Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce
Legislative Position Paper
2006-2007

MISSION STATEMENT:

The mission of the Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee is to develop legislative positions and proposed legislative changes that will benefit Chamber membership . The committee will work closely with Local, S tate and Federal elected officials to see that as many proposals as possible are implemented.

KEY PRINCIPLES:

BACC Government Affairs Committee works as a unified voice on issues that affect the business community. The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce:

• Believes that any state or Federal mandates should be fully funded.
• Is for full funding for business-oriented programs such as the Enterprise Zone Program, Governor's Opportunity Fund, etc...
• Supports continued tax restructuring as a primary means of finding permanent, long term solutions to meet our region's and the Commonwealth's growing transportation and education needs.
• Supports Tort Reform.

Virginia is facing a transportation crisis. Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce supports:

• Maintenance of Virginia 's current funding formula
• A constitutional amendment to protect Virginia 's Transportation Trust Fund
• The continued inclusion of Bedford City/County in the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) Salem District
• Appropriate investment in all modes of transportation, including highways and bridges, air, transit, passenger and freight rail, roads, and intelligent transportation systems, with an emphasis on:

Highways/Bridges:

• Completion of Route 221 (to five lanes) in Bedford County
• Fast-tracking U.S. 501 improvements
• Route 24- Finish preliminary engineering to extend four lanes past Route 746 including beginning right-of-way acquisition and first Phase construction.
• Improvements to Route 122 between Bedford City and Hales Ford Bridge
• Completion of the Route 29 by-pass around Charlottesville
• Widening/improvements for I-81

• Recognition that the S mart Road Demonstration Project offers statewide benefit and should be funded as such

Rail:

• Initial implementation of the TransDominion Express (TDX) passenger rail Demonstration Service (east-west leg) from Southwest Virginia to Richmond through Roanoke, Bedford, and Lynchburg; to be rapidly followed by completion of the northern leg to Washington, D.C. from Lynchburg, through Charlottesville; and support for high speed rail in Virginia
• Intermodal systems as they support freight and passenger rail.

Air:

• State leadership initiatives on air service to maintain current levels of service at regional airports in Lynchburg and Roanoke
• Consideration of a consolidated Regional Airport in the Bedford Area

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce is strongly committed to regional cooperation and economic development, and advocates the critical role that a skilled, globally competitive, workforce plays in these efforts. Programs which encourage investments in technology infrastructure, support regional economic development planning, promote regional workforce training, or otherwise promote cooperative city and county efforts to maintain or attract businesses are considered essential for the continued future economic development of the greater Bedford Area.

Enterprise Zone Programs : 

Maintain the Bedford Area Enterprise Zone while seeking to streamline multiple state agency approval of new regulations and grant applications.  In an effort to avoid significantly under funding E-Zone grants (below 90%), seek to implement grant pre-certification approval AND seek to increase E-Zone FUNDING to $24M for grant year 2006, $26M for grant year 2007 (this is a more reasonable funding level for base of economic development projects).  This process would go through the VA Department of Housing and Community Development (VA DHCD) in cooperation with the state budget office and local zone administrator no later than October 1, for the year in which E-Zone funds are requested.  In the event grant applications exceed the E-Zone budget by more than 10%, notify state Legislators of under funding concerns prior to convening general assembly session in January and notify grant applicants at the same time.  Should grantee not submit pre-certification request, grantee would be subject to a pro rata share of remaining E-Zone fund.

Workforce:

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce recognizes the vital importance of maintaining and developing new and innovative workforce development concepts to prepare local unemployed/underemployed citizens for job opportunities associated with the knowledge economy. The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce advocates:

• Support for adequate funding for adult education.
• Continued adequate funding of Workforce Services, currently through the Department of Business Assistance, and flexibility to use funds for training of new workers and re-training of existing workers.
• Sustained funding for: Bedford Science and Technology Center , Roanoke Higher Education Authority, Central Virginia Community College , Roanoke County/Bedford Regional Alternative Education Center, Virginia Western Community College and all community college satellite facilities.
• Support for flexibility in the use and leveraging of the federal Workforce Investment Act funds, and in implementing the federal WIA regulations, to ensure services are focused on skills development that is responsive to the current needs of business.

Immigration:

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce recommends that the Federal Government:

• Significantly increase border control.
• Provide tools to make it easy for businesses to identify legally documented workers.
• Place no additional, undue enforcement burdens on businesses.

TOURISM

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce recognizes that tourism represents combined revenue of 64.65 million dollars for Bedford City and Bedford County and provides many jobs in this area. Arts, Culture, and Tourism are drivers of economic vitality. Museums and attractions, including “heritage tourism”, “agri-“ and “eco-tourism”, throughout the Bedford Area and provide unique cultural and educational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Virginia's citizens and students who might otherwise not have access to programs in larger metropolitan areas. These opportunities provide an added incentive for economic development and help attract young business professionals. The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce:

• Supports equitable funding for quality of life entities, including state and non-state agencies, museums, and cultural and historical attractions, such as the Bedford City/County Museum, Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest , Smith Mountain Lake State Park and Smith Mountain Lake Area Attractions, Peaks of Otter, National D-Day Memorial, The Bedford Welcome Center and other local attractions.
• Believes that non-state entities represent a bargain for the state by fulfilling the role of state museums while not requiring the state to pay full fare.
• Supports funding for the Virginia Tourism Corporation's Cooperative Marketing Program, which benefits the broader region's tourism efforts.

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce clearly recognizes the importance of sustained funding for educational programs (K-12) and higher education programs as the foundation of the Commonwealth's future knowledge workforce. The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce encourages innovative ways to create and sustain education programs. The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce supports:

• Maintained funding of state colleges/universities and community colleges for K-12 programs, including construction.
• Allowing localities to determine how to spend state allocations for education with proviso that no local reductions in expenditures can occur so that state funds are a net gain to the funding pool.
• Support continued full funding of the Standards of Quality, support for and review of Standards of Learning, and verified credit for nationally credited programs.
• Maintained support for teacher professional development and training in workplace technology applications and character principles instruction for K-12.
• Sustained support of the Literary Fund & Virginia Public School Authority.
• Support of and consideration by the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) of expanded higher education opportunities.

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce members are concerned with the uneven generation of tax revenue for the Commonwealth versus localities. While more and more services are being designated for local funding, revenues have remained flat. The Commonwealth's tax code remains outdated and needs reform. The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce Supports:

• Comprehensive tax reform , including business and professional occupancy tax that is equitable and broad-based, fosters a favorable business climate, encourages economic development, and promotes prosperity for all Virginians.
• Repeal of deconformity from the IRS tax code.

Healthcare costs are crippling small businesses. Creative measures must be found to make healthcare coverage more affordable. The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce:

• Supports efforts to reduce healthcare costs, including pooling, medical savings accounts and other affordable means.
• Opposes additional healthcare mandates from the General Assembly, such as requiring insurance coverage for hearing aids or other specialized items or procedures.
• Supports caps on medical malpractice liability awards.

WESTERN, SOUTHWESTERN, PIEDMONT, AND SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA CAUCUS:

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce advocates a bi-partisan legislative caucus to represent the Western and more rural portions of the state. This cooperative effort can be effective in dealing with common issues such as transportation, workforce, education, and economic development.