Complete 2008 Position Statement

Apprenticeship Program Funding l Post-Secondary and PTE Funding l Repeal of Personal Property Tax 
Streamlined Sales Tax l Urban Renewal Agencies l Increased Transportation Funding
Inland Pacific Hub l North Idaho Water Adjudication l Community Health Center

To download a complete copy of the 2008 Legislative Agenda, click HERE

LEGISLATIVE PHILOSOPHY - The Chamber Board of Directors adopted the Policy Statements below after input from our members and considerable work by the Public Policy Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the Education Committee. They are intended to serve as guidelines or criteria by which the Chamber can evaluate its support or opposition to specific issues of public policy.

APPROPRIATIONS The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports government spending to the extent that the needs of Idahoans are best served, and the programs and institutions established and controlled by the various levels of government are maintained in a fiscally responsible manner.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce believes that the health of our federal, state, and local economies is critical to the quality of life in our community, and supports the development and implementation of prudent economic development programs and policies at the federal, state, and local levels.

EDUCATION The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports the establishment and maintenance of a system of education, both public and private, that prepares students to become successful contributors to society and that provides our citizens sufficient training opportunities to ensure skilled employees for our member businesses.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce believes that the role of government is to provide only those services that individuals and private enterprise do not adequately provide for the community. We further believe that policies, rules, and regulations should be limited to those necessary to preserve public safety, our quality of life, and the integrity of the free enterprise system.

HUMAN RESOURCES The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce believes the employer/employee relationship is best left to the parties involved and that both costs and benefits should be fully considered and balanced for any and all mandates imposed by government that affect that relationship.

HUMAN RIGHTS  The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce believes in the value to our community of all persons, regardless of their gender, race, creed, age, national origin, or religion and supports efforts to safeguard the rights granted to all people by our Constitution.

LEGAL  The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports a legal system that recognizes the importance of access to legal remedies and that promotes a predict able and stable legal climate.

NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT  The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports the sustainable use and enjoyment of our abundant natural resources, through responsible stewardship practices compatible with economic development and outdoor recreational opportunities in northern Idaho. Further, we believe that a collaborative, cooperative approach toward natural resource management, will not only conserve our resources for long-term use and enjoyment, but also will also protect and create jobs, and ultimately lead to maintaining a strong and diverse economy.

PUBLIC UTILITIES INFRASTRUCTURE  The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports quality utility services to ensure a clean environment for the present and future needs of community. Furthermore, the Chamber believes that appropriate and adequate utility infrastructure is fundamental for growth and economic development to occur in our communities and positively impacts the quality of life of our residents and visitors.

TAXATION  The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports a system of government taxation that is consistent, predictable, and equitable, and that ensures that the basic needs of the governed are served.

TRANSPORTATION The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce recognizes that safe and efficient transportation systems are the carriers of the lifeblood of our economy and supports an energetic program to improve and maintain North Idaho’s highways, waterways, railways, and airports.

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Education

Apprenticeship Program Funding For High School Students

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports appropriations that would fund an apprenticeship program grant for Idaho’s schools, enabling students to work in various trades while receiving equivalency credit.

Rationale: Numerous states, including Washington in 2007, have created apprenticeship grant programs that provide funding to local school districts to establish programs that enable students’ opportunities to work at local businesses in the trades, receiving school credit, and the skills necessary to continue in the profession on a first option basis into journeyman line of work. The Chamber believes this effort will ensure businesses continue to have a steady stream of skilled employees making up for current labor shortages. The nature of the program provides training at an earlier stage in students’ lives, engaging them with opportunities to invest in their own future.

Implementation of such a program is reliant on state funding to reach out to community members and to lay out the program structure. Additionally, efforts should be made by the state to standardize guidelines for such programs.

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Support Post-Secondary Education and PTE Funding

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce takes a holistic perspective on the educational system in Idaho supporting our schools from the primary level through all levels of post-secondary education so as to ensure the workforce needs of businesses in our state are met.

Rationale: All levels of post-secondary education are of great value to the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce. We deeply value the role of the community college system and professional technical education while not losing track of the needs in our state at producing citizens with advanced degrees.

Currently in our state there is a great need for increased Professional Technical Education funding to supply our state’s businesses with the employees they desperately need. From welders to nurses, Idaho businesses continue to face a sharp demand for a well-trained and reliable workforce. With unemployment at all-time lows across the state, businesses are relying on PTE programs to provide the skilled workforce they need. Additionally, an increase in funding now would enable our community college system to prepare for future economic downturns by having the infrastructure in place to re-train those looking for work.

An additional component to the Chamber’s focus on Education is the need for greater emphasis on educational attainment due to its role in economic development. Currently Idaho ranks 46th in the Nation in the number of college graduates. In North Idaho only 17% of adults have at least a college degree compared to 29% at the national level.

We will continue to advocate that adequate funds be provided so that all forms of secondary education opportunities are able to meet the diverse demands of Idaho’s businesses, ensuring a strong vibrant economy into the future.

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Tax Policies

Support the Repeal of the Personal Property Tax

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports the elimination of the personal property tax.

Rationale: Taxation on personal property is not only onerous for businesses to pay, but for government to collect. The process to report personal property is long and complicated, especially for small businesses. Personal property consists of items used by a business, such as furniture, machinery, tools, equipment, desks, chairs, file cabinets, computers, etc., all which must be reported.

The County Assessor assesses all personal property. Administration is complex; there are valuation disputes and the tax impact falls on one sector- business. Disputes emerge from the complicated nature of the issue. For instance tangible property is split by the State of Idaho into real estate and personal property. A home is real estate and an auto is personal property, though a buried irrigation line is real estate while a buried natural gas line is personal property. The difference depends on whether: 1) annexed to the ground, 2) adaptability and value, and 3) intent. Ultimately because of these complications, business and government alike spend large amounts of time tracking this tax, with the greatest impact being upon our State’s small businesses.

Because revenues from the personal property tax remain in the county where collected, the elimination of this tax will have the greatest impact on these local entities. We advocate that any elimination of the personal property tax keep counties, cities and other taxing districts whole. This can be accomplished through a phase-out of the tax that would shift state revenue to counties or through a one-time elimination capitalizing on the current budget surplus.

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Support Streamlined Sales Tax

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce believes that the state of Idaho should become a member state of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project so that sales and use taxes can be collected on sales made by remote sellers.

Rationale: Retailers doing business in multiple states find themselves having to abide by regulations that differ dramatically, which makes it impossible to levy and collect sales tax on sales on the Internet or by catalog sellers. This proposal would create a simpler, easier, and less expensive set of rules for retailers to collect sales tax. These changes would allow Idaho the ability to collect sales tax revenue on remote sales and save our state millions of dollars per year in lost revenue while at the same time level the playing field for local businesses who compete with remote sellers that are not collecting state sales tax. Additionally, with Idaho’s comparatively simple sales and use tax system, implementing the agreement’s provisions should be a manageable process.

Therefore, this Chamber supports the Streamlined Sales Tax Project and strongly urges its implementation.

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Support Sales Tax Reporting

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Area Chamber of Commerce supports the passage of legislation to improve the sales tax reporting method presently used by the Idaho State Tax Commission to allow more accurate reporting of collections in each county.

Rationale: Business people and elected officials in Kootenai County have long maintained that Idaho State Tax Commission sales tax statistics grossly under-report collections in the county. Currently, the tax commission allows businesses that operate in more than one county or are headquartered out of state to report collections in multiple-county or out-of-state categories. The ½-cent sales tax recently implemented by the county gives comprehensive proof that, under this method, Kootenai County’s collections are under-reported. Tax revenue from the ½-cent sales tax exceeds projections based on current state collection statistics by 25-50 percent.

Therefore, the Coeur d’Alene Chamber supports legislation that would create a sales tax collection reporting method that more accurately depicts collections in each county. We believe more accurate statistics will aid Kootenai County’s economic development efforts.

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Economic Development

Support Urban Renewal Agencies

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports the work of Urban Renewal Agencies in the state as an effective economic development tool. The Chamber will examine any future legislation to ensure that only reasonable legislation or that which enhances this tool are implemented. Conversely we will continue to advocate against any changes that would dismantle or unduly constrain URA’s effectiveness.

Rationale: During the 2007 Legislative Session a number of pieces of legislation were introduced that would have negatively altered Urban Renewal Agencies throughout the state. Among this legislation were bills that would have limited the ability of URA’s to modify and adjust plans. This would have been detrimental to the use of this economic development tool for the fact that any number of changing conditions over the course of the statutory lifespan of a URA can arise. With numerous multi-million dollar projects in the works and a litany of potential changes in economy, real estate, and demographics, the ability of URA’s to serve the communities in which they operate would be greatly diminished if prevented from adjusting their urban renewal plans.

Additionally, legislation was introduced that would have altered the governance structure of URA’s. Planning undertaken by URA’s has been statutorily given to an appointed board of commissioners; the Chamber believes this should remain true.

We therefore oppose any effort to transfer governance from this appointed board of commissioners to that of an elected board from throughout the county in which the URA exists. Historically elected boards have governed over taxing authorities; URA’s have no such taxing authority. Additionally, the boundaries of an Urban Renewal District are confined to a specified district within the whole of a county. We believe it is an unfair precedent to set in statute authorization for those outside the URA to be represented on the board of commissioners.

We do however recognize a need for some improvements. Unintentionally, funds from special levies are captured in part by URA’s which in turn creates a slightly increased tax burden for citizens. We support legislation that would remedy this error in the current legislation.

We will continue to monitor any additional legislation as it pertains to Urban Renewal Agencies and respond as warranted.

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Transportation

Support Increased Transportation Funding

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce recognizes a significant need to expand and improve the state’s road infrastructure network. To accomplish this, the Chamber proposes two methods to address this persistent need:

1.) Addressing the current annual budget shortfall through a combination of funding source increases, including registration fees, rental car fees, and sales tax on fuel at the distributor level.

2.) Continued support of the GARVEE program.

Rationale: Idaho is a large state with a small population that must pick up the tab on an expansive system of highways that bring connectivity to our communities. Keeping up with road and bridge maintenance and constructing/reconstructing new roads and bridges is a gigantic task especially under ever escalating construction costs and a finite budget insufficient in providing for the current needs of the state.

In order for the state to stay on track with its road construction and maintenance priorities efforts to make up for the annual projected shortfall of $245 million must be taken up immediately. Through statewide meetings the ITD board developed a list of potential funding sources including an increase in registration and rental car fees, a sales tax at the distributor level for fuel, and eliminating the ethanol tax credit among other options.

Though no legislation is currently proposed detailing specific courses of action, the Chamber supports the effort to address the road infrastructure needs in our state as long as the remediation does not unduly impact business and industry. Any proposal should only be considered after thorough analysis, weighing revenue predictions with potential negative impacts on the economy.

Additionally, the initiation of GARVEE bonding to put high priority and often very expensive projects on a fast track using bonds paid for with federal dollars is a better way to deal with needs bigger than annual dollars can cover.

The Chamber supports using GARVEE and recognizes that authority for this process must remain with the ITD Board and ITD professionals in order to minimize the political nature of choosing projects and disbursement of funds.

It is through these two courses of action, bridging the budget shortfall, and GARVEE funding that the transportation infrastructure needs our businesses are relying on can overcome the challenges posed by our growth currently being experienced by our state.

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Support Funding for the Study of an Inland Pacific Hub

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (KMPO) request for a $200,000 appropriation from the Idaho legislature for the study of the feasibility of developing a global trade gateway through eastern Washington and North Idaho.

Rationale: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce recognizes the fact that transportation is critical to the current and future economic growth of the region. With existing transportation systems and coastal ports starting to reach their practical capacity limits despite continued predictions for surges in international trade over the next decade, the concept of "inland ports" have been shown by KMPO research to be a viable next step by shipping companies and freight forwarders. The Inland Northwest currently has much of the basic infrastructure needed to support such a facility, with a Spokane and Kootenai Counties as a hub. Regional strengths include:

• Spokane International Airport is already growing in its international air cargo shipments.

• Geiger Rail Spur adjacent to the airport is being recon structed to provide efficient and reliable access for industry to transcontinental rail service.

• Access to two Class 1 railroads, bringing BNSF and Union Pacific new capacity and efficiencies cre ated through Bridging the Valley program.

• Huetter Road Bypass is currently being studied for right- of-way needs.

• North Spokane Freeway in now under construction.

• US 95 is being widened north from Lewiston, ID to Canada.

• Interstate 90 is receiving ongoing improvement in both Washington and Idaho.

• Dredging the Columbia and Snake Rivers is now under way to improve access to the seaport of Lewiston, ID.

• High-speed networks have been installed all over the region, and access to the national Gigapop network will soon be available.

Given the fact that Washington lawmakers have already shown support through appropriations at both the state and federal level, the Coeur d’Alene Chamber supports a $200,000 appropriation from the State of Idaho to match those contributions made by Washington to complete the funding necessary to study and develop a comprehensive integrated strategic plan for an Inland Pacific Hub to be completed.

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Natural Resources

Support North Idaho Water Adjudication

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports efforts to initiate the water adjudication process in North Idaho to ensure water rights in the Rathdrum Aquifer are dealt with.

Rationale: The North Idaho Water Adjudication process has value from two perspectives. First and most importantly, it will enable those of us in Kootenai County to officially and finally validate water rights and claims to the aquifer. This is important not only to establish existing rights but also to give us an idea of how much water has been allocated for future management of this resource.

Secondly, by authorizing this adjudication now, we will be able to take advantage of the resources and knowledge developed during the Snake River Plain Adjudication. By starting before the resources assembled for that adjudication are dispersed, we will be able to maximize the investment Idaho citizens have already made.

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Health Care

Community Health Centers Grant Funding

Position: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce supports the initiative from the Idaho Primary Care Association (IPCA) to secure capital funding for needed health care equipment at the 10 primary health care centers across the State.

Rationale: The business community recognizes that infrastructure development will further expand healthcare access. One-time infrastructure funding to support Idaho’s Community Health Centers is a fundamental step in developing a long-term solution to the problem of health care access. During the 2007 Legislative Session the grant program that would enable disbursement of funds to Community Health Centers was established but not funded. This year our organization requests funding for this program allowing Community Health Centers to address critical infrastructure and expand access to uninsured and underinsured Idaho residents.

The IPCA, representing Community Health Centers in Idaho, has prepared a policy brief detailing critical needs, including infrastructure development in the areas of information technology, equipment, and facility upgrades. The Chamber believes this is a cost effective solution that dramatically increases primary and preventive health care to Idahoans.

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