Government Affairs Committee

Steve Simmons – Government Affairs Committee Chair

What is the Government Affairs Committee?
The Government Affairs Committee is a broad-based committee, appointed by the Board of Trustees, representing the sectors of the Chamber’s membership.

The Government Affairs Committee meets the first Wednesday of the month at 4 pm at the Tri-Cities Business & Visitor Center inside the Energy Solutions Conference Room.

Objectives:
1) To serve as the voice of business at all levels of government to include monitoring, drafting and advocating for legislative issues and concerns.

2) To ensure that legislative decisions taken positively impact our member’s businesses, allowing them to prosper and grow.

3) The Committee recommends policy positions on local, state and federal issues to the Executive Board after the appropriate input from members and other stakeholders. The Executive Board has three options:

- Affirm the position,

- Overturn the position, or

- Send the position back to the Government Affairs Committee.

If the Executive Board affirms the committees’ recommendations, it will then send their recommendation to the Board of Trustees for action at the Board level.

How do I get the Government Affairs Committee to hear my issue?
Chamber members will provide the Government Affairs Committee with a “Request for Chamber Involvement” application with specific details on the issue. The Committee will take action (support, oppose, no action) on issues based upon the following rationale:

How does the issue directly and indirectly affect the region’s business climate?

If the issue is industry specific, how does it affect the Tri-Cities region’s economy as a whole?

How will the Chamber’s involvement affect the issue and/or its resolution?

How does the issue promote the need for aggressive, sustainable, and responsible economic growth?

For more information, contact the Regional Chamber at 509.736.0510 or info@tricityregionalchamber.com.