Advocacy & Legislative Agenda

Legislative Agenda Rollout: The Greensboro and High Point Chambers of Commerce hosted a lunch with members of our state delegation at GTCC’s Cameron Campus Conference Center on Monday, February 21, to thank them for all of the support they provided in the FY 21/23 biennial budget. In addition, the 2022 State Legislative Agenda draft was “rolled out” to get their feedback on FY 22/23 priority items for the upcoming short session using a “roundtable” approach this year, which they enjoyed and found most productive.

Vote Smart/ Vote YES & YES: Two critical referendums were on the May 17 voting ballot for Guilford County. A strong public school system is critical to attracting and retaining businesses in our community, supporting economic development, and preparing talent for the workforce. First on the ballot was a school bond referendum to address those and many other critical needs to make our schools safe, modern, accessible, renovated, and tech-ready; and secondly, a fraction of a penny sales tax to support public schools and repay the bond. The $1.7 billion school bond referendum passed in Guilford County with 60.68% voter approval. The sales tax did not pass.

4 Our Future Municipal Election Forum: On June 15, the Chamber, synerG Young Professionals, and Action Greensboro hosted a Candidate’s Forum featuring mayoral and city council candidates answering questions about four focus areas: equity, housing, safe community, and transportation.

Midterm Elections Candidates’ Forum: The Chamber co-hosted a series of Candidate Forums on October 11 and 18 featuring candidates up for election in November. Forums were held for the Guilford County Board of Education, Guilford County Board of Commissioners, and the North Carolina General Assembly – House and Senate Candidates. Forum Partners include: Action Greensboro, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, East Greensboro Now, Greensboro Jaycees, Guilford Education Alliance, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, synerG Young Professionals, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and YWCA of Greensboro.

Guilford Delegation Thank You: In November, we thanked our Guilford Delegation to the North Carolina General Assembly for their work in advancing our education and talent pipeline in Guilford County. Projects such as the Mobile Career Center, the Eastern Triad Workforce Development Initiative, Guilford County Schools career academies, and aviation training at GTCC were funded due to their work at the state level. These projects are instrumental in developing tomorrow’s talent within our community.

December Legislative Agenda Rollout: On December 12, members of the Guilford Delegation to the N.C. General Assembly joined representatives from the Greensboro and High Point Chambers for a preliminary and productive discussion of priorities being considered for the joint 2023 State Legislative Agenda. Valuable insights were provided and will be incorporated into a draft of the Agenda that will be rolled out to the entire delegation in Q1 2023.