Legislative Priority

Members Connecting with Members

BY TYLER MICIK

SOME OF YOU HAVE likely come across photos or videos of an elected official touring a warehouse, office space, or local businesses and wondered why they were doing so. Why would an elected official want to tour a business? How does a business benefit from having an elected official tour their facility?

The answer is quite simple—relationships. Like customer relationships, relationships with elected officials matter. Your first point of contact with an elected official should not be a call on a policy issue. You want to get to know them before issues arise, and you should get to know policymakers in and outside of your district. There are sixty-two members of the General Assembly who can be your advocate. Don’t limit yourself to a relationship with only one or two members.

I’ve had the opportunity to partake on company tours with elected officials. I’ve seen firsthand the benefits these meetings can have for both parties—the company and the elected official.

Site visits are a unique opportunity for a business to share their story, showcase their employees, explain the work they do for their customers and community, and offer their successes and challenges. For an elected official, there’s no better way to understand what a company is all about than getting a behind-the-scenes look and seeing how the business operates. It’s a chance for both parties to explain and understand how policy decisions in Dover impact Delaware companies and their employees.

There are sixty-two members of the General Assembly who can be your advocate. Don’t limit yourself to a relationship with only one or two members.

Throughout the fall the State Chamber will be scheduling these meetings through our Member-to-Member program and we hope our members will take advantage of this opportunity. You are your most effective storyteller, and the perfect time to share your story is while the General Assembly is on break.

In addition to any new legislation that could be introduced, there’s numerous bills that didn’t pass this year which will be carried over to next year:

• HB248: Pre-Permit Community Outreach in Underserved Communities

• HB220: Green Amendment

• HB246: Buffer Areas

• HB128: Change in Personal Income Tax Brackets

• SB147: Computer-Related Crimes

Now is the time to build relationships with elected officials and have conversations around issues such as the ones mentioned above that would impact your business. The State Chamber will help guide you in scheduling and planning the meeting from start to finish and provide you with materials to help your visit run smoothly. If you’re interested in hosting a meeting at your company, please contact me at tmicik@dscc.com.

Tyler Micik is the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce’s director of public policy and government relations.