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2011 State Legislative Agenda

RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Directors of The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce adopt the following legislative priorities for the 82nd Legislative Session. While all issues are important, The Chamber will ensure resources focus on those issues that are unique or have significant impact on San Antonio and Bexar County and where The Chamber’s support plays a critical role.

AEROSPACE: The Chamber supports--

Programs and policies that will enable the community to attract commercial aviation manufacturing and production operations to complement our traditional military defense-based aerospace workload
Clarifying the application of tangible personal property taxes for commercial airplanes so that they are not taxable during the manufacturing process

AIR QUALITY: The Chamber supports—

Equitable access to the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) which has proven to be a successful incentive program aimed at improving air quality, enhancing public health, and promoting economic prosperity

BIOSCIENCE: The Chamber supports—

Continued funding for Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and strongly favor increased transparency of the CPRIT process that would produce a more fair and balanced funding of CPRIT applications statewide.

BUSINESS TAXES: The Chamber supports--

Maintaining the current $1 million gross revenue margins tax exemption for small business, and opposes any change in definition or rate that will result in higher effective tax collections from businesses
Equitable treatment of technology-related revenues such as cloud computing by apportioning those revenues based on the location of the customers, not on the location of the servers used to provide the service

CYBER SECURITY: The Chamber supports--

A Dual-Credit Program in Cyber Security integrated with Cyber Career Pathways
Official Recognition of Cyber as an industry cluster by renaming the Information Technology cluster to the Information Technology and Cyber Security cluster
Official recognition of San Antonio as the Texas lead to create a Center of Excellence for Cyber Security and Cyber Operations
A Joint Interim Study on Cyber Security which will recommend specific actions to accelerate growth of Cyber Security in Texas

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: The Chamber supports--

Continuing to fund the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund
Encouraging the continuation and expansion of economic development incentives and protection of local property and sales tax incentives such as HB 1200 (the Economic Development Act) and the Texas Enterprise Zone
Reinstating research & development tax credits and other business tax incentives that attract high-quality jobs and promote Texas’ renewable energy sector
Adopt tax incentives for major data center projects
Sales tax exemptions for purchased or leased computer equipment used in processing, storage, retrieval or communication of data, servers, routers, connections and other enabling hardware. Exemptions on electricity sales taxes similar to manufactures should also be considered

ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY: The Chamber supports--

Cost-effective efforts to establish a more robust renewable energy portfolio and to encourage the generation of solar, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, hydrokinetic and other forms of generation which have a renewable biofuel or are obtained through renewable energy storage

FINANCIAL SERVICES/ INSURANCE: The Chamber supports--

Market-based regulations of insurance
Allowing Texas businesses to comply easily with State laws when conducting business electronically
Worker’s compensation reforms that will help keep rates low and eliminate fraud and waste in the system
Increasing transparency and accountability in health insurance coverage to protect consumers from inappropriate policy cancellations as well as premium increases without notification or justification

HEALTH CARE: The Chamber supports--
• Investing in health care funding to provide an adequate provider network and health care workforce, to include: 1) Ensuring Medicaid/CHIP provider reimbursement is not reduced 2) Protecting Medicaid provider supplemental payments 3) Restoring Medicaid Graduate Medical Education funding to designated teaching hospitals as well as continuing to prioritize health care professional education programs, especially maintaining funds to address the critical nurse workforce shortage in Texas 4) Continuing the Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) and appropriately distribute these funds to designated trauma centers

Creating a healthy and sustainable workforce by making health care more affordable and accessible through quality improvement and development of an efficient health care network and a strong infrastructure
Investing in primary and preventive health care so that Medicaid/CHIP clients have access to physicians and health professionals who can coordinate their care
Promoting funding of programs which: 1) reduce the disease burden and increase disease surveillance 2) ensure comprehensive community based mental health services and 3) affect the health and well-being of pregnant women and children
Passage of a comprehensive State law to prohibit public smoking throughout Texas

HIGHER EDUCATION: The Chamber supports--
For the Alamo Colleges

Increased base aid formula funding and address employee health benefits funding
Funding for the Alamo Colleges Dual Credit Academies to support instructional and related costs associated with administrating four Dual Credit Academies in the critical fields of Aviation Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Nursing, and Information Technology Security Assurance (ITSA)
Continuation of funding the Skills Development Fund that supports training programs for new and expanding businesses

For Texas A&M University - San Antonio

Retaining current funding levels for 2012-2013
Funding for 1) Student Access, Retention, & Program Development ($7M exceptional item); 2) Partnership for the Advancement of First-Generation Hispanic Students ($2M exceptional item); 3) Construction of 185,000 GSF Academic Classroom/Library Building ($70M TRB)

For The University of Texas at San Antonio

Funding for a new Experimental Science Infrastructure Building ($92M) if a revenue bond bill is passed
Funding for the joint UTSA & UTHSC-SA San Antonio Life Sciences Institute (SALSI) ($5M)
Stabilize formula funding through the State general appropriation, maintaining the present budget to the extent possible
Continuing investment in the Texas Research Incentive Program (TRIP) for emerging research institutions (from HB 51) and preservation of the State’s incentive funding program

For The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Enhance formula funding for Health Related Institutions including Graduate Medical Education (GME), and nursing education
Non-Formula (Exceptional Item) funding for: 1) San Antonio Life Sciences Institute ($5M); 2) Regional Academic Health Science Centers and Campuses; 3) Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Research ($4M in first-time general revenue funding); 4) Academic Learning and Teaching Center ($55M TRB); and 5) Diabetes Institute ($6M TRB)

IMMIGRATION & HOMELAND SECURITY: The Chamber supports--

Immigration reform at the federal level and policies that: 1) ensure the safety and security of our Nation’s borders; 2) increase the availability and improvement to the process for obtaining work visas; and 3) implement a fair process to address the citizenship of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States

MANUFACTURING: The Chamber supports--

Establishing and maintaining policies and practices that promote the retention and growth of manufacturing and small businesses
Maintaining existing sales tax exemptions for equipment used in the manufacturing process
Establishing a sales tax exemption for equipment purchased for Research & Development (R&D)

MILITARY MISSIONS: The Chamber supports--

Land use regulations to protect military missions
Funding the Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant (DEAAG) program to assist military communities negatively impacted by military base closures due to significant loss of jobs or significant growth

PUBLIC EDUCATION: The Chamber supports--

Addressing a state constitutional standard for financing public education and legislation that enacts a fair, transparent and accurate accountability system.
Maintaining current funding levels by replacing the state fiscal stabilization stimulus funding with state dollars and supports any additional federal funding to enhance public education
A public education finance system that provides: 1) equity and excellence in educational opportunities for all Texas students; 2) a permanent source of sufficient funding to meet inflationary cost pressures and student enrollment growth, in PreK – grade 12; 3) an updated formula funding system to distribute money according to the specific needs of children;

4) a substantial increase to the state share of the Foundation School Program; and 5) increased funding for career tech education, dropout prevention and adult education

Securing funding for Communities in Schools and Community Youth Development programs
Growing the number of academic advisors in the Texas College Advising Corps (TCAC) for enhanced college preparation, attendance and success

PUBLIC POWER: The Chamber supports--

The efforts of CPS Energy to maintain the basic provisions of Senate Bill 7 (76th Legislative Session) preserving the San Antonio City Council’s authority to regulate CPS Energy and giving local control over the decision regarding the timing of entry into retail electric deregulation.

TOURISM & HOSPITALITY: The Chamber supports--

Protecting the tourism and hospitality industry from additional taxes, fees and insure that all revenues from such taxes are invested in the tourism industry of San Antonio
In recognition of the $9- to- $1 return in investment, additional investment in tourism and promotion to advertise the State of Texas as a destination
The continuation of public school beginning after the 4th Monday of August which allows Texans to vacation through August, bringing millions of dollars in sales tax and other revenues to communities throughout Texas

TRANSPORTATION: The Chamber supports--

Revenue enhancement options to provide adequate and sustained funding for maintenance and expansion of our highway, transit, and rail infrastructure to include:
Phasing out Fund 6 (motor fuels tax) legislative diversions
Increasing and/or indexing the motor fuels tax
Increasing and/or indexing the vehicle registration fee
Expanding the sales tax base to gasoline sales
Additional bonding (Proposition 12, 14, etc.)
Expanding and protecting the Texas Mobility Fund and
Creating transportation reinvestment zones
Authorization of counties to hold a referendum to approve a local vehicle registration fee to generate new funding for transportation projects
Authorization of VIA to bond against future sales tax revenue in order to accelerate delivery of new projects and to allow VIA enhanced service delivery through the development of new transit initiatives
Encouraging the Legislature and TxDOT to work together to identify an appropriate long-term revenue source to fund the Texas Rail Relocation & Improvement Fund which was approved by the voters in November 2005
Extension of design-build CDA authority for regional mobility authorities (RMAs)
Primacy for local public sector agencies seeking the right of first refusal for development of toll projects within their region

WATER: The Chamber supports--

Promoting additional checks and balances in local groundwater district regulations, including long term consistency and stability in permitting, and a meaningful development and appeals process for “desired future conditions” (DFCs)
Promoting further efficiencies and incentives in the laws and regulations governing the development of brackish groundwater supplies
Ensuring safe, affordable and reliable water service to the customers of Bexar Metropolitan Water District
Ensuring state appropriations or regulations do not shift the cost of water programs onto local governmental entities and maintain funding for the Clean Rivers Program at the current level
Timely and successful completion of the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program process, recognizing the Edwards Aquifer as the cornerstone of a regional water supply throughout South Central Texas

GENERAL BUSINESS ISSUES: The Chamber supports--

Providing economic incentives and better options for small businesses to provide employee healthcare plans
Approaches to government regulation of industries such as insurance, energy and telecommunications in ways that encourage businesses to do business and create and maintain jobs
Access to and transparency of State government through the broadcasting of the Texas Legislative Sessions
The current process of negotiation between the City and its employees and will not support any “meet and confer” legislation that might impose requirements or conditions on collective bargaining

To find out how to get involved, contact Public Affairs at 229-2161.