Virginia Chamber of Commerce
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Chamber Briefings 
March 11, 2016
Upcoming Events

Registration open: 

April 28
Westfields Marriott, Chantilly

2016 Energy, Sustainability & Resiliency Conference
May 10
Greater Richmond Convention Center


SAVE THE DATE for these upcoming events:

Virginia Chamber Annual Dinner and Legislative Awards
May 17
Richmond

2016 Health Care Conference
June 9
Greater Richmond Convention Center
President's Message

Barry DuValThe 2016 General Assembly Session is scheduled to adjourn sine die tomorrow, Saturday March 12. It has been a busy final week, with budget negotiations being finalized and the election of a new Supreme Court justice. Over the next several weeks, our government affairs team will be working to provide you with a full recap of the 2016 session as we monitor the Governor's actions on legislation between now and the reconvened session on April 20. We're also updating "Bills We're Watching" to reflect the final result of the bills we tracked. 

On Wednesday, House and Senate budget conferees released their budget plan. Highlights of some of the items of importance to the business community can be found below. 

Our team is also beginning to work to develop the 2016 Legislative Report Card, which grades legislators based on their support of pro-business issues during the General Assembly session. The 2016 Report Card will be released at our Annual Dinner on May 17th. I hope you'll make plans to join us for this and other upcoming events. 

Following this issue, Chamber Briefings will resume its normal monthly schedule given the adjournment of the 2016 General Assembly Session. Be on the lookout for our next update in April!
Bills We're Watching

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. Short, concise summaries of each bill are provided along with the Chamber's "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" position.

Click on the image above to view Bills We're Watching. 
Budget Update-Conference Report

House and Senate budget conferees finished their work on Wednesday and revealed their version of the state budget. Some highlights are outlined below:

Education
  • Invests over $900 million in new funding for K-12 education.
  • Funds the pilot program for mixed-use delivery models in early childhood education and includes $3.2 million to increase Virginia Preschool Initiative slots.
  • Provides funds of $2.1 million the second year to initiate and support efforts to attract, train, and retain quality teachers in hard-to-staff schools. The funding will provide competitive multi-year grants to help initiate change to more dynamic teacher compensation systems designed to increase teacher quality, effectiveness, and satisfaction, and generate higher student achievement. The funding is to encourage school divisions to re-think how they combine their support with their salary structure to move away from the typical step increases based on tenure, to a system based on teacher performance and student progress.
  • Provides $12.5 million over the biennium for the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program as created in House Bill 66 and Senate Bill 576.
  • Higher Education R&D: Provides $40 million in General Funds and $57.5 million in bonds for research and economic development efforts, including funding for Global Genomics, cancer research at VCU, and noninvasive surgery at UVA. 
Economic Development
  • Eliminates $30 million each year included in the introduced budget to develop biotechnology spinoff companies.
  • Removes the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) from Economic Development Incentive Payments. A separate amendment transfers the fund to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority.
  • Provides $2.5 million the first year and $5.0 million the second year from the general fund to support the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation.
  • Provides $35 million for GO Virginia.
  • The Council on Virginia's Future shall work cooperatively with the Department of Housing and Community Development in establishing GO Virginia, pursuant to the provisions of House Bill 834 and Senate Bill 449 of the 2016 Session of the General Assembly.
  • Reduces the proposed new funding included in the introduced budget for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership from $9.2 million from the general fund each year to $5.2 million each year. The new funding is to be allocated-
    • $466,000 to expand and rebrand the Virginia Jobs Investment Program,
    • $1,000,000 to support the Virginia International Trade Alliance,
    • $2,000,000 to match federal grants for the Going Global Defense Initiative, Virginia International Trade Alliance, and the State Trade Export Promotion (STEP) grant program,
    • $650,000 to Support Virginia exporters,
    • $250,000 to implement the recommendations of the Virginia Sustained Growth Study, and
    • $794,700 to support US and international business attraction
  • Provides $750,000 from the general fund the first year and $1.25 million from the general fund the second year for a pilot project to support the development of business ready sites suitable for industrial development.
  • JLARC Oversight of Economic Development: Includes $250,000 the first year and $300,000 the second year to establish a permanent oversight function of economic incentive programs.
  • Provides $100,000 first year and $150,000 the second year to support the establishment of the Virginia International Trade Corporation.
Transportation
  • Directs up to $2.0 million from the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund in each year to meet commitments authorized from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Fund.  
  • Adds a statewide tollling policy as part of the budget.
  • Dulles:  $25 million each year is dedicated to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to reduce enplanement costs charged to commercial carriers at Dulles International Airport.  Funding is contingent upon several conditions.
Other items of note:
  • Removes one-time funding in fiscal year 2017 and language requiring the Department of Taxation to complete a review of market-based sourcing. 
  • Eliminates Medicaid Expansion.
  • Deposits $605 million in the state's rainy day fund, restoring the fund to 90% of its previous balance.
  • Veterans: Adds $400,000 each year and 3 positions for a pilot program to expand health care employment opportunities for military medics transitioning to civilian careers.
  • Requires that for existing tax credits and sales and use tax exemptions with a sunset date, and for any new credit or sales and use tax exemption enacted prior to 2021, the sunset dates shall not be set beyond June 30, 2022. In addition, this amendment requires that by November 1, 2020, the Department of Taxation shall report to every member of the General Assembly and to the Joint Subcommittee to Evaluate Tax Preferences, the revenue impact of every sales tax exemption and tax credit scheduled to expire on or before June 30, 2022. It also requires that beginning November 1, 2025 and for every five years thereafter the Department shall provide an updated revenue impact report for sales tax exemptions and tax credits set to expire within two years following the date of the report.

  • Prohibits DEQ from expending any funds provided for air protection to develop or implement EPA's Clean Power Plan until the Supreme Court's stay of such Plan is released.

Right to Work Constitutional Amendments Pass Both House and Senate

We've been tracking the progress of "Right to Work" constitutional amendments HJ2 and SJ70 this session. Back in February, the House and Senate both passed HJ2.

This week, we are pleased to report that the House passed the Senate's version, SJ70. 

Having passed both houses of the General Assembly for two consecutive years, the amendment will be on the ballot in November.
General Assembly elects Court of Appeals Judge Stephen R. McCullough to Supreme Court

The Virginia General Assembly on Thursday elected Court of Appeals Judge Stephen R. McCullough to fill the vacancy on the Virginia Supreme Court left by Justice LeRoy Millette. Prior to being elected to the Court of Appeals, McCullough worked in the Attorney General's Office from 1999-2011, serving in various senior level capacities.

To read more on McCullough from the Richmond Times Dispatch, click here.
Study: Growing skills gap concerns 63 percent of U.S. employers

A growing skills gap in the United States has caused a struggle for employers to find qualified workers to fill open positions.  According to a nationwide study commissioned by CareerBuilder, of more than 2,300 employers surveyed, 49 percent have been negatively affected due to larger job vacancies. Twenty-five percent reported revenue loss, and 43 percent reported lower levels of productivity.  Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are critically affected by the gap, the study noted. Even so, other areas such as human resources management, economics and graphic design also show wide vacancies, and the study showed that 63 percent of employers are concerned with the gap growth.
 
In Virginia, STEM employment increased at a higher percentage than non-STEM employment over the past decade based on forecasts from Chmura Economics & Analytics.  From 2005 to 2015, STEM employment, which makes up 8.3 percent of total employment in the Commonwealth, climbed 9.5 percent over this period while employment in non-STEM occupations increased only 2.5 percent.  At the major occupation group level, projected employment growth for STEM occupations in Virginia over the next decade ranges from 14.3 percent for computer and mathematical occupations down to 4.0 percent for architecture and engineering occupations.
Governing Magazine: 
Virginia ranks #1 for Information Technology Procurement & Workforce, Training and Certification

This month, Governing Magazine released a report on state rankings based on procurement. These state rankings are the result of a year-long survey and assessment by the Governing Institute. Virginia ranked second overall, but ranked first in the following categories:



VA Chamber PAC Update: Keeping Up with Congressional Redistricting
Virginia's Congressional races this November are shaping up to be some of the most interesting in recent memory.  Since a federal court ruled that state legislators packed too many African-American voters into the 3rd District in 2012, it has imposed a new map with boundary changes in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th Districts. 
For a complete breakdown of each district's new maps and the implications for the upcoming election, click here.

Now in its 21st year, the FANTASTIC 50 program is the only annual statewide award recognizing Virginia's fastest growing businesses. 
 
Join us as we salute the winners for their entrepreneurial success and contribution to Virginia's economic vitality!
 
April 28, 2016
Westfields Marriott
Chantilly, VA
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm -- Reception
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm -- Dinner


2015 Fantastic 50 Awards Winners 
Tom Kuhn to Keynote 2016 Energy, Sustainability and Resiliency Conference!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Greater Richmond Convention Center

Early Bird Rate: $95

Keynote Remarks by:

Tom Kuhn
President, Edison Electric Institute
 
Companies invest billions of dollars in detecting and preventing potential attacks on critical infrastructure. Tom Kuhn will discuss how the government and private industry can work together to protect our grid and our economy.
 
Tom Kuhn is President of the Edison Electric Institute, the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. EEI's members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and directly employ more than 500,000 workers. 

Featuring Panel Discussions On:

Virginia's All of the Above Energy Strategy
Blueprint Virginia calls for the Commonwealth to embrace an "all of the above" energy strategy that supports economic development and job growth while meeting the growing needs of our population and business community. How is Virginia harnessing our diverse solar, wind, coal, natural gas, and nuclear resources to ensure the Commonwealth's long term economic vitality?
 
Sustainability-Good For Business
We know that Virginia businesses are leading the way in developing new sustainability practices with a global impact. Every year, they find ways to use resources more efficiently and effectively. Businesses in Virginia devote millions of dollars annually to sustainability efforts that impact their communities. Business leaders will highlight how their organizations think about and practice sustainability across the board-and why it is good for their bottom line.
 
Threats to Resiliency in Virginia - How and What is Virginia doing?
Reliable energy and data infrastructure is essential for businesses. Threats to our infrastructure-whether from natural events or a man-made disasters such as a cyber-attack-have a major impact not only on the utility industries but on the businesses that rely on them. Resilient infrastructure not only enhances quality of life, but helps businesses operate more efficiently and reliably. This panel will highlight how Virginia companies are planning and responding to events that could disrupt energy supply and mitigating risks through policies, programs, and investments that provide for more secure and resilient energy and data infrastructure.

Pinnacle Sponsor
 
Platinum Sponsors
Diamond Sponsor

Presenting Law Firm
   



Interested in International Expansion? Take Advantage of VITAL!
The Virginia Chamber is proud to partner with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership on VITAL, the Virginia International Trade Alliance. As a VITAL partner, our member companies have access to steeply discounted rates for international market research as well as international trade shows and international trade missions facilitated through VEDP. 
 

Click below for more information:

If you or a company that you work with is interested in learning more about VITAL, please contact Samantha Quig, Corporate Communications Manager, at s.quig@vachamber.com or 804-237-1457.
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