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An integral component of the Chamber's mission is to communicate the views of the business community to our elected officials. The public policy department identifies, prioritizes and recommends policy to our Board of Directors for those issues that affect our local economy, business environment and our quality of life in Tampa and Hillsborough County.
Monitoring Government:
By monitoring state and federal government activities for any items that may have an impact on our business membership, the Chamber is able to assess issues, take appropriate board approved positions and then communicate our position to elected officials so that they can take action.
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Position Development:
Issues are either identified by Public Policy Staff, Members, or Committees of the Chamber, positions are developed by gathering available information regarding an issue, and then presenting the pro and con perspectives to the Public Policy Committee for discussion and recommendation of a position. The recommended position is presented to the executive committee and ultimately to the Board of Directors for approval.
Communication Methods:
The Chamber communicates our message with several different methods. The methods are:
- Annual Legislative Agenda: The Legislative Agenda is composed annually as a broad listing of chamber positions on state and federal issues. The issues span the business spectrum of Transportation, Education & Workforce Development, Taxes, Insurance, Economic Development, and many more topics. This Agenda is communicated to our state and federal officials at the beginning of every year. It is amended over the course of the year as issues arise.
- Direct Communication: The Public Policy Chair, Designated Members and Chamber Staff will contact and/or meet with the appropriate elected officials in order to present the Chamber's position on various issues.
- Signed Position Letter: The Chamber will create letters that state our position on an issue. We then send that letter to all concerned parties via fax, email and hard copy, then staff follows up with a phone call to alert the officials to the position that the Chamber has taken.
- Call to Action Email: The "Call to Action Email" is sent out to the entire Chamber Membership for the purpose of sending a mass response to elected officials and concerned parties in order to express our members support for issues that are very important to them. Simply click on the Call to Action Email and it will formulate an out-going email from each member to be sent to the elected officials.
- Joint quarterly Meetings with Tampa City Council and the Board of County Commissioners: The Executive Committee of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce hosts joint quarterly meetings with the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners in order to keep an open dialogue between the Chamber, the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
2008 Public Policy Co-Chairs
Chuck Black (Tampa Electric Company) & Mike Griffin (Vertical Integration, Inc.)
The Public Policy Chair meets monthly and as needed with the Public Policy Committee, which is composed of Public Policy Subcommittee Chairs (hyperlink to Committees) and Chamber Policy Advisors in order to make recommendations to the Executive Committee and to the Board of Directors.
For more information contact the Director of Public Policy
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