The Hammond Chamber hosted its 2nd Annual Legislative Hobnob and it was a great success. We invited neighboring chambers and organizations in Tangipahoa parish to participate and gave them a chance to present their priorities to the northshore delegation. This event is just one of the many ways we try to get everyone in Tangipahoa parish involved and it also gives us a great opportunity to let our northshore delegation know what’s important to us and what we would like them to concentrate their efforts on in the 2010 Legislative Session.
We all know that these are challenging times and depending upon who you ask – we have a depression/recession in full swing and more state budget cuts are looming on the horizon. Not in spite of, but rather, because of those factors, there was a need for the Hammond Chamber to continue and enhance its presence in the legislative arena. We challenged the Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Erin Cowser, to become more engaged and work toward greater education of members and greater advocacy on behalf of those same members. In order to accomplish this mission, the group once again polled our membership to determine the Hammond Chamber’s legislative priorities for 2010. These priorities meld with the Chamber’s overall mission to strengthen the business climate, promote community development and enhance the economic vitality of the Hammond community within Tangipahoa Parish. Below are the Hammond Chamber’s priorities that were presented to the northshore delegation at the Legislative Hobnob:
First, the issue of responsible state budget practices – the ongoing protected vs. unprotected funding debate – holds tremendous impact on Tangipahoa because two of our largest employer industries are higher education and healthcare. We urged the legislators to make the politically tough decisions now that will benefit our parish, our region and our state for years to come.
Secondly, we encouraged the legislators to hold true to intelligent and thoughtful reform of higher education while providing the necessary support so those efforts can succeed and grow. We cannot afford to cripple our universities’ ability to create the human capital to meet the needs of an ever-expanding knowledge-based economy. Nor can we ignore the needs of a rapidly growing technical college system. Both will be instrumental to meeting the demands of our regional workforce and, therefore, Tangipahoa’s business community.
Third, as mentioned above, healthcare is critical to the economic success of Hammond. We asked the legislators to make every effort to mitigate the crippling budgetary constraints that continue to plague the healthcare industry. We asked them to find ways to adequately support this industry so it can partner with the education community and the healthcare and allied health workforce needs of our region.
Fourth, redistricting has become a popular buzzword across the state, region and especially in Tangipahoa. We asked the legislators to keep us informed of the process and how it can impact the local business community. In turn, we promised to become engaged in the process and provide you with the concerns and comments of our membership.
Last, but certainly, not least, we asked the legislators to continue the recent strides made in coalition building along the I-12 corridor and across the northshore. We realize there is strength in numbers and that together we are stronger. We promised to do our part to foster partnerships through events such as North Shore Focus on April 14 at the State Capitol, and let them know we will depend on their leadership to help marshal the collective strengths of their constituents across the region.
In a nutshell — we advised that we will focus our efforts on restricted vs. unrestricted budget reform, higher education and healthcare support, redistricting and coalition building.
I would like to thank Senator A.G. Crowe, Senator Jack Donahue, Representative Greg Cromer, Representative Kevin Pearson, Representative Steve Pugh and Representative Scott Simon for taking the time out of their busy schedules to participate in the Hammond Chamber’s 2nd Annual Legislative Hobnob to hear what’s important to us!
To find out more about the Hammond Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee please visit our website at www.hammondchamber.org or contact the office at 985.345.4457.