DETROIT, June 26, 2009 –Today, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s PAC announced their endorsement of several candidates in the upcoming 2009 August primary election. The endorsements include city council and mayoral candidates.

The following individuals will receive the chamber PAC’s endorsement: Jai Lee Dearing; Gary Brown; Fred Elliott Hall; Saunteel Jenkins; and Charles Pugh and incumbent Ken Cockrel, Jr. The chamber PAC also endorsed the current Mayor of the City of Detroit, David Bing for re-election in the primary.

“The chamber endorses these individuals because they represent accountable leadership and will bring integrity and respect back to the city council,” said Sarah Hubbard, vice president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber. “Chamber business leaders recognize these candidates as having experience, passion and dedication to moving the city of Detroit forward.”

The Detroit Regional Chamber PAC Board of Directors regularly meets to identify and support pro-business candidates and policies that support the chamber’s public policy priorities.

About the Detroit Regional Chamber

With over 20,000 members, that employ over three quarters of a million workers, the Detroit Regional Chamber is the largest chamber of commerce in the country. The chamber’s mission is carried out through business attraction efforts, advocacy, strategic partnerships and valuable benefits to members. For more information please visit, detroitchamber.com.

www.crcmich.org

April 22, 2009, Although federal stimulus funds can help balance the Michigan budget in Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010, they also create a real possibility of aggravating the ongoing structural deficit by permitting policy makers to postpone actions to bring long-term revenues and expenditures into balance. This is one of the findings of a new State Budget Note released by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

The State has been operating with a structural deficit, a deficit that will not be eliminated by a more buoyant economy, during the past decade. It has met the constitutional balanced budget requirement principally by using nonrecurring sources of income totalling over $8 billion over that period and has not solved the basic structural problem. Federal stimulus dollars, available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will provide the State with $7 billion, which will help in the short run, but which may make more difficult the resolution of the structural deficit.

ARRA, which is aimed at the cyclical downturn, will provide significant new funding, but:

• Will not be sufficient to prevent spending cuts
• Will mask the size of the cuts necessary to deal with the structural deficit
• Will not be available long enough see the state through the entire period of reduced revenues caused by the recession
• Will cause a revenue “cliff” when the additional federal funding expires

“Policy makers must take steps to assure that the FY2011 budget is not more difficult than it has to be,” said CRC Director of State Affairs, Craig Thiel. “While we won’t be turning down the federal stimulus funding, we can’t relax our efforts to eliminate the ongoing deficit.”

The Detroit Regional Chamber, applauds the Michigan House of Representatives for approving significant cuts to the Michigan Department of Corrections Budget. The chamber advocates for putting permanent steps in place to reduce the prison population by reforming and depoliticizing parole, creating a sentencing commission to study our sentencing structure and taking steps to decrease recidivism.

“The bill is a start but does not go far enough to cut administrative costs, further cuts should come not just in the form of right-sizing the prison population, but also maximizing taxpayers investment,” said Sarah Hubbard, vice president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber. “A ten percent reduction in costs for line items outside of prisons could result in an over $80 million in savings.”

This past Fall, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Board of Directors unanimously approved recommendations to the Corrections budget totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and taking the governor up on her commitment to provide relief from the 22% Michigan Business Tax surcharge in exchange for Corrections Reform; these recommendations are outlined on the chamber’s Web site.

Click here to take action!

A day after the Detroit City Council rejected the current Cobo Hall expansion plans, the Detroit Regional Chamber has announced its opposition to the resolution and its continued support for the agreement passed by the legislature in December.

“The current agreement represents years of negotiations and the need for sustained regional collaboration,” said Richard E. Blouse Jr., president & CEO. “If we fail as a community to move forward at this juncture, efforts to attract further business investment will ultimately fail.”

In response to City Council’s vote, the chamber reached out to nearly 6,000 of its Detroit-based members, urging them to contact Detroit City Council immediately about reconsidering their actions. The chamber also urged members to contact Mayor Cockrel, requesting he exercise his veto power against the city council’s action. The call to action included guidance to members to e-mail council members and the mayor about this issue.

The chamber’s holds its position of supporting the proposed Cobo Hall expansion plan because it will mean job retention for residents and also support the continued revitalization of the city of Detroit.

Go to www.vote4biz.com to take action. Send email to Detroit city officials to express your displeasure with their reluctance to move the Cobo Hall agreement forward.

Also, send an email to state legislators in support of structural reform which will restore fiscal health to the Michigan budget and allow repeal of the Michigan Business Tax Surcharge.

Sarah Hubbard, VP of Government Relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber to join hundreds of others to promote public benefits of freight rail.

Detroit, MI — Sarah Hubbard of the Detroit Regional Chamber and supporter of Growth Options for the 21st Century (Go21) will participate in a national railroad day on February 26, 2009.

The Detroit Regional Chamber is the nation’s largest Chamber of Commerce with over 20,000 members. The Chambers primary focus is on building regional cooperation and positioning the greater Detroit area as the place to do business. Ms. Hubbard said she decided to participate with Go21 in Railroad Day because of the importance of freight rail to the overall transportation network in Michigan and to help protect the nearly 4,500 jobs created by freight rail in Michigan. “The freight rail network connects Michigan to the nation and global markets. Federal regulations proposed in DC would restrict Michigan’s access to affordable and efficient rail transportation that our manufacturers rely upon” said Hubbard.

As part of the annual Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, Ms. Hubbard will join with hundreds of other rail advocates to deliver the message that moving more freight by rail provides tangible benefits to the public in terms of reduced fuel use, lowered emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, economic stimulus and highway congestion relief. This is the third year that Go21 has participated in the annual rail day event with the goal of demonstrating to Congress that rail transportation policy decisions affect more than just the rail industry. They have a major impact on the quality of life of all members of all Americans.

Founded in 2004, Go21 is a non-profit grass roots organization supported by more than 2,000 community leaders nationwide who agree that moving more of the nation’s freight by rail will benefit the public. Hubbard will be joining 25 other Go21 supporters in Washington on Railroad Day, where the group will be speaking out against legislation that would overturn existing regulations that hold freight railroads accountable while also allowing them to operate efficiently. They will also be supporting legislation that provides tax incentives for investments in rail revitalization and expansion.

This Wednesday, February 25 members of the Detroit Regional Chamber will
join our Government Relations team for a day of hands-on learning.
They’ll meet with lobbyists and legislators as well as tour the Capitol
in Lansing and learn tricks of the trade.

Watch this blog for more information about their experience.

BUSINESS LEADERS PREPARED TO TACKLE BUDGET HEAD ON
Gongwer
2/19/2009

Spurred on by urgency from business owners that say they are being
choked out by Michigan’s worsening economy and upside down spending
priorities, business groups said on Wednesday that they intend to be
“very aggressive” in the appropriations process from now on.

While chambers of commerce and other business development groups have
traditionally had a sparse presence in appropriations meetings tied to
specific issues, it became clear after the 2007 budget debacle and the
coinciding business tax surcharge that simply offering a defense for
business leaders wouldn’t suffice anymore, said Sarah Hubbard, vice
president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber of
Commerce.

The new strategy is one of offense, with several business groups
issuing proposals to trim billions from state spending, mostly in the
area of corrections and Medicaid and with suggestions to invest in
infrastructure and training that they say could help those businesses
that are “are hanging by a thread.”

Business groups said lawmakers must now take all of the ideas on the
table and have a real discussion about the state’s goals, placing a
higher price tag on the services it values most.

For instance, while the key to attracting businesses is offering a
great place to live with solid infrastructure and an educated workforce,
Michigan’s budget reflects a state that prioritizes corrections over
higher education, said Philip Power, president of The Center for
Michigan.

Rich Studley, president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said:
“there’s a tremendous disconnect between (families) at the dinner table
and the attitude in Lansing that we’re going to turn the corner next
year and push tough decisions to the future.”

One recent example that lawmakers may be out of step with the problems
many Michigan residents face is HB 4313, which would allow school
districts to raise property taxes to support sinking funds.

“This is the same House where Democrats have said they are concerned
about home foreclosures and Republicans have asked for tax relief for
homeowners,” said Mr. Studley. He said he plans to testify against the
bill at the House Education meeting scheduled for Thursday.

His message this week and from now on: “no new taxes without reforms.”

While business groups said they feel a lot of pressure from their
members to tackle policies that are making it increasingly difficult to
operate in Michigan, they also stressed that their feelings about
current initiatives aren’t all negative.

Governor Jennifer Granholm is moving in the right direction with her
cuts and with talks of reform, they said, adding, however, that despite
assurances otherwise, the budget has not been cut to its bare bones.

As for waiting it out with the help of federal stimulus money, Ms.
Hubbard said that would be the worst decision lawmakers could make.

“The stimulus package may plug holes in the budget and allow the
Legislature to delay inevitable cuts, but that will make it harder to
cut next year.”

The bottom line, business groups said: now is the time, while Michigan
is two years away from another election, to really attack structural
reform and take advantage of a crisis and sense of urgency.

If leaders wait another year, they said, “anger and frustration will
boil over.”

Click here: http://cli.gs/Rv2Jbh to get more information about registration, our current agenda and hotels.

This year you will:

• Learn how to be a part of Michigan’s transformation.
• Engage in discussions with CEOs from across the state who are making a difference to transform Michigan’s future.
• Hear real examples of innovation that are bringing positive change to our state.
• Share thoughts and ideas on how we can work together to reposition Michigan.
• Listen to speakers who will motivate you to think differently.

Nationally recognized for his impact on corporate America, legendary leadership skills and tell-it-like it is approach to business transformation, T. Boone Pickens  founder and chairman of BP Capital Management will provide inspiration, motivation and practices on how to make these possibilities a reality for Michigan.

Get complete details here.

Governor is taking a step in the right direction calling for spending reductions in reforms.  The business community would like to see bold reform in her upcoming budget message to the legislature.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will have a strong focus on alternative energy and transformation of Michiigan’s culture to do more to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy.  Vote4Biz has heard that she will propose ways for consumers to have more access to solar panels and other energy saving devices through a partnership with the state and utility companies.

She’ll also recommend moving Michigan’s wetlands programs to the federal government, along with reforms to the Michigan Department of Corrections (more details later on that one).