The Governmental Relations Council educates the community about The Chamber’s views regarding political issues affecting business through local and state legislation and Congressional action. 

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE POSITIONS ON STATE LEGISLATIVE ISSUES & CONCERNS

The Chamber of Commerce serving Johnson City/Washington County/Jonesborough continues to enrich our relationships with our local, state, regional, and federal government partners.

 As a key voice on issues that impact our members and business, we keep in touch with our elected and appointed officials on a daily basis. 

The following statements will provide us the basis to discuss bills and any activity that may occur on these topics. These are the major ones, but the Chamber Board’s Governmental Relations Council will monitor these and many more during this General Assembly.  

 ********Education Reform:  The Chamber’s support of education reform encourages the General Assembly to support the ‘raising of the academic bar’ to ensure that Tennessee students are on a level playing field with their peers nationally, since we realize that the new achievement levels are a much more accurate picture of how students are performing.  

********TN Diploma Project:  We also encourage consideration of additional state resources specific to this initiative in recognition of the significant challenge faced by local school districts to successfully accomplish this worthy venture. 

********Basic Education Program (BEP):  The Chamber’s support of full funding of the BEP 2.0 continues as fiscal conditions allow, as well as we oppose any change that would make the formula less transparent or reduce state funding from localities that have supported K-12 education with additional local resources. 

********ARRA Funded Programs:  The Chamber encourages the General Assembly to fund, if fiscally possible, some of the educational programs that have been funded with these resources; i.e. extended contracts, coordinated school health, internet connectivity, and others.

 ********Race to the Top; now known as First To The Top: The Chamber’s endorsement of this nationally recognized reform plan is unwavering as we ask the General Assembly to ensure that the requirements are achieved and exceeded so that Tennessee students, teachers, principals, and school districts are positioned to compete nationally and globally in an ever changing economy. 

********Pre-K: The Chamber sees value in early childhood education and encourages the General Assembly to continue funding outside of the BEP formula, and avoid passing any funding change or costs to local education agencies, or to incorporate Pre-K funding into the BEP formula.

*******Early College Initiative: The Chamber supports state funding for dual-enrollment classes to allow high school students to earn college credit while still in high school, which could include broadening the Lotto-funded HOPE scholarship program to fund this program. 

********Complete College Tennessee (a companion bill to RTTT): The Chamber supports this reform.  CCT will see an increase in college graduates, avoid duplication of degree offerings, centralize community colleges under one system, put remediation into community colleges instead of four year institutions, requires higher ed. to have an aggressive cost savings program, and develop missions around economic development.

 ********Teacher Tenure:  The Chamber’s support of the Governor’s Tenure Reform Bill enacts significant reforms in how teachers will achieve and retain status as well as relates tenure to other education reforms focusing on student achievement by extending the probationary period for a teacher to receive tenure from three to five years and requiring probationary teachers to place in the top two tiers of a new five tier evaluation system in both their fourth and fifth years of teaching before being granted tenure.

 ********Transportation: The Chamber encourages that all revenues that were removed from the highway trust fund be reinstated. 

********Infrastructure: The Chamber encourages the General Assembly to collaborate with the Federal DOT and the Congress to address the ongoing infrastructure needs of Tennessee, and the nations.

 ********Economic/Community Development:  The Chamber supports pre-project funding for activities that come under the Tennessee Industrial Access Road Program and Fast Track Infrastructure Development Program (bird in hand projects), when local communities participate in the funding. 

********Incentives/tools:  The Chamber supports the creation of additional economic development tools to assist local governments in industrial recruitment and existing business expansions with a dedicated source of revenue; including providing direct assistance and state loan programs to targeted companies.