Bills We’re Watching – 2.3.15
Our bill tracking system, “Bills We’re Watching,” provides a quick and easy way for our members to stay abreast of all legislation pertinent to business.
At the Starting Gate: Early Lessons for Education Reform – By Blueprint Chair Paul Koonce & Tag Greason
As Virginia continues the critically important exploration of education reform, we are encouraged by the thoughtful approach to accountability taken by the Standards of Learning (SOL) Innovation Committee. As corporate executives, we embrace rigorous standards, measurement, and rewards and consequences from performance. Click Here for Article
VA Chamber Lobbyist Keith Martin Testifies Against Minimum Wage Hike Proposal
Several equal rights bills will not move forward this session in Virginia’s state legislature. Monday, legislators on the Senate Commerce and Labor Subcommittee killed a bill that would have raised the minimum wage. With an 11 to 3 vote late Monday afternoon Republican lawmakers shot down a bill that would have raised Virginia’s mandatory minimum […]
Gas Prices Could Rise After Failure of Sales Tax Legislation (Richmond Times Dispatch)
“Virginia drivers are likely to see gasoline prices increase… Instead, drivers will pay more at the pump because of a political bargain struck by Virginia’s General Assembly in early 2013, and because of the failure of a similar bargain in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the heart of the dispute are sales taxes for online purchases, […]
U.S. Slides Again As Denmark Tops Forbes’ Best Countries For Business
What’s the Best Country for Business? Forbes recently released its list of the best countries for business, and the United States has dropped to 18th place. It was second on the list in 2009, but has declined every year since. Why the decline? Forbes attributes the decline mainly to regulatory burdens and the U.S. high […]
Va. Chamber to Monitor Employment, Economic Data (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
The Virginia Chamber of Commerce has formed a nonprofit foundation with duties that will include surveying, collecting and providing more information on the state’s economy and job market. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce Foundation also will work with the Virginia Employment Commission and other statewide associations and local chambers to conduct the survey, which will […]
Trade Gains from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (National Center for Policy Analysis)
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement that would expand American trade with nations in the Asia-Pacific region, generating more trade than the NAFTA agreement (between the United States, Canada and Mexico) currently does. The TPP countries include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Alyson Cuervo, […]
Warner: “All Vehicles” Should Fund Transportation (Daily Press)
U.S. Senator Mark Warner suggests a two prong approach to refilling the nation’s transportation funding coffers. First, “include all vehicles” when it comes to raising money for the dwindling Highway Trust Fund, which gets its money now from gasoline and diesel fuel taxes. Second, Senator Warner’s BRIDGE Act would “create an independent infrastructure financing authority […]
Charles Todd: The Economics of Early Childhood Education (Virginia Capitol Connections)
The Economics of Early Childhood Education by Charles C. Todd, Jr. — In mid October, The Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation presented a program at the University of Richmond highlighting why the business community should care about early childhood education. About 100 interested citizens including members of the General Assembly, […]
WARNER’S, WITTMAN’S BAY CLEANUP BILL APPROVED BY SENATE (DAILY PRESS)
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill sponsored by Senator Mark Warner and Representative Rob Wittman to improve how Washington tracks Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts and promote more collaboration in that effort. The Chesapeake Bay Accountability Act now heads to the House of Representatives. It requires the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a […]
