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| Mission and History |
MissionTo promote and advance a vital, healthy business environment. History
Governmental AffairsThe Chamber is active in the public policy debate within our state and our region. Working with the Maine State Chamber and other partners, our advocacy focuses on specific “issues of impact” that will affect our members: ISSUES OF IMPACT - 2011An important part of fulfilling the Chamber’s mission, “To promote and advance a vital, healthy business environment” involves advocating for public-policy that will help our region prosper and grow.Rather than reacting to what policy-makers propose, the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce seeks to define its agenda and bring it forward.“Issues of Impact” outlines the policies that the Chamber believes will most help its members. Drafted in the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee, the document was endorsed by the Chamber’s Board of Directors.As 2011 unfolds, Issues of Impact will inform and guide the Chamber’s officers and committee members as they advocate on behalf of the Bangor Region business community.Special thanks are due to Rod Black and Arthur Comstock, co-chairs of the Governmental Affairs Committee, for their stewardship in creating this document, as well as those members of the Committee who helped to draft its various provisions. TAXESThe tax burden on Maine businesses is too high, and the tax structure here discourages growth. Despite this growing consensus, tax reform has been a difficult policy topic, mostly because structural changes always produce winners and losers and can therefore be intensely unpopular with some constituencies. But Maine cannot continue with an outdated and anti-growth system of taxation.To that end, the Chamber supports:• No increase in, and ideally a reduction of, the overall tax burden for Maine people and businesses.• Tax policies that encourage regionalization of local services.• A lower income tax.• Tax reform that will reduce the volatility of tax revenues.• Examination of the affordability and structure of state retirement benefits. ENERGYThe Chamber endorses an energy policy that makes paramount the goal of lowering the cost of power and fuel. With this as a priority, it also makes sense to pursue strategic investments in alternative energy. And policy makers should bear in mind that many, though not all, conservation initiatives can be the least expensive means for meeting our energy needs.To this end, the Chamber supports:• Collaboration with Canadian energy suppliers and the creation of an energy corridor through Maine – provided Maine businesses gain access to cheaper power as a result.• Regulatory reforms that lower transmission and delivery costs for business.• Research and development of offshore wind generation, bio-fuel manufacturing technologies and geothermal systems.• Development and deployment of energy conservation and efficiency techniques and strategies, including the Efficiency Maine Trust and corresponding education efforts.HEALTHCAREThe passage of national health care reform should prompt the state to conduct a comprehensive review of policies governing health care delivery, insurance and wellness.The Chamber supports the following priorities in that review:• Maximizing federal financial support of key initiatives, including: help for small businesses in their efforts to provide affordable coverage, development of health care information systems and the development of new health-care delivery models that focus on patient wellness rather than fee-for-service billing.• More focused attention on rural needs within the state’s Health Plan.• A hard look at the usefulness of the DirigoChoice insurance program in light of new federal policies.• A Certificate of Need process that controls costs, but also allows each proposed addition to our health care infrastructure to rise and fall on its own merits.• A careful study of the long-term care and behavioral-health delivery systems.• A strong focus on wellness and public health, including the integration of the Healthy Maine Partnership model more thoroughly with public, private and nonprofit organizations and the creation of a tax credit for employer wellness programs.• Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the community rating and guaranteed-issue regulations now in place.EDUCATIONEducational opportunity and achievement are essential to the region’s economic health and quality of life. Without an educated workforce with the skills to compete globally, the region cannot succeed.To that end, the Chamber supports: • Strategies aimed at enhancing access to higher education, including additional financial aid as well as transfer agreements between the Maine Community College System and four-year institutions. • Making funding for the University System, Community Colleges and Maine Maritime Academy a priority. • A detailed analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the University System, Community College System and Maine Maritime Academy, with the goal of finding structural efficiencies.• A detailed analysis of the cost-effectiveness of K-12 education systems in the state and an emphasis on “best practices” among Maine K-12 schools.• An analysis of the educational and financial returns on recent public school consolidation efforts and the development of next steps in that process.• Expansion of early childhood education programs. BROADBAND DEVELOPMENTBroadband capacity is now a critical component to economic development and is emerging as a strength within the region. This technology holds the promise of eliminating geography as a concern with respect to our economic growth. Further, the industry mix here – research labs, factories, educational institutions and biomedical firms – is such that strong broadband connections are a necessity for the Bangor Region to be successful.The Chamber supports:• Efforts to leverage our assets to bring “data centers” to our region.• Economic development strategies that target companies with a high demand for bandwidth.• Public policies and investments that will allow for greater penetration of high-speed broadband in our market, especially ultra-high-speed connections used by technology companies. TRANSPORTATIONTransportation is a key component of economic growth, and as such the Chamber supports making investment in our transportation infrastructural a priority. Maine’s geographic location and strong relationship with Canada make the state a critical partner in the economic well-being of the region known as Atlantica, a relationship that depends on good transportation links.Therefore, the Chamber supports:• The permanent elimination of the 80,000-pound truck weight limit on Maine Interstate highways. The lifting of the limit on a trial basis has been a clear success.• The development of a major east-west transportation link through Maine.• The development of the Sears Island cargo port and further development of the Port of Eastport.• The expansion of air service to and from Bangor International Airport.• The preservation and expansion of a commercial freight rail system in the region, including the system serving Aroostook County. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTThe future of the Bangor Region’s economy is tied closely to investments in research and development and should be advanced by productive public-private partnerships. Successful applications of R&D are found throughout our region and cut across all industries, from healthcare and construction, to energy and manufacturing. The Chamber strongly urges continued focus on and investment in R&D and strongly supports:• Execution of the state’s science plan calling for “an environment where science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship stimulate Maine’s economy.” The Chamber supports the plan’s goal of R&D activity equal to 3 percent of gross state product by 2015.• Working with local, state and federal governments as well as private investors to secure capital funding and infrastructure supporting research and development.• Public/private partnerships that aid in commercializing new technologies, including venture capital and the business expertise. REGIONAL COLLABORATIONRegional collaboration offers the opportunity to use public, private and nonprofit resources more effectively, but Maine’s long tradition of local control places a high value on local-decision making. In the recent past, the Chamber has been part of some successful regional collaborations, mostly notably with its participation in the Mobilize Maine economic development effort. Other local efforts have met with less success. But the possibilities for regionalization remain tantalizing.Therefore, the Chamber supports:• A continued emphasis on regional, public-private economic development efforts, including the creation of a shared vision among those entities looking to grow the economy of the Bangor Region.• Better collaboration among higher education institutions in our region.• Cooperative efforts among regional health care providers to reduce overhead and further community wellness.• Efforts by local governments to seek collaborations, affiliations, and where feasible, consolidation of services – even those services seen as the traditional province of municipalities. HOUSINGThe Chamber regards housing as a critical social and economic issue directly affecting economic development. The collapse of the housing market over the past year demonstrates how closely tied this issue is to our general prosperity. By encouraging the creation of affordable housing and by achieving higher home ownership rates, the community creates a more stable workforce and enhances quality of life. The Chamber supports the following to advance these goals:• Affordable housing initiatives from the Legislature and Maine State Housing Authority that focus on assistance for low-income families and first-time homebuyers.• Review of land-use and other policies at the local and state level that contribute to high development costs.• Banking regulations that support sound mortgage lending practices.• Strategies that allow seniors to stay in their homes longer.
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