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Priorities
February 10,
2007
Redondo
Beach Chamber Sets 2007 Priorities
At the January 2007 meeting of the Redondo Beach Chamber’s
public policy committee, the Government Relations Council
(GRC), the Chamber’s 2007 legislative priorities were
discussed and approved unanimously. The Redondo Beach
Chamber board of directors approved the priorities at its
meeting a week later. Each year, the Redondo Beach Chamber
develops its pro-jobs legislative priorities. The priorities
serve as guiding principles when tracking local and
statewide legislation and issues that might impact the
Redondo Beach business community.
“We are focused on a productive year in 2007 representing
the interests of Redondo Beach businesses with government,”
stated Brad Scott, Chair of the GRC. “Our policy platform
defines our top issue areas, Business Retention and
Attraction, Workforce Housing, Workforce Preparation,
Emergency Preparedness, Health Care, Immigration,
Transportation, Political Leadership, Local Control, and the
Environment,” continued Scott.
“The economic vitality of the Redondo Beach business climate
is priority number one for our Chamber,” stated Marna
Smeltzer, President and CEO of the Redondo Beach Chamber of
Commerce & Visitors Bureau. “Our priorities are set for 2007
and we look forward to making a difference on behalf of our
business community,” Smeltzer continued.
Business
Retention and Attraction
Promote economic
development opportunities in Redondo Beach and the region
for business retention and attraction.
Encourage
cooperation among government agencies; and work to
streamline and reduce unnecessary requirements of regulatory
agencies.
Promote a
quality of life that supports the Redondo Beach community as
a desirable place to live, work and do business
Support efforts
that encourage California's investment in tourism marketing.
Support business
districts and what is important to them by helping to create
a strong local economy.
Support efforts
to secure (1) the long-term retention of the Los Angeles Air
Force Base and (2) quality of life for Air Force personnel.
Reduce Over
Burdensome Regulation
Ensure that
regulations on business are kept to a minimum and do not put
Redondo Beach and regional businesses at a competitive
disadvantage.
Encourage a tax
and fee system that is market competitive.
Require the
government to be accountable for its actions and for the
programs it operates.
Require
government and its actions to be measured periodically to
ensure maximum efficiency and return on investment with
public funds.
Promote a legal
system that contains checks and balances to ensure fairness
to all.
Workforce
Housing
Support
common-sense reforms that will help to alleviate the
burdensome cost of housing in the state of California.
Encourage an
adequate supply of workforce housing to meet the needs of
Redondo Beach businesses.
Workforce
Preparation
Support an
educational system that prepares people for 21st
century jobs and careers and to be good citizens.
Work with
agencies to assist with development of workforce training
priorities.
Support the
development of on-going programs within the business
community that integrates with the school district for
vocational and technical career paths.
Emergency
Preparedness
Promote and
support emergency preparedness including homeland security
measures within the Redondo Beach business community.
Monitor
legislation that impacts the security of the Ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach and its effects on the region.
Monitor ongoing
post-9/11 Port security reforms.
Monitor and
establish positions on local, state, and federal legislation
that impact the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Encourage
regional solutions to safety and growth limits at the Los
Angeles International Airport.
Health Care
Support
responsible health care infrastructure and insurance policy
proposals that balance the cost for businesses with
affordable and reasonable heath care coverage for their
employees.
Support sound
public policy that expands access to prescription medicines
for the uninsured through passage of legislation to
establish a statewide pharmaceutical discount program.
Eliminate health
care disparities and reducing the barriers to quality care
and treatment for the underinsured, minorities and
underserved communities.
Promote health
education and preventive health care initiatives within our
communities to reduce the prevalence of disease and
dependence on medications.
Support adequate
physical education and nutrition funding for local schools.
Immigration
Support a guest
worker program that is comprehensive, addressing both future
economic needs for workers and the status of undocumented
workers already in the United States.
Support efforts
that strengthen national security by providing for thorough
screening of foreign workers and creating strong
disincentives for illegal immigration.
Support efforts
to create a fast, accurate and reliable employment
verification system.
Ensure that all
workers enjoy the same labor law protections.
Ensure that all
documented workers can demonstrate a knowledge of the
English language and American civic requirements.
Monitor policies
that address the impacts of immigration on health care,
housing issues, traffic, education and fair wages.
Transportation
Support and
encourage reasonable and effective efforts to increase the
efficiency and productivity of the existing transportation
and highway systems and to reduce congestion, increase
traffic flow, and reduce pollution throughout the Redondo
Beach region.
Support
development and use of traffic management devices, public
and private transportation technologies, intelligent
transportation systems, and motorist information
technologies; as well as incentives and education to
encourage ridesharing, trip consolidation, telecommuting,
alternative work sites and schedules, and use of public
transit, walking, and bicycling.
Encourage the
expansion of street and highway capacity to reduce
congestion and accommodate population, business, and travel
growth.
Political
Leadership
Educate and
involve community members in leadership roles within the
Redondo Beach area on all the various components including
the realities of a political campaign.
Local Control
Encourage
protect of private property rights.
Ensure that
government focuses on the functions meant for only
government and view the private sector as a resource.
Environment
Support polices
that recognize the importance of balancing environmental
issues and their impacts on business and quality of life.
Monitor policies
that ensure long-term impacts on environmental stability and
the economic vitality of Redondo Beach businesses and
quality of life.
Encourage an
adequate, reliable, and cost-effective utility
infrastructure system (including gas, electric, water, and
telecommunications) to be promoted, developed, and
maintained to meet the needs of our community.
Click here
to contact the Redondo Beach Chamber
for more
information
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