Today's News
>
News
>
Today's News
Chamber sets goals for new legislative session
By RYAN BRINKS, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
POSTED: December 15, 2007
With the start of the 2008 Iowa Statehouse legislative session just a month away, state and local business advocates are setting their priorities.
Issues topping the list for the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce are:
• Continuing the appropriate use of tax increment financing.
• Continued funding and elimination of the cap on Vision Iowa grants for community attraction and tourism projects. The cap is currently $4 million a year per project.
“We believe this cap is limiting the program’s impact and therefore should be removed,” the Chamber said.
• Property tax reform, starting by freezing the rollback percentage at its current level and then adding 1 percent per year to get to a permanent floor for the residential property tax rollback at 50 percent of value.
“The current system that links agricultural productivity and residential values is a major factor that is placing an undue burden on commercial properties,” the Chamber said. “... Indeed, Iowa ranks as the 49th worst state for commercial property tax equity.”
• Strengthening early childhood resources and education, raising high school education standards and increasing continuing education and job training efforts.
• Opposing any “fair share or agency fee” legislation.
• Opposing changes in the workers compensation system that would allow an employee their choice of doctor, because of the estimated significant increase in costs this would have without any significant improvement in the outcome.
• Opposing the requirement of a prevailing wage for government contracts.
“We believe it will add significant costs to the projects and will shut out small contractors from bidding on government contracted work,” the Chamber said.
• Supporting road fund allocation of 60 percent of revenues to the state and primary road fund, 20 percent to the counties and secondary road fund and 20 percent to the cities and street construction fund, per the Time 21 formula, as well as supporting $200 million in added revenues annually to more aggressively build the identified commercial and industrial network from raising the gas tax, increasing pickup registration fees and increasing other fees.
• Opposing a statewide 1 percent sales tax for schools instead of county by county until there is clarification about use and when the tax would sunset.
Marshalltown’s Chamber is part of the 16-member Iowa Chamber Alliance, which also identified as priority simplifying the state income tax, funding research parks and regional business accelerators and marketing Iowa with a positive, inviting image.
The alliance has also taken a stand on federal issues like immigration, Social Security, Medicare reimbursement equality and affordable health insurance.
For more information, visit the alliance’s Web site at www.growiowabusiness.com
———
Contact Ryan Brinks at 641-753-6611 or rbrinks@timesrepublican.com
Issues topping the list for the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce are:
• Continuing the appropriate use of tax increment financing.
• Continued funding and elimination of the cap on Vision Iowa grants for community attraction and tourism projects. The cap is currently $4 million a year per project.
“We believe this cap is limiting the program’s impact and therefore should be removed,” the Chamber said.
• Property tax reform, starting by freezing the rollback percentage at its current level and then adding 1 percent per year to get to a permanent floor for the residential property tax rollback at 50 percent of value.
“The current system that links agricultural productivity and residential values is a major factor that is placing an undue burden on commercial properties,” the Chamber said. “... Indeed, Iowa ranks as the 49th worst state for commercial property tax equity.”
• Strengthening early childhood resources and education, raising high school education standards and increasing continuing education and job training efforts.
• Opposing any “fair share or agency fee” legislation.
• Opposing changes in the workers compensation system that would allow an employee their choice of doctor, because of the estimated significant increase in costs this would have without any significant improvement in the outcome.
• Opposing the requirement of a prevailing wage for government contracts.
“We believe it will add significant costs to the projects and will shut out small contractors from bidding on government contracted work,” the Chamber said.
• Supporting road fund allocation of 60 percent of revenues to the state and primary road fund, 20 percent to the counties and secondary road fund and 20 percent to the cities and street construction fund, per the Time 21 formula, as well as supporting $200 million in added revenues annually to more aggressively build the identified commercial and industrial network from raising the gas tax, increasing pickup registration fees and increasing other fees.
• Opposing a statewide 1 percent sales tax for schools instead of county by county until there is clarification about use and when the tax would sunset.
Marshalltown’s Chamber is part of the 16-member Iowa Chamber Alliance, which also identified as priority simplifying the state income tax, funding research parks and regional business accelerators and marketing Iowa with a positive, inviting image.
The alliance has also taken a stand on federal issues like immigration, Social Security, Medicare reimbursement equality and affordable health insurance.
For more information, visit the alliance’s Web site at www.growiowabusiness.com
———
Contact Ryan Brinks at 641-753-6611 or rbrinks@timesrepublican.com
Share:
Facebook
MySpace
Digg
Stumble
Mixx
Fark
del.icio.us
LiveSpaces