Business leaders OK legislative agenda
Published 11:54 am Monday, March 3, 2008
Organizations representing Snohomish County businesses have outlined their Legislative agenda for 2007.
The South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors approved the agenda on Jan. 25.
The agenda, put together by the Joint Government Affairs Committee of Everett, South Snohomish County and the Monroe chambers of commerce, outlines seven policy areas of concern to businesses:
• Taxes and fees
• Transportation
• Health care
• Education
• Permitting and regulation
• Economic development and competitiveness
• Energy
Recommendations call for lowering state Worker’s Compensation costs; reforming the state’s Unemployment Insurance program; increasing the Business and Occupation Tax exemption; and opposing the state’s estate tax.
It also seeks elimination of annual minimum wage increases, wants caps on spending, and an end to mandatory medical insurance.
“We have a consistent agenda,” said Todd Brunner, SSCCC board chairman. “We’re looking for improvements in education and transportation, economics and the environment.”
While most of the committee’s recommendations call for reduced spending, it advocates increased funding for transportation and education.
That includes support for I-5, state Routes 2 and 522, and east-west connections between I-5 and state Route 9, as well as road funding to make up for dollars lost because of Initiative 695, which cut motor vehicle excise taxes that pay for transportation and roads projects.
It also includes better pay for teachers, improved work force training programs and legislation to allow public school district levies to pass with a simple majority of votes tallied rather than a super majority of 60 percent.
Brunner said education is “probably our top priority” in 2007.
The recommendation supports expansion of Sound Transit’s light rail plans as well as voter approval of the proposed Regional Transportation Investment District tax increases that would pay for a host of road improvements.
It also supports incentives to spur competitiveness, such as tax increment financing, a way to pay for public projects using the revenues increasing land values bring in.
The agenda calls for legislators to encourage investment in energy conservation through tax incentives.
