LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

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Policy Priorities

 

As the state's leading business advocate and resource, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce aggressively champions free enterprise, economic competitiveness and growth for the benefit of all Ohioans. With members ranging from small businesses to international companies, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce represents Ohio's business voice at the Statehouse and across the state.

At the beginning of each new Legislative session, the Ohio Chamber develops a list of Public Policy Priorities that make it clear to Legislators what Ohio employers expect from their State Legislature: a competitive, modern economy that will create an environment in which businesses can expand and create jobs with less government interference.

For a printable copy, click on the button below, or scroll down the page to learn more.

Education & Workforce Development

To respond to the needs of Ohio employers for qualified, well-trained employees by promoting policies that meet the demands of today's workplace by pursuing strategies that link education and workforce development in a seamless system and embed skills-based learning into academic instruction.

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Ensure our K-12 Education System Prepares Future Generations For Career Opportunities.

Support increased efforts towards FAFSA completion for Ohioans.

Explore opportunities to expand the workforce to help fill existing needs by employers.

Strengthen school district Business Advisory Councils to assist in building a stronger relationship with local employers.

Ensure the continuation of the TechCred Program.

Continue efforts to alleviate the "benefits cliff."

Energy & Environment

To ensure environmental policies and regulations are both based on sound science, comprehensive information and avoids unnecessary red tape.

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Continue to oppose all efforts that grant nature or specific ecosystems with judicially enforceable legal rights.

Support remediation of brownfield properties and redevelopment of those properties to support economic development.

Work with the U.S. Chamber to protect against costly federal environmental regulations and make sure state regulations are no more stringent than their federal counterpoints.

Support comprehensive reforms to Ohio's energy policy that both balances a diverse portfolio of energy sources and provides for reliable, affordable sources of energy.

Remove barriers to entry and push back against new barriers to entry for all energy sources.

Work with a broad coalition to find investment for upgrades to the electrical delivery system, often referred to as the “grid.”

Improve access to natural gas in constrained areas to support current needs and future growth.

Equality of Opportunity

To help address inequality and injustice in America, in June 2020 the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its Equality of Opportunity Agenda comprised of substantive policy recommendations and private sector solutions. The Ohio Chamber intends to be a leader by doing our part to drive policy action at the state level.

 

There are many barriers that hold back people of color in their efforts to obtain an education, secure a job or state a business. Systemic inequalities hurt individuals, communities, our economy and our society. Addressing them is the smart thing to do for our economy:

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Support the continuation of the Diversity & Inclusion Technology Internship Program.

Promote generational wealth building initiatives, particularly those that increase home ownership or provide affordable rent.

Improve and enhance health delivery systems that eliminate health disparities by race and increase access to care.

Support funding efforts to grow venture capital and provide equity investment in Ohio-based firms, with a set aside of funds specializing in backing minority-owned businesses.

Advocate for, and advertise, minority business development centers.

Improve educational opportunities for the incarcerated.

Develop entrepreneurial programs for reformed citizens. 

Reform occupational licensing restrictions and eliminate unnecessary occupational licenses.

Encourage "Fair Chance" hiring and "Clean Slate" reforms.

Health Care

To advocate for an affordable and sustainable market-based health care system that provides access to quality, affordable health care for all Ohioans.

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Advocate for greater health care cost and quality transparency to effectively empower employers and consumers to be better purchasers.

Support efforts to transform Ohio's health care system by enhancing delivery of services to reduce costs and improve health outcomes.

Encourage utilization of technological advancements in health care delivery.

Raise efforts to eliminate health disparities through targeted outreach to at-risk communities.

Increase awareness and access to mental health and addiction treatment services.

Incentivize long-term care insurance among younger Ohioans to drive down future costs to taxpayers.

Labor & Employment

To protect employers' rights to manage their workplace with limited governmental involvement and regulation and to simplify Ohio's employment law statutes in a way that's fair to both employers and employees.

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Address the long-term solvency of the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.

Defend against onerous government mandates that drive up labor costs.

Continue to stress the need to ultimately make Ohio a right-to-work state.

Reform the process for filing charges with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

Require labor unions to provide greater disclosure to their members about the ability to opt-out of paying dues for political purposes.

Public Affairs

To monitor and evaluate public affairs issues and activities including elections, campaign finance, ethics and lobbyist regulations, when of interest to the business community; and to examine proposed state constitutional amendments or initiative petition efforts that affect the electoral process.

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Proactively battle ballot initiatives proposed by anti-business special interest groups.

Safeguard the Ohio Constitution by requiring broader public support for proposed amendments.

Clarify and reinforce laws governing the ballot issue petition process.

Preserve the First Amendment right of businesses to unrestricted political advocacy.

Identify, encourage, endorse and support pro-business candidates for the General Assembly.

Lead the business community in monitoring judicial decisions and engaging in judicial elections and educate the public about the role and importance of the judiciary. 

Enhance awareness of the Ohio Chamber's General Assembly voting record, the Free Enterprise Index.

Small Business

To promote and protect the establishment, growth and vitality of small business in Ohio.

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Advocate for responsible, increased price transparency for health care services and oppose policies such as health care mandates that contribute to the rising costs of health care.

Support legislation that strengthens small business options when faced with unknown and/or uncertain regulations.

Support efforts to reduce regulatory burdens through legislative or administrative action. 

Explore measures that provide fairness to businesses as it relates to property taxes.

Support a fair and equitable plan for the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund to achieve solvency.

Taxes

To foster a fair and equitable tax system that stimulates growth, innovation and job creation and minimizes compliance costs.

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Modernize and clarify the rules regarding what constitutes electronic information services and their sales and use tax treatment.

Improve the current D+ grade on the Council on State Taxation (COST) Property Tax Administration Scorecard. 

Work to keep and improve the Business Investment Income Deduction (BIID).  

Clarify business income definition.

Allow businesses to fully use the accelerated depreciation expense found in the federal tax code.

Simplify municipal income tax compliance.

Create a comprehensive tax study to determine if the current tax system can be improved to better foster job creation, add investment and increase personal wealth.

Workers' Compensation

To ensure Ohio's workers' compensation system runs efficiently and effectively for both state-funded and self-insured employers, is effective in providing proper medical treatment for injured employees, and keeps its cost for employers competitive with other states' systems.

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Ensure that non-medical benefit payments are only payable for loss of earning capacity.

Establish performance, outcome and cost metrics by which providers can be measured and ranked.

Ensure employers are not unreasonably penalized for an employee's failure to attend medical or other appointments.

Guard against expansion of workers' compensation coverage to include psychological-only claims.

Make claimants more responsible for their care.

Shrink the Bureau of Worker's Compensation's continuing jurisdiction.

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