2009 State Legislative Agenda
PRINCIPLE SAN ANTONIO INITIATIVES
Higher Education- The Chamber supports: 1) increasing formula funding to meet educational “Closing the Gap” goals; 2) access, affordability, and quality undergraduate, post-graduate and professional health education as major catalysts for economic development; 3) incentives for universities to increase the production of health, science, engineering and math degrees; and 4) significantly increased funding for the Tuition Equalization Grant Program and the Texas Grant Program.
Alamo Community Colleges - The Chamber supports funding for programs and facilities for the 2009-2010 biennium of 1) $2.29B for community colleges base funding; 2) $3.0M in new campus funding for contact hours generated from the new Northeast Lakeview College; 3) $5.0M for a Student Success Pathway Model that will collect and analyze data regarding student outcomes and determine efficacy of instruction; 4) $1.5M for fire science, culinary arts and teacher certification baccalaureate degree programs; 5)
$2M for a Welcome Back Center to train 1,000 persons to address the acute shortages in nursing, skill trades, and information technology; and 6) $1.0M to support the Alamo Area Academies that include Information Technology Security Academy, Aerospace Academy, Manufacturing Academy and begin the development of three more academies in Construction, Health Careers, and Finance.
Texas A&M University-San Antonio- The Chamber supports the $6.3M exceptional item funding to support growth of the San Antonio campus as well as $60M in tuition revenue bonds for the construction of a second general academic building.
University of Texas at San Antonio- The Chamber supports: 1) $8M in UTSA funding for the San Antonio Life Science Institute (SALSI), a joint initiative between UTHSCSA and UTSA; 2) Creating a process for developing additional emerging research institutions and the need for a coherent plan to identify standards and possibly state incentives for such a plan 3) $2.43M for the Small Business Development Center Rural Initiative; 4) $132M in Tuition Revenue Bonds for the construction of an Experimental Science
Instructional Building; and 5) continued funding of exceptional items: Small Business Development Center, Texas Pre-Engineering Program, Texas State Data Center, Center for Water Research, Downtown Campus Phase II, Institute of Texan Cultures and Institutional Enhancement.
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio- The Chamber supports: 1) restoring 2000-2001 formula funding rates for Health Related Institutions at $90 million for each of the next two biennia; 2) $8M in UTHSCSA Funding for the San Antonio Life Science Institute (SALSI); 3) $7M for the Barshop Center for Longevity and Aging Studies; 4) $10M for the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC); 5) $8M for the Laredo Campus Extension (LCE); 6) $90M in Tuition Revenue Bond funding for the “Gap”
Funding for South Texas Research Facility ($20M), Facilities and Technology Infrastructure Upgrades ($20M), Academic Learning and Teaching Center Building ($50M); 7) increasing Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding at $7,500 per resident per year for 2010-2011; and 8) increasing funding for the Nursing Shortage Reduction Program from the $14.7M in 2008-2009 biennium to $25M for 2010-2011 biennium.
Military Missions
The Chamber supports: 1) the authorization and appropriation of adequate funds to support the implementation of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission realignments for San Antonio; 2) increased funding for the Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant (DEAAG) Program and ability to use DEAAG funds for infrastructure upgrades to retention of existing jobs; 3) authorizing funds up to $56 million to augment San Antonio's bid for the $450 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility
(NBAF) and its construction at the Texas Research Park; 4) legislation to protect Camp Bullis, Randolph, Lackland and other major military bases around the state from urban encroachment; 5) reinstatement of the Defense Enterprise Zones that were eliminated when margins tax was instituted; 6) legislation to create an education compact to address public education concerns from Military/Civil Service Personnel relocating to Texas through BRAC; and 7) legislation to allow in-state tuition benefits to Department of
Defense civilian employees and their dependents.
Transportation
The Chamber supports efforts to increase the size, safety and diversity of our State’s transportation system, including: 1) authorizing $5 billion in Proposition 12 general obligation bonds to provide funding for highway improvement projects; 2) supporting creating local option funding mechanisms for local transportation projects; 3) adding additional capitalization to the Texas Mobility Fund; 4) eliminating diversions of state transportation revenues to non-transportation uses; and 5) continuing support
for local control of toll projects; 6) enabling the motor fuel tax to increase with growth in the economy by indexing it to the consumer price index or an appropriate construction cost index; and 7) capitalizing the Texas Rail Relocation Fund.
STATEWIDE INITIATIVES
Air Quality
The Chamber supports equitable access 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. The Chamber also supports existing or increased state financial assistance from Clean Air Account 151 as provided for by Rider 8 in Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) budget, to support historically near non-attainment communities in meeting National Ambient
Air Quality Standard for ozone.
Budget and Finance
The Chamber continues to support the Margins Tax as a fair and equitable tax to replace the Franchise tax on business. We believe that, as with any new tax system, modifications to the Margins Tax are necessary in order to address unintended consequences and inequities.
Economic Development
The Chamber supports: 1) renewing and full funding of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and Texas Enterprise Fund; 2) full funding of the Workforce Training Skills Development Fund program; 3) allowing Texas Workforce Commission funding and assistance to be used for employment issues such as training that would help with the retention of existing jobs; and 4) increasing the funding of community partnerships, such as the Alamo Area Academies, that link employers and educators to develop a trained workforce.
Education
The Chamber supports legislation that provides a long-term solution addressing a state constitutional standard for financing public education and legislation that enacts a fair, transparent and accurate accountability system.
The Texas public education finance system should provide: 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-12 public education; 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.
The Texas accountability system should provide: 1) information about school performance to parents, community members and other stakeholders that is transparent, useful and accurate; and 2) a measurement that evaluates growth or improvement in student performance from year to year.
Financial Services / Insurance
The Chamber supports: 1) market-based regulations of insurance; 2) reforms necessary to adequately fund Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) to protect the State budget and taxpayers should a significant hurricane hit Texas; 3) allowing Texas businesses to comply easily with State laws when conducting business electronically; 4) limiting State pay day lending regulations to businesses that are not already regulated at the federal level; and 5) 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: 1) legislative efforts to significantly improve Texas’ high percentage of uninsured by: a) making healthcare more accessible and affordable by expanding primary and preventive healthcare and promoting wellness programs; b) ensuring 12 months of coverage for children's Medicaid similar to what the legislature did for CHIP; c) creating a CHIP buy-in program; d) reinstating the adult medically needy program; 2) restoring Medicaid Graduate Medical Education to designated teaching
hospitals for training and education of medical residents as well as continuing to prioritize funding increases for various health care professional education programs; 3 ) protecting the funding mechanisms of Disproportionate Share and Upper Payment Limit; and 4 ) maximizing and appropriately distributing in a timely fashion state trauma funds to designated trauma centers.
Immigration
The Chamber supports employer-based immigration policies and comprehensive immigration reform which will give employers access to a legal workforce to meet legitimate business needs in all sectors of the economy. Recognizing businesses’ need for nationally consistent, comprehensive immigration standards, the Chamber encourages the Legislature to defer from policymaking at the state level and to promote continued debate and national policy development at the federal level.
Public Power
The Chamber supports CPS Energy's efforts to maintain the basic provisions of Senate Bill 7 (76th Legislative Session) relating to the governance of the electric utility industry, including those provisions maintaining 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
The Chamber supports: 1) additional funding for tourism promotion and development; 2) protecting the hotel/motel and car rental industries from additional taxes, fees, and efforts to divert revenue from such taxes to purposes that may negatively impact the tourism industry in our State and area; and 3) protecting and maximizing the benefit for San Antonio of the sports events trust fund to help our community continue to compete effectively for major events like the NCAA Final Four.
Water
The Chamber supports: (1) promoting additional checks and balances in local groundwater district regulations, including a meaningful appeals process for “desired future conditions” (DFCs) and consistency in permitting; (2) providing $500K in funding for the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program; (3) implementing the recommendations of the Bexar Metropolitan Water District Oversight Committee to ensure reliable water service for the utility’s customers; (4) providing for integrated permitting to
allow more efficient management of recycled water; (5) maintaining local control in standards to protect the quality of Edwards Aquifer water; (6) funding for the TCEQ to maintain the Clean Rivers Program at its present level of $5M annually; and (7) maintaining components of Senate Bill 3 regarding Edwards Aquifer pumping levels.
General Business Issues
The Chamber supports: 1) providing economic incentives and better options for small businesses to provide employee healthcare plans 2) Worker’s Compensation reforms passed in recent legislative sessions and opposes rollback of reforms; 3) 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 in Texas.
The Chamber opposes legislation that would: 1) expand the federal Family Medical Leave Act at the state level; 2) prohibit businesses from using arbitration or make information from private arbitration proceedings public; and 3) force Texas businesses to allow employees to bring firearms to work.
Submitted By: Public Affairs Council
Approval Date: 10-23-2008
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