The Simi Valley Chamber is the voice for business at the local, state, and federal level. We address issues such as transportation, growth, environmental, workers' compensation and health care. We also monitor these issues and keep our members informed through briefings and legislative alerts. The Simi Chamber's Business Advocacy Committee is addressing the following issues. To get involved in government relations or for more information, contact Leigh Nixon.

2012 Agenda

Business Advocacy Meeting

Develop a public policy agenda that identifies issues of concern at the local level.

Facilitate a market-based economy with emphasis on the following issues:

Curtailment of frivolous litigation
Promote efficiency in government
Encourage the development of filming, tourism and recreational opportunities

Eliminate excessive regulation with emphasis on the following:

Reform workers' compensation laws to reduce costs to businesses
Reduce laws and regulations which impose an undue burden on private business and property
Oppose duplicative and overlapping jurisdictions among regulatory agencies
Oppose labor issues which impose undue burden on businesses
Oppose state and local tax increases affecting Simi Valley businesses

Improve infrastructure with emphasis on the following issues:

Maintain and utilize existing infrastructure to meet present needs
Promote infrastructure necessary to support reasonable growth
Encourage efficient, cost effective, and intelligent allocation and use of transportation dollars
Encourage policies that provide for a safer, more livable community
Support Growth which stimulates the economy
Transportation issues that relate to moving the workforce

Support member awareness of governmental issues by facilitating discussions with the county and cities to address issues of concern for the business community.

CEO to meet with local leadership on an ongoing basis.
Chamber Members invited to attend meetings with local leadership to address growth issues.
Attendance at commission and council meetings. Calendar posted on web page.

Work with other organizations on common priority issues. They include support of:

Ventura County Transportation Authority
Ventura County Housing Authority

Develop a state public policy agenda that identifies state issues that affect our chamber membership.

Pro-Business Leadership

Pro-business leadership on all levels of government is an essential ingredient in cultivating a vibrant, healthy, and fruitful quality of life. How can the business community make a difference? You can vote! Additionally, you can motivate your employees and or colleagues to vote and give them the necessary information to do so. Business owners should explain how campaign issues relate to their company's bottom line, and when their revenue goes up, their employees' salaries and benefits usually improve. Historically, what has been good for business has been good for America. An employee who is aware of legislation affecting their industry, takes that into account when casting their vote. The business community must draw the connection between critical issues and paychecks.

Employee Relations

The costs associated with hiring workers, maintaining a safe workplace and complying with governmental regulation represents the largest ongoing cost for many, if not most, Simi Valley companies. This is particularly true in California where an abused worker's health care costs, expansion of employer liability, and minimum wage increases continue to increase costs, limit flexibility, confuse both employers and employees, and terminate badly needed jobs. Through the year, we must continue to aggressively address the policies that leave California at a competitive disadvantage in business attraction year after year.

Key Issues:
State minimum wage increases
Preservation of the flexible work week
Clarification of rules regarding independent contractors
Health care costs/liability to employers
Family care and medical leave employment laws

Infrastructure- Water, Power, Transportation and Communication

As Simi Valley seeks to reshape its economy to compete effectively in the next century, we must continue to improve our infrastructure systems, particularly in the areas of water, power, transportation, and communications. These systems provide the foundation for accelerated business growth, increased capital investment and improved quality of life. Worthy improvements require tremendous capital investment, sound management, and a creative partnership between the public and private sectors. As government budgets continue to shrink, spending priorities will become more and more difficult to identify and the business community must emphasize the importance of continued infrastructure investment.

Key Issues:
Technology for the 21st Century
Utility issues as they relate to business
Highway/freeway improvements as they relate to business

Regulatory Reform & Environmental Balance

The business community remains inundated with regulations that are often expensive, duplicative, unclear, inconsistent and based on unsubstantiated research. Simi Valley relies heavily on the integrity of environmental resources as a key element in our quality of life, as well as in the continued development of our film and tourism industry. Unfortunately, environmental regulations, which often rely on incomplete scientific research and mandate only costly employer-based programs, often fail to adequately identify and regulate the primary causes of environmental damage. Taken as a whole, governmental regulation represents a burden not only for industry, but also for the community, which suffers from decreased job growth and business expansion. Costs associated with regulatory compliance often divert funds from research, product development and capital improvement. In these times of rapid technological growth, when today's dreams are tomorrow's products, we cannot afford to maintain a regulatory process that inhibits innovation, or expansion.

Key Issues:
Regulatory duplication
Endangered Species Act reforms as they relate to business
Worker's Compensation reform efforts
Mitigating over restrictive regulations relative to chemicals in products, water and air

Taxation & Government Finance

California maintains one of the highest corporate income tax rates in the nation, a full 63.3% higher than the national average. The six closest competing states are all well below the national average, including Nevada and Washington, which have no corporate income tax whatsoever. Locally, special assessments, taxes, and fees, when considered as a whole, represent a considerable added cost for businesses of all sizes. While California, particularly southern California, relies heavily on its vast natural, human and technological infrastructure to attract new investment, we must also remain competitive where it counts, the bottom line. The fact that many public services require the cooperation of multiple governmental agencies not only serves to further confuse the general public, but also adds to the cost of government services. Aligning each government service with its most appropriate and efficient provider restores accountability to a complex process and allows for increased quality and lower taxpayer cost.

Key Issues:
All state and local tax increases affecting the Simi Valley business community
Efforts to secure tax credits for targeted work training programs
Efforts to privatize government services/public contracts