2016 commerce lexington inc. policy statements

2016

LEGISLATIVE FOCUSPublic Policy Statements

POLICY COUNCIL CHAIR MESSAGE

CARLA BLANTONOUTGOING CHAIRCOMMERCE LEXINGTON INC.PUBLIC POLICY COUNCIL

CARLA BLANTON CONSULTING

Business leaders are often too busy attracting investments and creating jobs to focus largeamounts of time on monitoring legislation and regulations, analyzing their effect and advocat-ing for their passage, defeat or modification.But, the impact of government is too important to ignore. You can’t turn on a light switch,

car ignition or computer without being touched by government. So, it’s essential that policy-makers appreciate how businesses work and flourish, and, in turn, that you have someone inyour corner who understands how policy is made and enacted.

That’s why Commerce Lexington Inc. and its Public Policy Council gather the top expertsin a variety of industries, harness that knowledge, and advocate for you in the halls of our stateCapitol or the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to create a more business-friendlyenvironment. Each year, we work with you – our members – to identify issues affecting the business com-

munity and spotlight the best public policy solutions. But, that is just the beginning of ourwork. Then, we put boots on the ground in Lexington and Frankfort to be your champion andyour watchdog.

Our strong working relationships with local, state and federal officials mean that you willbe well-represented and your voice will be magnified by the 1,700-plus members on whose be-half we speak.

Please take a few moments to review the legislative agenda for Commerce Lexington Inc.as we work to help shape legislation and regulations that will enhance the success of our chil-dren, our workforce and our job creators.

2 LEGISLATIVE FOCUS: 2016 PUBLIC POLICY STATEMENTS

Commerce Lexington Inc.'s Public Policy Council is the bricks, mortar andlabor that make the structure that is Commerce Lexington's Public Policyeffort. The council members and chair are all volunteers and represent avariety of non-profit, local government, large and small businesses, edu-cation groups and utilities representing a broad spectrum of CommerceLexington's 1,700 member companies. The Council's Chairman is ap-pointed annually by the Chair of the Board of Commerce Lexington.

The Public Policy Council meets monthly May through December and es-tablishes the agenda for Commerce Lexington for the upcoming session.During these meetings, the Council hears from a variety of groups, non-profits and businesses that want to join Commerce Lexington in advocat-ing for their positions in Frankfort and Washington.

After the Public Policy Council approves the policy statements, the posi-tions are then approved by Commerce Lexington's Executive Board. Onceapproved, the statements are published annually in Commerce LexingtonInc.'s “Legislative Focus.” Copies of the agenda are distributed to all of

Commerce Lexington Inc.'s members, all 138 members of the GeneralAssembly and the Governor's Office.

In the heat of a Legislative Session, there are always important and timelylegislative issues and bills that arise. When the Public Policy Council isasked to weigh-in on legislation, emergency meetings take place for theCouncil to take up the legislation and create Commerce Lexington's po-sition. The position is then presented to the Executive Board for approvalif time allows.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:To find out more about Commerce Lexington Inc.’s Public Policyprocess, its positions or stances on specific issues, or pieces of legis-lation being watched in government, contact Commerce LexingtonInc.’s chief lobbyist, Andi Johnson, at (859) 226-1614 [email protected].

PUBLIC POLICY PROCESS

REPRESENTING YOUR BUSINESS IN GOVERNMENT

LEGISLATIVE FOCUS: 2016 PUBLIC POLICY STATEMENTS 3

r Actively monitors all legislative activity from Urban County Govern-ment, the Kentucky General Assembly and the U.S. House and U.S. Sen-ate.

r Extensive lobbying efforts for small and large businesses, non-profitsand education groups at a local, state and federal level.

r Extensive lobbying and monitoring of legislative and ordinance activitywith the LFUCG Council and the Mayor's Office - a product only a localchamber can provide.

rMonitors all Kentucky Administrative Regulations and actively partici-pates in opposing regulations that negatively affects business.

r Monitor and participates in critical environmental activity includingthe E.P.A./LFUCG Consent Decree and air and water quality regulationsat a local, state and federal level.

r Participates in legislative and legal coalitions, submitting letters, filinglegal briefs, and testifying on behalf of business with pending court casesor at committee meetings.

r Weekly e-mail updates during Legislative Sessions to all CommerceLexington Inc. members communicating important bills and action thatimpacts the bottom line for area businesses.

r Creates numerous networking opportunities throughout the year forChamber members to interact with our local, state and federal delegationand their staff to communicate the needs of Central Kentucky Businesses.

rOrganizes an annual regional Washington Fly-In to take the needs andconcerns of Central Kentucky's businesses to Washington.

Commerce Lexington Inc. Public Policy Council:Dennis AndersonAnderson Communities

Rusty AshcraftAlliance Coal

Kevin AtkinsOffice of Lexington Mayor Jim Gray

Bob BabbageBabbage Cofounder

Carla Blanton, 2015 Policy Council ChairCarla Blanton Consulting

Tony BonnerDinsmore

Patrick BrewerLexmark International, Inc.

Stuart BrownHagyard Medical Institute

Steve ByarsUniversity of Kentucky

JD ChaneyKentucky League of Cities

Rick ChristmanEmployment Solutions, Inc.

Ray DanielsLexiDan Foods/Waffle House

Greg DixonSMART Recycling Management

Rob EdwardsUK HealthCare

Bill EmrickHoskins Law Offices

David Freibert, 2016 Policy Council ChairKU-LG&E

Gina GreathouseCommerce Lexington Inc.

Chad HarpoleCentury Aluminum

Andy HaymakerHaymaker Development Company

Stephen HillenmeyerStephen Hillenmeyer Landscape Services

Jay Ingle Jackson Kelly PLLC

Todd JohnsonHomebuilders Association of Lexington

Patrick KealBig Ass Fans

Susan LanchoKentucky American Water

Eric LycanDinsmore

Doug MartinSturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC

Barry MayfieldEast Kentucky Power Cooperative

Kristin MeadorsKentucky Distillers Association

Herb MillerColumbia Gas of Kentucky

Chauncey MorrisKentucky Thoroughbred Association

David MossKentucky Coal Association

Rob MuddAzur Restaurant & Catering

David OwenDickinson Wright PLLC

Stewart PerryPerry and Perry/State Farm Insurance

Bob QuickCommerce Lexington Inc.

Mary Quinn RamerVisitLEX

Robert RiggsRiggs Sales Service, Inc.

David RoyseStoll Keenon Ogden PLLC

Ed SaunierNorth American Van Lines

Julie SchmidtKentucky Education Television

Scott SmithSmith Management Group

David SwitzerKentucky Thoroughbred Association

Judy TaylorKeeneland Association

Darryl ThompsonFayette County Public Schools

Billy Van PeltBilly Van Pelt Consulting - Government Relations

Ashli WattsKentucky Chamber of Commerce

Ellen WilliamsMMLK Government Solutions

EDUCATION


Commerce Lexington believes that education is one of the most important functions of state governmentand therefore urges policymakers to make education funding a top priority. Having a highly educated andcapable workforce is essential to attracting new business and retaining existing business and industry.Increasing educational attainment at all levels enhances the social fabric, quality of life, and promoteseconomic opportunity for the community, as well as those looking to locate a business in the region.

FOCUS ON:Workforce DevelopmentA skilled workforce is the number one concern for busi-nesses in Central Kentucky. Lack of qualified human cap-ital prevents business expansion, economic investmentsand job creation. It is important to develop a talentpipeline with the necessary technical and professionalskills to meet the needs of employers in the region. There-fore, a top priority of Commerce Lexington through itspartnership with the Business and Education Network(BEN) is to identify current and future workforce needs ofthe region, and to develop a strategic plan to addressthose needs through collaborative partnerships betweenstakeholders in the community.

The federal and state workforce investment programs areimportant components to providing a highly skilled andeducated workforce in Central Kentucky. Commerce Lex-ington supports aligning and improving existing trainingprograms through local partnerships with employers, ed-ucators, administrators, community organizations andtraining providers to better meet skills gap needs of thebusiness community. Commerce Lexington supportscontinued reforms to the workforce training system thatensure funding is properly allocated to initiatives thatdemonstrate the best possible return on investment.Commerce Lexington also supports reforms that track thesuccess of the workforce training system and its partici-pants.

Federal legislation, such as The Workforce Innovation andOpportunity Act (WIOA) passed the United States Con-gress in July 2014, has taken positive steps towardstrengthening workforce training efforts by streamliningprograms, reducing burdensome mandates, providinggreater state flexibility, promoting skills training for in-de-mand jobs, and pushing for increased accountability andtransparency over the use of taxpayer dollars. However,additional steps need to be taken at the state and locallevel to ensure federal and state training dollars are beingused efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of localemployers.

Commerce Lexington Inc. encourageslawmakers to review, and if needed,amend the existing policies to:

Strengthen collaborative partnerships•among key local stakeholders.

Establish procurement guidelines for local•workforce investment boards, Local ElectedOfficial (LEO) board and all contract partiesto eliminate conflicts of interests.

Promote greater transparency and•accountability over spending practices andprogram outcomes for local workforceinvestment boards, Local Elected Official(LEO) board and all contract parties.

EDUCATION


Adult EducationCommerce Lexington fully supports the development of effectivepublic/private partnerships focused on addressing adult education andretraining needs. We support priority investments that address theunique needs of adults who need to gain literacy and math skills, a GEDand workforce skills simultaneously by:

Identifying adult education needs.•Actively encouraging individuals to participate in adult education and•literacy programs.Taking deliberate steps to provide easier access to available pro-•grams.Supporting the full funding of the Kentucky Skills Network and•adding more flexibility for eligible adults.

Fayette County Public SchoolsCommerce Lexington is encouraged by and supports the development ofa Novice Reduction Plan to guide the improvement efforts of FayetteCounty Public Schools (FCPS) over the next five years to enhance studentachievement. The business community is committed to working withFCPS in efforts aimed at closing the achievement gap by reducing thenumber of students scoring at the novice level, and making FCPS a top10 school district in Kentucky. Driven by the work of Professional Learn-ing Communities in the areas of Student Achievement, Student Engage-ment, Staff Engagement, Family Engagement and CommunityEngagement, the Novice Reduction Plan will help focus the district on keystrategic priority areas: Standards, Curriculum, and Instruction; Learning,Culture, and Environment; and, Continuous Improvement, Assessmentthat will be regularly monitored and reflected in district budget planningin order to achieve the ultimate mission of creating a collaborative com-munity that ensures all students achieve at high levels and graduate pre-pared to excel in a global society.

Creating & Maintaining School LeadersCommerce Lexington fully supports all efforts that help increase studentachievement through training for well-prepared school superintendents,principals, teachers and other instructional staff. Superintendents musthave the authority to make or participate in critical personnel decisionsin schools; particularly, in persistently low performing schools. Basic lead-ership skills and ongoing professional development are critical leadershipattributes for principals to become effective leaders within our schoolsstatewide. Teachers must be held accountable for instructional strategiesand practices that yield student achievement results in the classroom Wemust look at competitive pay for our teachers, including innovative formsof differentiated compensation which would reward teachers based onperformance and the achievement levels of students.

Family & Community EngagementParental and community engagement is a critical component to academicachievement. Recognizing that not all children have an effective adult ad-vocate, Commerce Lexington backs innovative approaches to facilitatecollaboration toward common goals such as the efforts of the One Com-munity, One Voice Achievement and Closing the Gap Community Com-mittee. Their inclusive efforts to identify measurable goals andaccountability strategies will help move the Fayette County Public Schooldistrict towards closing the achievement gap by reducing the number ofstudents scoring at the novice level among all students, while raising over-all student achievement.

Quality Education InvestmentsCommerce Lexington urges policymakers to make education funding atop priority in the budget process. We support quality investments in ourchildren’s education and oppose using local school district’s reservefunds to balance the State Level General Fund. Commerce Lexington fullysupports any and all investments in early childhood education includingquality preschool and an equitable, full-day kindergarten programstatewide to achieve school readiness. Commerce Lexington supports theGeneral Assembly increasing the number of school days closer to the na-tional average of 180 days, and the international average of 193 days.Commerce Lexington opposes the state mandating a local school districtscalendar.

Commerce Lexington fully supports the lifelong educational programmingand work KET delivers to schools and the public. Through technology,KET provides access, equity, and quality educational resources focusedon student achievement and teacher preparedness. In addition, KET playsa key role in assisting Kentuckians with less than a high school educationwith receiving their GED.

Support Implementation of Collegeand Career Readiness ProgramsCommerce Lexington continues to support the education initiatives es-tablished by SB 1 (2009) including a mandate for the Kentucky Councilon Postsecondary Education (CPE), the Kentucky Board of Education(KBE), and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to develop aunified strategy to reduce college remediation rates of recent high schoolgraduates and to increase the college completion rates of students en-rolled in one or more remedial classes by three percent annually.

Commerce Lexington supports four key strategies to promote college andcareer readiness and degree completion:

Accelerated Learning Opportunities focused on the expansion of•AP/IB access and dual credit opportunities.Secondary Intervention Programs focused on the development of•transitional coursework.College and Career Readiness Advising focused on the full imple-•mentation of the Individual Learning Plan and comprehensive advis-ing programs.Postsecondary College Persistence and Degree Completion focused•on bridge programming, accelerated learning opportunities, and stu-dent support and intervention systems.

Support Common Core State StandardsCommerce Lexington supports the implementation of Common CoreState Standards (CCSS) to promote college and career readiness. Thestandards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, re-flecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for successin college and careers. With Kentucky students fully prepared for the fu-ture, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfullyin the global economy.


STEM Critical to CompeteCommerce Lexington supports legislative and local district efforts to increasegraduates in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)disciplines to meet the ever-growing needs of employers. Commerce Lex-ington believes Kentucky students should be challenged at all educationallevels and provided the instruction they need to succeed in the new globaleconomy. Improving academic achievement of all students can be done byencouraging rigorous and relevant courses and experiences. Critical to Ken-tucky’s ability to compete in the global economy is a commitment to increas-ing the focus on STEM in our schools through learning opportunities thatprovide enrichments and exposures in aviation and aeronautics; agriculture,and related agri-science; computer and informational sciences; health care,biotechnology and biomedical sciences to name a few. Commerce Lexingtonalso supports utilization of secondary career and technical education pro-grams comprised of project-based learning to further this goal. An increasedfocus on STEM disciplines, however, does not mean the exclusion of artsand social sciences curricula.

Financial LiteracyCommerce Lexington supports the inclusion of “Financial Literacy” edu-cation in Central Kentucky’s school classrooms. This training can beachieved through traditional curriculum development or through private-public initiatives such as Junior Achievement of the Bluegrass partnershipwith the Fayette County Public Schools. Financial literacy programs in-troduce students to important life skills and concepts such as budgeting,banking, understanding the difference between debit and credit cards,using credit responsibly and financial planning, as well as investmentssuch as stocks, bonds and other securities. In addition to providing stu-dents with a skill set essential for a successful future, Commerce Lexing-ton believes that financial literacy education in our schools is imperativeto training a future workforce that is an attractive local resource for newbusiness and economic development.

EDUCATION

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

Commitment to ResearchCommerce Lexington supports investments in the research capacity ofUK for building and enhancing the laboratory, office and classroom facil-ities needed to attract and house top-flight faculty and researchers. Com-merce Lexington supports the Research Challenge Trust Fund ("Bucks forBrains") and applauds the General Assembly who provided the universi-ties added flexibility to use state and matching funds to build researchspace for cutting edge laboratories and equipment. Commerce Lexingtonalso encourages the General Assembly to make additional appropriationsfor research at the state’s research universities. Creating a critical massof scholars in high potential focus areas will bolster recruitment and re-tention of outstanding research faculty and staff in both targeted and re-lated disciplines, increase federal and extramural research funding,accelerate translation of discoveries from technological development tocommercial utility, and support economic development and improvedquality of life in Kentucky. Commerce Lexington supports the request for$8 million for UK to create and enhance Centers for Research Excellence.The funds will be used to hire and retain clusters of prominent researchfaculty and staff in focus areas that address important state needs.

University of KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky recognized in 1997 that states with Top20 public research universities have healthier, more prosperous citizens.Commerce Lexington recognizes the role that UK plays in education,health care and economic development for Lexington and all of Kentucky.As UK’s state appropriation is $55 million a year less than it was in 2008,Commerce Lexington supports UK and it encourages the General Assem-bly to appropriate an increase of $28.4 million of operating funds, or10.1%, for UK for the 2016-18 biennium according to the new Perform-ance Funding Model adopted by the Council on Postsecondary Education(CPE). If the University achieves the performance targets established byCPE, the funds would be added to the University’s base state appropria-tion and become recurring.

Enhance Technical Skills TrainingMany Central Kentuckians need access to skills training including incumbentworkers, those seeking jobs or updated skills, and high school students plan-ning for careers. Commerce Lexington supports the Kentucky Communityand Technical College System (KCTCS) and Bluegrass Community and Tech-nical College (BCTC) which serves the Central Kentucky region in their effortsto work with local businesses to enhance technical skills training and “workready” employees. Additionally, Commerce Lexington believes it is criticalthat high school students who choose the technical training career path haveaccess to grants and other financial assistance.

University CapitalThe University of Kentucky is in the process of transforming its campus inways that will better enable students to learn and engage, researchers to dis-cover and clinicians to treat. This transformation has occurred through part-nerships, innovative financing and substantial investment from friends of theUniversity. Now that much-needed new facilities are under construction, theUniversity must turn its attention to renewing and modernizing the buildingsthat make up the core of central campus. By rehabilitating and renovatingthese facilities that average 50 years of age, UK can preserve its heritage, con-serve energy, make facilities more accessible, and prepare for more efficientand effective teaching and learning. Commerce Lexington supports UK in itsrequest for a pool of funds, $125M in state bonds and $125M in agencybonds (debt issued by UK and paid for by UK), to rehabilitate, renovate andmodernize academic buildings in the core of campus.

KCTCS / BCTCThe Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) pro-vides one of the best returns on the investment for post-secondary edu-cation in Kentucky. The credit hour costs and student debt levels uponcompletion from KCTCS are the lowest in the commonwealth for institu-tions of higher education. Additionally, KCTCS has taken on an aggressivecampaign to improve all KCTCS programs with the Transformation Ini-tiative. Commerce Lexington urges the Kentucky General Assembly tosupport the continued development of KCTCS – and specifically its Cen-tral Kentucky affiliate, Bluegrass Community Technical College (BCTC),to increase access to higher education and improve workforce training.

Protect Kentucky's EconomyCommerce Lexington urges local, state and federal officials to support effortsto maintain the production of affordable, reliable energy for business andresidents. Kentucky’s abundant supply of coal has provided the state withsome of the lowest electricity rates in the nation – a definite competitiveadvantage in the creation and retention of jobs in all sectors.

However, federal regulations imposed by the U.S. EPA will disproportionatelyaffect Kentucky’s economy. Commerce Lexington urges all public officials –both appointed and elected – to collectively oppose any legislation orregulations that would serve to increase the state’s electricity rates at anaccelerated pace and place Kentucky’s businesses at an economicdisadvantage in the global marketplace. If fully implemented, these regulationson emissions, electricity generating facilities that use coal, and new regulationson Kentucky’s mining industry could increase Kentucky's electricity rates by40 percent within the next five years and serve to destabilize Kentucky’seconomic base.

The U.S. EPA has proposed a suite of three rules to reduce carbon dioxideemissions from new, modified and existing fossil fuel power plants. Theemission limit for new coal plants would require partial capture and storageor use of carbon dioxide. The proposal for existing power plants (“Clean PowerPlan” or CPP) sets CO2 emission reduction targets for the electricity sector ineach state using what EPA calls “building blocks,” which include:

(1) power plant efficiency upgrades; (2) fuel switching to lower carbon natural gas generation; (3) increased use of renewables and nuclear.

The building blocks use assumptions that many experts, grid operatorsand states consider implausible and unrealistic. The result will be anelectricity portfolio and supply that is less diverse, less reliable and moreexpensive.

Commerce Lexington urges local, state and federal officials to call for apostponement and implementation delay of rules where legal challengesare present until the courts complete their review of the case and anyappeals. Recent U.S. Supreme Court actions on the Mercury and AirToxics rule, which included remanding the case to a lower court for furtherreview, exemplify the challenges a regulated industry faces when forcedto comply with a rule before the legal scrutiny is complete. Costly andexcessive regulations, such as those impacting electric utilities, requiresignificant investment that cannot be refunded to the ratepayers when arule is vacated.

Commerce Lexington will continue to monitor the implementation of theproposed rule changes to section 111 (b) and 111 (d) of the Clean Air Act,and advocate for efforts at the state and federal levels to mitigate theimpact on Kentucky employers and families.


ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

Support the Coal IndustryCommerce Lexington supportsprotecting the viability of Ken-tucky’s coal industry – includingpreserving the direct and indirectjobs that the industry providesstatewide. Since 2011, EasternKentucky has lost more than 9,000direct coal mining jobs whichequates to 38% of the workforce.For every one direct coal miningjob lost, three other indirect jobs are also lost, which brings the total of job lossesto more than 27,000. With coal mining selected for enhanced review or in-creased scrutiny, coal miners have found themselves working in an unfair playingfield compared to the rest of the country. Commerce Lexington will continue tosupport efforts to push back against the U.S. EPA to ensure coal remains an in-tegral part of our country’s energy portfolio, and there is a level playing field forall low cost fuel sources to secure low electricity rates in Kentucky.

Support Energy Efficiency MeasuresAcross the nation, companies– including those in Central Kentucky – aretaking positive measures to make their operations more energy efficientwhich has led to a reduction in carbon emissions. Commerce Lexington sup-ports voluntary energy management programs, pollution controls and pol-lution prevention programs because they are good for the environment andfinancially good for business. Commerce Lexington supports incentives forcompanies that go above and beyond their regulatory requirements, and rec-ognizing companies who have already implemented positive best manage-ment practices to reduce their energy consumption.

Central Kentucky Water Supply &InfrastructureCommerce Lexington supports an efficient, equitable and sufficient watersupply for the entire region. Commerce Lexington supports investmentsin maintenance and upgrades on the lock and dam systems of the Ken-tucky River to enhance and conserve our region’s primary water supply,as well as appropriate, ongoing investments in other water system infra-structure to maintain quality, reliable water service for communities. Com-merce Lexington also supports interconnectivity agreements amongmunicipalities throughout Central Kentucky.

Promote a Sensible Regulatory ApproachCommerce Lexington supports the efforts of the state’s Energy and Envi-ronment Cabinet to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth through afair and consistent non-discriminatory regulatory process that ensuresboth the health and welfare of the public as well as the economic viabilityof the state’s private sector workforce. Commerce Lexington opposes ef-forts at a local and state level to be more stringent than federal regulatoryguidelines. Commerce Lexington continues to oppose U.S. EPA’s at-tempts to overstep its regulatory oversight role and impose an extraordi-nary number of federal mandates that will undoubtedly have a significantnegative impact on the business community. U.S. EPA should not be per-mitted to circumvent its own federal rulemaking process in an attemptto establish new overly stringent regulatory standards that will adverselyimpact every citizen, business, agency and economy in the state. Com-merce Lexington supports the use of a waiver of fines for Notice of Viola-tion (NOV) first time offenders and placing reasonable time limits onpunitive action following the issuance of NOVs by state agencies.



Natural Gas as Reliable Energy SourceTo stay competitive, Kentucky must also continue to develop all reliableand affordable energy resources including natural gas. Kentucky’s oiland natural gas industry total value of production is over $1 billion andemploys over 9,000 Kentuckians. This industry will continue to play anincreasingly important role in meeting the states’ energy needs of thefuture. Therefore, Commerce Lexington supports encouraging the in-vestment in the infrastructure, production and use of oil and naturalgas through the maintenance of a balanced state regulatory framework.Commerce Kentucky believes that through cooperation and coordina-tion between the industry, state government and associated stakehold-ers, broad consensus can be reached on the issues and challengesfacing the oil and gas industry, and once that consensus is reached,deserves broad support.

Commerce Lexington supports financial and infrastructure incentivesto help stimulate adoption of natural gas transportation fuels. CentralKentucky could benefit from increased use of compressed natural gas(CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) motor transportation fuels suchas those used for in-state and inter-state trucking fleets, waste haulers,delivery and repair vehicles, and personal cars and trucks. With thegrowing availability and low cost of natural gas, traditional diesel en-gines cost approximately 30-40 percent more per gallon to operate than

do natural gas engines. Similar savings can be realized when switchingfrom gasoline to natural gas. The advantages Kentucky would gain area lower carbon footprint from natural gas compared to gasoline anddiesel fuels, as well as millions of dollars saved in fuel cost in the yearsahead. Additionally, increased demand for natural gas vehicles andreadily available natural gas service infrastructure will lead to more re-liance on natural gas produced within the U.S., one of our nation'scleanest, most reliable, and most available sources of energy.

Provide incentives for the research and implementation•of clean-coal investments, and other alternative energyprocesses.

Provide tax credits or equivalents for carbon capture and•disposal by companies.

Support increased funding for research, development•and utilization of new technologies to reduce emissions,particularly carbon dioxide (CO2).

Support research grants and other incentives for our•state’s postsecondary institutions and private sectorcompanies to develop technology and infrastructureneeded for alternative fuels and energy such as landfillgas, biomass, wind, hydro and solar, or compressednatural gas.

Support the Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing•Research & Development Center, jointly affiliated withthe Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Argonne NationalLaboratory in Chicago, the University of Louisville andthe University of Kentucky (housed at UK), and its effortsto develop innovative energy storage devices into apractical future use.

Assist Kentucky’s utilities and mitigate price volatility for•our families and businesses.

Supports the consideration of nuclear power plants to•encourage market-based energy production. State lawprevents construction of nuclear power plants until thereis a means of disposal of high-level nuclear wasteapproved by the U.S. government. An approved facilityhas not been identified by the U.S. government, sonuclear power plants in the U.S. store spent fuel on-site.Kentucky's current prohibition on storage in effectprohibits nuclear power as an option. CommerceLexington strongly encourages the federal governmentto identify an approved repository for high-level nuclearwaste disposal but also accepts on-site storage of spentfuel as a temporary solution to inaction by the federalgovernment.

Protect our energy rates from overbearing federal•regulations, fuel mandates and tax policy changes thatwill raise rates and neutralize Kentucky's competitiveenergy prices.

Commerce Lexington Inc. also supports legislative efforts to:



Land Use PlanningCommerce Lexington opposes statewide, prescriptive attempts to shapelocal land use and development contrary to community established needsand priorities. Commerce Lexington believes it is imperative for regionalcommunities to voluntarily collaborate and coordinate regional planningefforts with regard to natural resources, housing, utilities, economic de-velopment and transportation.

Commerce Lexington encourages communities to develop comprehen-sive plans that balance the need for housing and economic developmentwhile protecting agriculture industries and natural resources. Affordabilityof housing is not just an issue for low income central Kentuckians; avail-ability and affordability of housing is an issue of concern for expandingand relocating companies. As we plan for continued growth and develop-ment, we must evaluate the impact each decision has on our ability todevelop and maintain housing options within the reach of all our citizens.

Commerce Lexington strongly supports the use of Brownfield Redevelop-ment in communities through the use of the Voluntary Environmental Re-mediation Program (VERP) and Kentucky’s Bonafide Purchaser Programwhich reduces liability for future property owners. These programs shouldbe expanded to allow tax incentives, low interest loans or grants or otherfederal and state matching funds for those committed to redevelopingthe state’s Brownfield sites.

Solid WasteThe management of solid waste is a local responsibility and existing lawallows local governments the necessary flexibility to develop a solid wastedisposal strategy unique to the needs and expectations of their individualcommunities. Commerce Lexington urges enhanced enforcement andeducation to address illegal dumping and littering. We support programssuch as Eastern Kentucky PRIDE and Bluegrass PRIDE (Bluegrass Green-source) that encourage and assist citizens, local governments andschools to clean up illegal trash dumps and other solid waste problemsas well as promoting environmental awareness and education. Educationremains a critical component in changing the habits and attitudes of in-dividuals across Kentucky. We also support programs that educate Ken-tuckians on the benefits of recycling, programs that make recycling moreconvenient, and strategies that develop and enhance market demand forrecycled materials. Commerce Lexington believes that this type of multi-faceted strategy will have a more significant, long-term impact in address-ing the need for Kentucky to embrace recycling.

Kentucky’s solid waste statutes are contradictory and some are currentlyout of step with some of EPA’s recent regulations. Commerce Lexingtonsupports a review of Kentucky’s solid waste statutes and a reasonable,thoughtful update to provide clear direction to the regulated community.

Storm Water/Sanitary Sewer & Consent Decree ImplementationCommerce Lexington will continue to monitor implementation processesto ensure the LFUCG’s plan to meet EPA requirements is completed in atimely and cost effective manner. We support periodic, independent per-formance reviews/audits to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used effi-ciently by local government throughout project implementation.

Environmental StreamliningImplementation of infrastructure projects is critical for community devel-opment. Often times these public projects are subject to requirementsfor review of environmental impacts in accordance with the federal Na-tional Environmental Policy Act. Although such impacts can and shouldbe considered, the process for evaluation of, and challenges to, infrastruc-ture projects on that basis must be streamlined in order to assure thatimportant public infrastructure projects are not victims of procedural ma-neuvering and unnecessary delay.

Commerce Lexington supports legislative efforts that:Require concurrent review of documents.•Require full disclosure of funding from those either for or against a•particular issue.Recognize the need to restore balance to the process of public need•and environmental stewardship.

Air Quality Rules and RegulationsCommerce Lexington will engage local and state officials regarding thedevelopment of the state’s carbon plan and other air quality standards toensure these regulations are not too restrictive, have the least cost impacton business, and protect Kentucky’s low cost energy rates. CommerceLexington will continue to engage with local workgroups to review air qual-ity rules and regulations, educate our members, explore strategies andmake recommendations as federal, state and local policies are developed.

Track New Sanitary Sewer & StormWater Permits and FeesCommerce Lexington will continue to engage local and state officials toensure that requirements are not too restrictive and do not exceed stateor federal regulations and that the plan and the implementation scheduleis feasible and cost effective. We also will continue to educate membersabout the impact of the new permits.

Water Quality Rules & Regulations Commerce Lexington supports a process where the General Assemblymust review and approve any changes to new General Permits being pro-posed by state agencies. We also support legislative review for Total Max-imum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and other water quality related requirementson our streams developed by the state or U.S. EPA.

Commerce Lexington urges state and federal officials to continue to op-pose the proposed “Waters of the US” rule released by the U.S. EPA andU.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We believe the proposed rule exceeds thescope of federal power under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and goes wellbeyond what is reasonable regulation. The rule redefines the process forhow a water is determined in such broad terms that almost any area couldbe subject to regulation. This rule will cause confusion and uncertaintyin the business community and could adversely impact economic devel-opment due to unreasonable regulations and permitting.


Commerce Lexington fully supports the development of new incentives to help Kentucky’s small businesses growand prosper in today’s global economy. We support new strategies to increase jobs by attracting companies toKentucky. We advocate a regional approach to economic development planning and problem solving. We workclosely with local governments and community organizations across Central Kentucky to develop a common visionfor the prosperity of our region.

Although not a substitute for comprehensive tax reform, Commerce Lexington supports strategic investments inincentive programs designed to encourage the growth of high wage jobs, long-term investment in strategicallydefined industry sectors, small business promotion, or other significant economic development projects thatdemonstrate a clear return on investment and would not otherwise occur without the incentive.

Commerce Lexington urges lawmakers to continue to support, and in some cases consider expanding, stateincentive programs promoting business growth and job creation, such as the Kentucky Business Investmentprogram (KBI), Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA), Kentucky Reinvestment Act (KRA), Kentucky InvestmentFund Act (KIFA), SBIR/STTR matching program, and the Kentucky Skills Network workforce training programs.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Service & Technology RetentionTax CreditsOther states are aggressively pursuing Kentucky companies to relocateusing various tax incentive programs. Kentucky cannot afford to lose ad-ditional jobs to other states; therefore Commerce Lexington supports amodification of the Kentucky Reinvestment Act (KRA) to include serviceand technology firms in addition to manufacturing firms within the KRAprogram in order to retain service and technology jobs in the Common-wealth. Commerce Lexington supports linking the tax credits directly tojob retention, and would support implementing minimum requirementsfor companies to meet before the tax incentives become available.

R&D Investment Incentives American corporations focus their research and development activitieson the development of new products, processes, and services while rely-ing on research universities to do basic scientific research. In order tosupplement basic research investment by federal agencies, CommerceLexington supports the establishment of federal and state tax incentivesto encourage corporations to make cash investments or endowment giftsto research departments or proof of concept centers of public researchuniversities. Incentives should also be in place to encourage corporationsto make investments in high tech, high risk start up technology compa-nies.

Bluegrass BusinessDevelopment PartnershipEstablished in 2007, Commerce Lexington continues to support its part-nership between the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, theUniversity of Kentucky and the Kentucky Small Business DevelopmentCenter in an effort to encourage economic development, investment andjob growth in Central Kentucky. Since its inception the Bluegrass Busi-ness Development Partnership has been a one-stop shop for the eco-nomic development needs of its clients. This program has served over9,600 clients and announced the creation of 9,200 new jobs and over $1.6billion in capital investment.

Entrepreneurial IncentivesCommerce Lexington supports initiatives that encourage the continueddevelopment of the knowledge-based economy in Central Kentucky. Wesupport policies that facilitate the development and retention of high techmanufacturing and biotechnology investments in our region and specifi-cally encourage additional research and development and technologytransfer activity in Central Kentucky. Commerce Lexington will be an ad-vocate for public/private partnerships that move ideas to theory, theoryto applied research, and applied research to developed commercial ap-plication. To help provide additional financial support enabling such busi-ness activity to occur, Commerce Lexington supports the development ofseed capital funds that focus on Central Kentucky investments and thepromotion of innovative central Kentucky companies to existing venturecapital firms. Commerce Lexington encourages the federal governmentto continue the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/ Small Busi-ness Technology Transfer (STTR) and for Kentucky to continue fundingthe state’s match program for these start-up companies.

Transportation FundingMaintaining adequate funding for transportation infrastructure remainsan issue of concern at both the state and federal levels of government.Commerce Lexington urges lawmakers to find long-term solutions to en-sure sufficient, sustainable and reliable funding for all modes of trans-portation for projects critical to economic development. CommerceLexington also supports state and federal transportation funding for ruraland urban transit agencies to allow for improvements in direct operations;new service delivery methods for all areas including target populationgroup such as seniors, low-income workers and people with disabilities.

CondemnationCommerce Lexington is opposed to government acquisition of privatelyowned businesses through condemnation for the purpose of operatingthe business.


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Enhancing Regional Transportation InfrastructureCommerce Lexington supports substantial and sustained investment inKentucky’s transportation infrastructure – including highways, bridges, wa-terways, public transit, railways, and aviation. Having a dependable trans-portation network is critical to Central Kentucky’s economic vitality. Thrivingcommunities must be able to move workers, provide services and transportproducts to market quickly and safely.

Commerce Lexington fully supports a regional transportation approach, in-cluding supporting the Ohio River Bridge projects in Northern Kentucky,Louisville and Western Kentucky (I-69), the U.S. 27 to I-75 Connector in Jes-samine County and the Newtown Pike Extension in Lexington.

Telecommunications InfrastructureMaking investments in critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges,water and rail will continue to be important to our state’s economicgrowth. However, future economic development and job creation willalso depend on developing a robust telecommunications infrastructure.Our competitor states have shown that modernizing telecommunicationinfrastructure better enables providers to efficiently allocate available re-sources. Commerce Lexington’s economic development team frequentlyhears from high tech companies operating in Central Kentucky about theneed for increased access to affordable, high speed broadband technolo-gies. Modernizing Kentucky’s telecommunication infrastructure will helpmeet the growing market demands for advanced broadband technologiesfor businesses both large and small.

Commerce Lexington supports modernizing telecommunication infra-structure to spur critical investments in new broadband technologies, en-hance economic development, attract jobs, and improve communicationservices for residents and business – while keeping in the place protec-tions for reliable voice services to all residents.

Lexington Downtown DevelopmentCommerce Lexington supports the mission of the Lexington Downtown De-velopment Authority to enhance the relationship between the downtown areaand surrounding neighborhoods and to attract more residents and businessdowntown, resulting in more citizens living and working in downtown.

Commerce Lexington supports downtown development projects such asthe Lexington Convention Center, Town Branch Commons and restoringand preserving the old Fayette County Courthouse and encourages respon-sible business planning for downtown development projects to minimizefuture taxpayer subsidized annual operational expenses.

Commerce Lexington fully supports programs designed to increase the ac-cess and amount of public art throughout the entire community.

Tourism DevelopmentThe tourism industry is an important component of an overall economicdevelopment strategy. Commerce Lexington supports initiatives and in-centives designed to enhance the state’s tourism and agri-tourism indus-try’s positive impact through the promotion of events and the promotionof Lexington as a tourism and agri-tourism destination. Commerce Lex-ington also supports efforts to attract the media and film industry to theBluegrass, while working to ensure that efforts that might underminetourism’s economic impact are minimized.

Central Kentucky’s Equine IndustryThousands of acres of horse farms, world class venues such as Keenelandand the Kentucky Horse Park, and many horse related organizations’ na-tional headquarters including the United States Equestrian Federation, earnKentucky the title of Horse Capital of the World. Because of the substantialeconomic impact the equine industry has on our region as well as the state,Commerce Lexington fully supports programs and initiatives to protectand enhance the future growth of the equine industry. These programs in-clude alternative gaming at racetracks, innovative tax approaches, purseincreases, increased funding for breeder incentive programs, appropriatefunding to maintain the quality of the Kentucky Horse Park, and other as-sistance to allow the equine industry to remain competitive. Over a decadeago, Commerce Lexington became the first Chamber to support alternativegaming at Kentucky’s racetracks to help protect our horse industry – thisis a priority we are proud to continue to support.

Kentucky’s sales tax on equine products puts our region and the Common-wealth at a disadvantage with competitor states. Commerce Lexingtonsupports efforts to eliminate this competitive disadvantage. CommerceLexington also supports the equine industry’s efforts to address the health,welfare and safety of the thoroughbred racing industry as well as otherequestrian sports.

Kentucky’s Distilling Industry Kentucky’s legendary distilling industry has a significant impact on the state’seconomy, producing 95% of the world’s bourbon and contributing $3 billionin gross state product while generating $166 million a year in tax revenue. TheChamber strongly supports initiatives to protect and grow the iconic industry.For Kentucky to maintain its dominance in the distilling industry and attractnew distilleries, the General Assembly must update the tourism and hospi-tality statues written before the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® was created to takeadvantage of the booming Bourbon tourism industry.

Free TradeInternational trade in goods and services accounts for nearly a third ofthe country’s GDP. Kentucky has established itself as a major exporter ina broad range of industries - from manufacturing to agriculture, as wellas an attractive location for foreign investments. More than 3,200 Ken-tucky companies now sell products overseas. Over 76 percent of thesebusinesses are small- and medium-sized enterprises accounting fornearly $15 billion in annual export sales. These exports directly support90,000 jobs in Kentucky, with tens of thousands more indirectly sup-ported by exports. Commerce Lexington urges elected officials to supportfree trade agreements that open new markets and create new opportuni-ties for businesses and workers in our region.

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COMPETITIVENESSCommerce Lexington believes that people are the driving force of business. Productivity and creativitydictate the success of individual businesses and therefore our economy as a whole. Public policy optionsshould be about creating and sustaining an environment that encourages maximum flexibility to rewardexcellence and encourage innovation in human resource management. Policies that tend to foster one-size-fits-all approaches, or that intentionally or unintentionally create “us vs. them” environments in theworkplace are not conducive to businesses’ goal of excellent employee relations and communications.

Enabling Public/Private PartnershipsCommerce Lexington supports the use of public/private partnerships (P3)by local and state government agencies for the delivery of services and/or theconstruction and/or management of a variety of infrastructure related proj-ects. To ensure accountability in contracting with private entities, it is essentialthat proper safeguards be in place to ensure transparency and that qualityservices are delivered at a lower cost to taxpayers.

Commerce Lexington encourages lawmakers to pass comprehensive P3 en-abling legislation in the 2016 session that encourages the creation of public-private partnerships for a wide range of infrastructure projects at all levels ofstate and local governments, and Department of Defense assets such asBluegrass Station and the Bluegrass Army Depot.

Public Employee Pension SystemsThe recent downgrading of Kentucky's bond rating indicates the financialmarket has concerns about Kentucky's financial viability, specifically theunderfunded public pension systems. Commerce Lexington applauds theGeneral Assembly for taking significant steps in 2013 with the hybrid planreforms for new employees to address funding issues, including the au-thorization of a compromise proposal reached by Lexington city officials,police and fire representatives.

Commerce Lexington strongly urges the General Assembly to continueprogress toward the ultimate goal of establishing equitable retirementand health insurance benefits for new hires that more closely resemblethose available in the private sector. Commerce Lexington supports acomprehensive review of all public employee pension systems, includingthe Kentucky Teachers Retirement System, and related benefits and en-courages state legislators to consider other serious structural changes toall systems to assure funding pensions does not cripple state govern-ment’s ability to provide essential services.

Commerce Lexington will continue to monitor reform implementationwith emphasis on assuring no benefit increases without full funding andthe inclusion of actuarial required contributions in the state budget. Com-merce Lexington discourages lawmakers from using bonding to addressshortfalls in state pension funds, which could jeopardize the state’s fi-nancial stability for future generations.

Public Employee Collective BargainingCommerce Lexington strongly opposes public employee collective bar-gaining. Public employees are afforded significant benefits, job protec-tions, and established rank and pay scales – and the adjustment oralteration of them are decisions that can currently be made as a matterof public policy.

Right to WorkCommerce Lexington believes every worker is both capable of, and enti-tled to, making his or her own determination regarding union member-ship. The decision not to affiliate with a labor union should be no lessdeserving of protection than the freedom to affiliate with a union. Com-merce Lexington urges the Kentucky General Assembly to support Rightto Work legislation to prohibit requiring any worker to join a union as acondition of employment.

Prevailing WageCommerce Lexington supports legislation to repeal mandatory prevailingwage in the Commonwealth. The result would be reduced costs and in-creased capacity for public works, benefiting employers, employees andtaxpayers alike. At a minimum, prevailing wage requirements should beeliminated for the construction of schools and other educational facilities.

Employer | Labor UnionMaintaining the time-tested balance between labor unions and employersis critical to economic growth and continued job creation. The NationalLabor Relations Board (NLRB) has undertaken an aggressive pro-unionagenda that threatens jobs and economic growth with issues such as cardcheck, secure electronic voting, release of personal employee information,persuader rule, employee poster rule, ambush election rule, micro uniondecision, joint-employer standard and others. Commerce Lexington iscommitted to defending the rights of businesses and their employees andstrongly encourages federal and state officials to fight changes to ourlabor law system that undermine employer-employee relations.

We urge the support for labor laws that:Maintain a balance of representation on the NLRB properly vetted•and ratified through Congress to hear the facts from all parties inrendering fact based decisions.Do not upend years of carefully balanced labor laws, whether through•Congress or regulation promulgated by the NLRB.Protect secret ballot elections to form unions.•Maintain functional grouping of business units that do not pit “sub”•or “micro” units against each other in organizing efforts (microunions).Maintain a company’s ability to educate employees on the conse-•quences of unionization.Do not include binding arbitration provisions.•Do not impose one-sided penalties.•

Wage MandatesCommerce Lexington supports government efforts to find balanced, long-term solutions to the problems confronted by our community. We donot support private sector wage mandates that exceed state or federalguidelines.


COMPETITIVENESS

Safer WorkplacesCommerce Lexington supports allowing employers to share factual anddocumented information about past employees, without subjectingthemselves to undue liability, when providing references to inquiring em-ployers during the hiring process. We also support legislation to allowemployers to help fight illegal drug use in the workplace. Commerce Lex-ington opposes any expansion in the current concealed/carry laws thatwould allow employees to bring deadly weapons into the workplace.

Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Commerce Lexington believes that the integrity of the unemployment in-surance trust fund should be maintained and opposes efforts to utilizethe fund in ways that are contrary to its original purpose of providing un-employment insurance to temporarily displaced workers.

Commerce Lexington was among several employer groups that sup-ported the reforms to the state’s unemployment insurance system duringthe 2010 special session, and the effort to address repaying the intereston the loans to the federal government during the 2012 session of theKentucky General Assembly. Commerce Lexington will continue to mon-itor the implementation of the reforms to the state’s UI System.

Workers’ CompensationCommerce Lexington supports a workers’ compensation statute that of-fers clear and objective definitions of injury and disability, uses objectivemedical findings of impairment for awards, continues the reduction oflitigation, and encourages retraining and education, to return to work ata different position at a comparable rate, while abating growing costs forcentral Kentucky employers. Commerce Lexington supports any legisla-tive or regulatory measure that will help control Kentucky’s rising medicaland prescription drug costs in workers’ compensation cases without dis-rupting needed services to injured workers.

ImmigrationCommerce Lexington supports a comprehensive immigration reformpackage which includes modernizations to the guest worker programwhich addresses the needs of all Kentucky's work places.

Revision of Statute of Limitations LawCommerce Lexington recognizes Kentucky's five-year time period on em-ployee wrongful termination or discrimination lawsuits places an unduerequirement on employers. Commerce Lexington supports changes toKentucky’s statute that would make all employment discharge and dis-crimination type actions more uniform with federal guidelines while stillprotecting employees and employers.

Government EfficiencyCommerce Lexington supports the need for government modernizationand increased efficiency. Commerce Lexington will continue to urge theGeneral Assembly to focus on spending reforms across government in-cluding the areas of public employee health benefits, the public employeepension system, corrections and Medicaid.

Malt Beverage Industry RegulationCommerce Lexington supports the maintenance of a strong and inde-pendent system for the sale, distribution and regulation of malt beveragesthat has been in place since prohibition. Such a system promotes the lo-cally owned and operated businesses, the preservation of jobs, strongcommunity reinvestment, and the ability of all large and small brewersto deliver their products to the market and ultimately the consumer.

Felony Expungement LegislationTo help address Kentucky’s qualified workforce shortage, Commerce Lex-ington supports legislation to provide work opportunities for individualswho are currently limited by a single past mistake. Legislation to allowindividuals charged with a single, non-violent Class D Felony to have theirrecord expunged would responsibly reduce some obstacles that currentlylimit businesses’ access to over 94,000 Kentuckians who could be eligiblefor expungement. Expungement of non-violent felony convictions, oncecertain conditions are met, enables former offenders to be more produc-tive citizens, pay taxes and meet family obligations as it helps them obtainand maintain employment.

Commerce Lexington supports this limited expungement if the legislationincludes safeguards to ensure employers are protected by a significantwaiting period to ensure the individual has not committed another felonyand have paid or served their debt fully. Additionally, the legislationshould require notification to any identified victims, and indemnificationlanguage that protects employers from legal exposure.


TAX AND REGULATORY POLICYCommerce Lexington recognizes that in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, promoting long-term economic development and job growth must be a top priority when revenue options are beingconsidered. Tax policy at all levels of government must be guided by a well-researched, balanced approachthat provides for necessary public investments and expenditures, while avoiding policies that could serveas disincentives to economic growth and private sector employment and investment.

State and local tax code changes should recognize and encourage long-term future growth, and provide sufficientrevenue options so that local governments are able to tailor their tax policy to local conditions. CommerceLexington encourages lawmakers to monitor the impact of Kentucky’s tax code on the private sector and to takeaction when necessary to ensure Kentucky remains competitive with its surrounding states.

Comprehensive Tax ReformAs the Kentucky General Assembly contemplates comprehensive tax re-form, Commerce Lexington strongly urges lawmakers to evaluate existingtax policies and proposed changes by using the following criteria:

Effective: Tax policies should be reviewed to determine their intended•or unintended consequences. Tax laws proving contrary to their in-tention or more burdensome than intended should be repealed orscaled back.Competitive: Tax policy should promote a positive climate that en-•courages business investment and job growth. Revenue Sensitive: Tax policy should provide sufficient revenues•overall to fund critical priorities.Predictable: Sources of tax revenue should be relatively predictable•and stable over time.Equitable: Tax policy should be fair but must not discourage eco-•nomic activity, employment, or wage growth.Efficient: Any tax policy must be designed to facilitate cost efficient•compliance and administration.

Local Option Sales TaxCommerce Lexington supports an amendment to the Kentucky Constitu-tion, and enabling legislation, that would permit cities and counties, in-cluding urban county governments, to enact a local option sales tax, notto exceed one percent with a sunset provision. The tax would be for fund-ing dedicated to specific local projects, as proposed by the local govern-ment and approved by voter referendum.

Alcohol TaxesAs part of comprehensive tax reform, Commerce Lexington believes Ken-tucky must examine the manner in which the state taxes distilled spirits,beer and wine. Kentucky has one of the Top 5 tax rates on alcohol salesin the US, higher than all contiguous states except Tennessee. The Ken-tucky General Assembly should consider rolling back the wholesale taxon alcohol sales in order to make the Commonwealth’s distilled spirit andalcoholic beverage industry more competitive with surrounding states.

Comprehensive Regulatory ReviewCommerce Lexington urges state and local governments to consider acomprehensive review of the regulations, taxes and fees impacting busi-nesses to determine areas where these policies could be modified, re-duced, streamlined or eliminated to improve government efficiency andcreate a more business friendly environment for Lexington and Kentucky.

Commerce Lexington urges federal, state and local governments to lookat any agency fee increase or regulatory change carefully and examine thefee increases based on need, rate of inflation and economic impact onbusiness. No fee or regulations with significant fiscal impact on businessshould be increased without the clear approval from the appropriate fed-eral, state or local legislative body with oversight authority. We encouragesensitivity at the local and state level to regulations that are more stringentthan federal regulations that hurt Kentucky’s economic competitiveness,and urge local or state legislative approval of any regulation that deviatessignificantly or is more stringent than federal guidelines.

Revise the Limited Liability EntityTax (LLET)Commerce Lexington supported the 2006 Tax Modernization by the Gen-eral Assembly. However, the creation of the Limited Liability Entity Tax(LLET) and the lack of ability to offset pass-through credits against tax onincome from other businesses and other years have become problematic.Commerce Lexington supports efforts to adjust the tax code to encourageentrepreneurial investment in the Commonwealth.

Unfunded Mandates/Affordable SolutionsCommerce Lexington opposes unfunded mandates trickling down fromfederal and state agencies that impact local governments without regardto the affordability of the mandates, and the ability of a local community,its businesses and taxpayers’ to absorb the costs. Commerce Lexingtonwill advocate for regulatory reform efforts at all levels of government toaddress the problems associated with unfunded regulatory mandates.These efforts should include, but not be limited to the following:

Agencies should be asked to demonstrate the economic impact to•businesses and local communities of implementing new regulations. Consent Decrees or other legal or administrative requirements•should take into account and publically demonstrate the ability oflocal governments, quasi-governmental agencies, schools and busi-nesses ability to afford the alternatives demanded by the state and/orEPA. These financial analyses should be conducted by people with experi-•ence in developing financial impacts before the solution is finalized. If it is determined that the entity cannot reasonably afford the solu-•tion required by the state or federal agency, then the state should berequired to assist the entity in developing an alternate financial plan.


HEALTH CARE

Monitor Implementation of FederalHealth Care Reform Commerce Lexington believes that both business owners and employersshould have the opportunity to provide for themselves and their employ-ees quality affordable health insurance available from the private market,not government. However, the Patient Protection and Affordable CareAct (PPACA) passed by Congress created a great deal of uncertainty foremployers. The effect of the PPACA will not be completely realized untilfederal regulations have been finalized and implemented over the nextfew years. Commerce Lexington remains concerned that employers thathave previously provided voluntary health insurance coverage for theiremployees will now face mandated levels of health insurance coverage aswell as increased taxes, premiums penalties, Therefore, Commerce Lex-ington is committed to monitoring the implementation of the PPACAand will continue to provide input to our federal and state policymakersin an effort to ensure that employers can provide quality affordable healthinsurance coverage to their employees without being continually overbur-dened with federal regulations and penalties.

Medical MalpracticeCommerce Lexington will support effective measures to address the es-calating costs of health care and medical malpractice insurance for healthproviders, which has contributed to higher health care costs, higher healthinsurance premiums, and continues to create the potential for reducedaccess to care.

Increase the Number of HealthCare Professionals in KentuckyMany areas of Kentucky are underserved by health care professionals,which contribute to poor access and higher medical costs for our citizens.Commerce Lexington encourages lawmakers to initiate programs andfunding or support policies that encourage medical professionals to serveboth the rural and inter-city areas which may appear less desirable.

Reduce SmokingKentucky continuously leads the nation in adult smoking rates as well asrates among pregnant women, and is second among high school andmiddle school students. The smoking related loss of economic produc-tivity is over $2 billion dollars annually in Kentucky alone. Commerce Lex-ington fully supports raising Kentucky’s cigarette tax to be more in-linewith the national average. Additionally, initiatives should be implementedto reduce smoking among Kentucky Medicaid patients.

Health & Wellness ProgramsCommerce Lexington supports legislation that provides tax credits andincentives to employers for creating health and wellness programs fortheir employees. Kentucky’s population consistently ranks near the topof the list among the states for overall poor health indicators. Poor healthamong Kentuckians is a drain on the state’s resources, leading to in-creased health care costs for employers and employees, as well as leadingto increased utilization of health care services among the state’s Medicaidrecipients. Health and wellness programs offer employers the opportu-nity to address the culture of poor health in the Commonwealth by pro-moting preventive health care as well as educating and encouraginghealthy lifestyles among their employees. Health and wellness programsoften serve as an effective health care cost containment measure andserve to promote personal responsibility among employees for their ownhealth outcomes. Commerce Lexington will continue to support pro-grams and policies that incentivize companies to educate and promotehealth and wellness for their employees.

FOCUS ON: Effectively Combat Drug andSubstance Abuse Commerce Lexington acknowledges the need to address Kentucky’s drug abuse problem,and will continue to support legislative efforts to curb this epidemic through a comprehen-sive approach aimed at prevention, treatment and penalty reforms. Both private and publicsector leaders realize the negative effect of drug and substance abuse on their employeesand citizens particularly in terms of increased health care costs, loss of workforce produc-tivity and fiscal impact of incarceration. According to the Kentucky Office of Drug ControlPolicy, lost productivity, health care costs and drug-related crimes associated with illegaldrug abuse cost the Commonwealth $2.5 to $3.6 billion annually.

The severity of prescription drug abuse, as well as heroin and other illegal street drugs,continues to be a high priority issue for Commerce Lexington Inc. We applaud efforts ofthe Kentucky General Assembly for past legislative efforts to curb drug abuse and increasetreatment options. We encourage legislators to continue to address the illness of addictionand to expanded prevention and treatment capacities in the Commonwealth.

The severity of prescriptiondrug abuse, as well as heroin

and other illegal streetdrugs, continues to have anegative impact on Central

Kentucky’s workforce.

Lexington-Fayette UrbanCounty Council:Council Office, 5th Floor 200 E. Main Street Lexington, KY 40507 Phone: (859) 258-3200 Fax: (859) [email protected]: www.lexingtonky.gov

AT-LARGE COUNCIL MEMBERS:Vice Mayor Steve KayKevin StinnettRichard Moloney

1ST DISTRICTJames Brown

2ND DISTRICTShevawn Akers

3RD DISTRICTJake Gibbs

4TH DISTRICTSusan Lamb

5TH DISTRICTBill Farmer, Jr.

6TH DISTRICTAngela Evans

7TH DISTRICTJennifer Scutchfield

8TH DISTRICTFred Brown

9TH DISTRICTJennifer Mossotti

10TH DISTRICTAmanda Mays Bledsoe

11TH DISTRICTPeggy Henson

12TH DISTRICTRuss Hensley

Lexington Mayor Jim GrayLexington-Fayette Urban County

Government Center 200 East Main Street Lexington, KY 40507 Phone: (859) 258-3100Fax: (859) 258-3194

E-Mail: [email protected]

Kentucky GovernorMatt Bevin

700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100Frankfort, Kentucky 40601Phone: (502) 564-2611Fax: (502) 564-2517

Web: www.kentucky.gov

Kentucky Senate:

Sen. Ralph Alvarado (R-28)3250 McClure RoadWinchester, KY 40391

Sen. Tom Buford (R-22) 409 W. Maple SreetNicholasville, KY 40356

Sen. Jared Carpenter (R-34)P.O. Box 100Berea, KY 40403

Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr (R-12)3274 Gondola DriveLexington, KY 40513

Sen. Reginald Thomas (D-13)702 Capitol Ave., Annex Rm. 255Frankfort KY 40601

House of Representatives:

Rep. Robert Benvenuti III (R-88)2384 Abbeywood RoadLexington, KY 40515

Rep. George Brown, Jr. (D-77) 424 E Fourth StLexington, KY 40508

Rep. Kelly Flood (D-75)121 Arcadia Park Lexington, KY 40503

Rep. James Kay (D-56) P.O. Box 1536Versailles, KY 40383

Rep. Stan Lee (R-45)Minority Caucus ChairP.O. Box 2090Lexington, KY 40588

Rep. Russ Meyer (D-39) 106 Lone Oak DriveNicholasville, KY 40356

Rep. Sannie Overly (D-72)Majority Caucus Chair340 Main StreetParis, KY 40361

Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo (D-76) 10 Deepwood DriveLexington, KY 40505

Rep. Susan Westrom (D-79) P. O. Box 22778 Lexington, KY 40522

U.S. CONGRESSMAN ANDY BARR (6th District)2709 Old Rosebud Road, Lexington, KY 40509 Phone: (859) 219-1366 1432 Longworth HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4706 Web: http://barr.house.gov

U.S. SENATOR RAND PAUL771 Corporate Drive, Suite 105, Lexington, KY 40503 Phone: (859) 219-2239167 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510Phone: (202) 224-4343 Web: http://www.paul.senate.gov

U.S. SENATOR MITCH McCONNELL771 Corporate Dr., Suite 108, Lexington, KY 40503 Phone: (859) 224-8286 317 Russell Senate Office Bldg., Wash., DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-2541Web: http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov

Contact Kentucky State Legislators at (502) 564-8100

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2016 commerce lexington inc. policy statements

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