill

5:38 is a disaster and it’s going to hurt businesses throughout New York.

5:41 Speaker 1 State understood any other I mean, that’s something to be concerned about. If this stupid bill goes in. It’s crazy. If there’s a letter I could send to the governor or somebody, I mean, he’s the governor in the middle of this, you know.

5:58 Speaker 2 The Unfortunately the governor a version of this in her budget. But I think I think her and her staff, you know, realize that there’s some there’s some problems with the bill. It didn’t get it didn’t get put in the budget.

6:09 But now it’s it’s live and active in the legislative session. So yes, I think I think sending letters into the governor, into the legislature to kind of let them know that this bill is a real problem it would would be helpful.

6:24 I mean, you know, again, like I said before, this is this is a classic case where where folks stand up and they say, oh, you know, I’m trying to protect consumers, I’m trying to protect small businesses. Well that’s not true because well, quite frankly, if you’re really trying to protect small businesses, then then answer to answer me why.

6:43 Thirty four associations, many of which represent only small businesses, have sent a letter into the legislature saying that this bill is a disaster, and you know, New York has to start waking up because you know, I’ve talked to you about this. For John, we did a Ciena survey of our Upstate businesses and one of the most startling

7:07 results from that survey was fifty five percent of the Upstate businesses said that if they could, they would start their business in another state.

7:16 Speaker 1 Well, we had veto on bur we had veto for Sella on the other day for the borough president of Staten Island, and the statistions came out that seventy five percent of Staten Island is unmiserable or something like that.

7:30 Speaker 2 Yeah, and we wonder why people leave, and we wonder why people go to other states, and we make it just so difficult for the consumer. We make it difficult for small businesses. I mean, you know, we we add on workers’ comp costs, we add on taxes, we add on you know, legislation that increases litigation, that ultimately impacts

7:53 our small businesses. And at some point we have to look at this holistically and realize that when you do these things, it impacts small businesses and impact all businesses. It increased cost and it makes the New Yorker say to himself, well, you know what, my money stretches farther in North Carolina or Florida or South Carolina or one

8:16 of those other places than it does in New York. So I might as well pack up my bags and try to drive down I ninety five and go someplace else. And that’s a real problem.

8:26 Speaker 1 Paul Zuber, thank you for in keeping us informed. And let’s pray for New York right now, because they do stupid things like that, a lot of more people are going.

8:36 Speaker 2 To leave, absolutely, John, And we’ll do our bestor at the Business Council to try to make sure some of these bills don’t get through. But you know, hopefully the public can raise your voice as well.

8:49 Speaker 1 Thank you so much,