The Chamber’s Public Affairs Department contributes to your business’s bottom line by engaging on tax policy and other issues which impact our business environment.

On one of those issues – public education – the Chamber led the charge of businesses in support of our state legislators who successfully changed how K-12 education is funded in Tennessee. This change will provide $26 million in new state funds to Hamilton County schools.

Our engagement at the local, state and federal levels means that you can focus on your business with confidence, knowing that we are standing watch and moving swiftly into action when business interests are at stake.

The legislative agenda that all Chamber members received earlier this year lays out the issues that you’ve identified as the most critical for 2008.

Healthcare
Consumers, providers and insurers find the sharp increases in healthcare costs difficult to contain. Businesses, especially small businesses, struggle to manage costs and deal with mandates which greatly hinder their ability to offer health benefits to employees.

The Chamber is committed to a system in which an employer can provide fair and affordable healthcare benefits for employees, free from unnecessary governmental mandates and costly regulations. At the same time, our “safety net” hospitals and other providers must be supported so a basic level of care can be delivered.

K-12 Education
Since no workforce can be too qualified or well-prepared, we helped craft the Tennessee Diploma Project’s goals of better and more modern achievement standards, curricula and accountability measures. We continue to advocate that this process must include a more definitive measurement of what constitutes an adequate education for a 21st Century workforce.

We remain steadfast in seeking full funding of the Basic Education Plan and in opposing adjustments to that plan which adversely impact our schools. The primary use of new funds must remain focused on classroom needs first.

Economic Development
In recent legislative sessions, we’ve worked with the General Assembly in establishing aggressive new parameters and added flexibility to economic development incentives provided by the state, while remaining fiscally responsible. In 2008, we are pursuing new opportunities to build on those legislative successes to support the attraction, expansion and retention of companies. Our competitive edge must remain sharp with new resources for innovative entrepreneurial efforts and enhancements to our physical infrastructure.

Communications and Technology
Keeping pace with advances in information technology is critical to accelerating our local economy. Delivering broad access to a state-of-the-art communications network and other information technologies is essential if we are to stay competitive as a community and as a state. Meeting this demand requires the continued development of our technology infrastructure throughout Tennessee in both urban and rural areas.

The public and private investments which improve and expand our broadband, fiber-optic and wireless networks will amount to billions of dollars in capital and create hundreds of new jobs. We also support competition and consumer choice which expands the reach and drives the quality of these networks.

Environment and Natural Resources
The Chattanooga business community has spent nearly four decades establishing a tradition of responsible environmentalstewardship. We are also blessed with an abundance of natural resources that make our region attractive. Unfortunately, demands on our resources and overly stringent environmental regulations threaten our competitive advantage.

We are supporting a comprehensive review of water system regulations and policies, at the state and local levels, ensuring the best interests of Tennessee’s water resources are served. We are also working to ensure Chattanooga’s continued compliance with air quality regulations in light of the EPA’s recent move to raise the standards.

Workplace/Employee/Employer Relations
Companies thrive in an environment where government regulations are at a minimum and the marketplace drives the economy. We work hard to preserve Tennessee’s tradition as a right-to-work state and oppose mandatory collective bargaining for private or public employees.

We remain opposed to the establishment of a state minimum wage higher than the federal standard, especially through the state constitutional amendment process. Congress raised the minimum wage in 2007, thus making a state standard unnecessary.