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Priorities
 March 1, 2007
Southwest
California Business Community Sets Its 2007 Legislative
Priorities
Each year, the Southwest California Legislative Council
(SWCLC) develops its legislative priorities. Each of the
policy goals serve as the foundation for the Southwest
California Legislative Council's continuing effort to
improve the regional business climate.
SWCLC’s mission is to provide a basis for the Temecula
Valley, Murrieta, and Lake Elsinore Valley chambers of
commerce to act on local, state and federal government
issues to secure a favorable and profitable business climate
for the region.
Click to also review the
Strategic Public Policy Goals for 2007
2007 Policy Platform
Infrastructure Improvements
1. Review and consider policies that ensure the Southwest
California region maintains a reputation as an attractive
prosperous location for business; to balance employment and
housing needs with natural resource preservation; and to
plan and construct the community infrastructure necessary to
support current and future business needs.
2. Monitor land use, planning, housing and zoning issues
that affect the Southwest California regional business
community.
3. Review and consider development projects within the
Southwest California region.
4. Encourage an adequate supply of appropriate housing to
meet the needs of the Southwest California region.
5. Review and consider reliable, stable, and competitively
priced energy supplies for California’s businesses and
consumers.
6. Review and consider transportation improvement plans that
relieve congestion on existing freeways, streets and roads,
and ensure future mobility within the region.
7. Review and consider policies that improve water quality
as the result of comprehensive approaches that will reduce
contaminants from water sources in a cost effective manner.
8. Review and consider policies that promote safe, clean,
high quality, adequate and reliable water supplies
supporting the needs of economic growth and quality of life
in Southern California.
Taxation and Government Finance
1. Review and consider reform measures that solve the state
budget’s continuing structural deficit that promotes real
economic growth and job creation
2. Encourage cooperation among government agencies, and work
to streamline and reduce unnecessary requirements of
regulatory agencies.
3. Review and consider cost effective ways to privatize
government services and public contracts while maintaining
or improving standards.
4. Review and consider state and local tax increases and new
tax categories affecting the regional business community
5. Support and promote when appropriate the preparation of
cost/benefit analysis ensuring economic impacts are weighed
before the imposition of regulatory statutes.
6. Ensure that regulations on business are kept to a minimum
and do not put regional businesses at a competitive
disadvantage.
7. Encourage the protection of private property rights.
8. Promote economic development opportunities in the
Southwest California region for business retention and
attraction.
9. Support state programs that secure tax credits for
targeted work training programs.
10. Consider and review policies that promote the
outsourcing of essential public services by government
agencies.
Pro-business Leadership
1. Support efforts to make California elections more
competitive by reforming the highly politicized process of
drawing legislative and congressional districts.
2. Review and consider local, statewide, and when
appropriate, federal legislation as it pertains to the
SWCLC’s policy priorities and communicate the information to
the three chamber’s membership.
3. Continue to enhance working relationships with local,
state and federal representatives.
4. Review and consider measures that examine the
re-districting system that determines the representation of
Californians in the State Legislature and the House of
Representatives.
5. Consider and review legislation that promotes standards
of corporate governance that guide boards of directors and
corporate officers in managing their corporations in a
competent, ethical manner.
Employee Relations
1. Review and consider measures that reform the
extraordinary costs of the state’s public pension system for
the sake of the state’s overall fiscal health.
2. Monitor and review alternatives to (1) any proposed state
minimum wage increases and (2) any local or state living
wage ordinances.
3. Monitor and provide recommendations to the new workers’
compensation reform measures to reduce costs to businesses.
4. Consider and review responsible health care policy
proposals that maximize free market forces, minimizes
mandates upon insurers and providers, and results in
increased availability of health care coverage affordable
for employers, employees and individuals.
5. Monitor measures that reform our state’s educational
system and encourage workforce preparation.
6. Advocate against the unwarranted and frivolous lawsuits
on our businesses, consumers, taxpayers, and communities.
Immigration Reform
1. Support efforts that create a guest worker program that
is comprehensive, addressing both future economic needs for
workers and the status of undocumented workers already in
the United States.
2. Support policies that strengthen national security by
providing for thorough screening of foreign workers and
creating strong disincentives for illegal immigration.
3. Support the creation of an employment verification system
that is fast and reliable.
4. Support policies that ensure all workers enjoy the same
labor law protections.
5. Support policies that require all workers striving for
citizenship to demonstrate a knowledge of the English
language and American civic requirements.
6. Support policies that expand temporary visa programs for
essential workers, creating paths to permanent residence for
these workers and providing a way to earn legal status for
the millions of undocumented workers already in the United
States.
Health Care
1. Consider actions that preserve the current voluntary
employer-provided health coverage system.
2. Continue the efforts to contain the costs of premiums.
3. Conform to federal law on health savings accounts.
4. Support legislation to allow employers to offer more
affordable benefit plans that allow choices in coverage.
5. Support policies that prevent cost shifting from
government-provided programs to the private sector.
6. Work to curb the expansion of litigation in the health
care system.
7. Support the wellness and disease management education
programs.
8. Monitor policies that encourage continued medical
discoveries and innovations that improve quality of care.
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