Our Legislative Agenda
The Chamber, Leading Business in Cabarrus, supports legislative action that promotes a strong quality of life by fostering a growing economy for our county, region, and state. We believe that the state must focus on developing a skilled workforce, promoting economic development, and supporting local businesses to strengthen the economy and improve the lives of our residents.
We follow these guiding principles in evaluating legislation:
- We support state investment in infrastructure. Specifically, the state must invest in transportation systems that promote tourism and facilitate the movement of people, goods, and products, as well as education systems that improve our workforce. Additionally, it must support utility systems that enable growth and utilize technology platforms that will allow seamless interaction between businesses and the government.
- We support legislation that recognizes the needs of both our growing communities and those that are economically challenged, and that both communities can exist within the same county.
- We oppose unfunded mandates on local governments, including school systems, or the creation of programs without recurring funding.
- We recognize that the current health insurance system is unaffordable for many small businesses and support efforts at all levels of government to address this burden on our small businesses.
- Regulations affecting the business community must have a clearly articulated policy objective, be fairly enforced, and be a cost-effective means of achieving that objective.
We also support these specific legislative initiatives, which follow our guiding principles:
Workforce
- Address multi-faceted issues that restrict access to childcare for workers with programs such as:
- Minimizing financial barriers to quality childcare by offering tax credits to businesses that support employee childcare, raising subsidy income limits to promote career growth, and adjusting subsidy rates to reflect actual childcare costs. Continue to provide stopgap funding to alleviate childcare workforce shortages and support families as long-term solutions are developed.
- Developing and launching pilot programs that test innovative, scalable approaches to address the childcare shortage, creating models that meet community needs, and building a sustainable support system for working families.
- Enhance early childhood educational resources by offering additional tools and accessible online curricula, ensuring all children have the foundational skills needed to succeed in school and the future workforce.
- Support investment in school facilities and dual enrollment programs to strengthen workforce readiness by ensuring students have access to quality Career and Technical Education and dual enrollment opportunities. These initiatives equip students with advanced skills and knowledge, preparing them effectively for the demands of the local workforce.
- Encourage federal reforms to increase the availability of work visas, particularly in sectors experiencing labor shortages, to boost economic growth while also strengthening the integrity of our immigration system. This includes rigorous vetting and guarding against the displacement of American workers.
Infrastructure
- Modernize transportation funding with a sustainable and sufficient revenue stream that ensures all road users pay their fair share of the costs.
- Encourage fast-track permitting for the future construction of water and wastewater treatment facilities and support additional allocations for small business openings and expansions.
Education
- Revise the school report card system to recognize achievement, growth, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) credentialing so that businesses have a better understanding of the performance of their local schools. Specifically, we support a system that:
- Focuses on growth in early grades
- Focuses on achievement in later grades
- Measures achievement through both tests and credentials earned through CTE concentrators
- Support long-term solutions to promote the recruitment and retention of public school teachers.
- Support modernization of the Community College funding model to align investments with labor market needs, promote job training, and support enrollment growth as proposed by the Community College system through Propel NC.
Economic Development
- Provide economic development support based on census block-level data, ensuring that economically distressed areas in prosperous counties are eligible for support.
- Continue local investment in economic development at the county and municipal levels, including funding the economic development corporation.
Healthcare
- To create more options for small businesses and reduce healthcare costs, support any additional legislative or rulemaking action needed at either the state or federal level for the implementation of association health plans.
Tax & Regulatory Reform
- A supportive energy policy that controls carbon emissions, modernizes the grid, and keeps energy prices as affordable as possible, supporting continued economic development.
- Oppose significant increases in the salary threshold for exempt employees by the Department of Labor, as drastic changes could burden businesses and limit flexibility in workforce management.
- Advocate for tax policies that keep rates low for small businesses to foster economic stability and growth, particularly in light of potential federal tax adjustments.
