2013 State Agenda

The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Much of Alabama’s previous economic growth has come from the State’s abundant natural resources. Our future growth however, will be determined by our ability to capitalize on Alabama’s technological resources.

The Huntsville metro area is rich in technological resources that, properly nurtured and developed, will position this region for growth in the years to come. Other areas of the State are likewise well positioned to capitalize on innovation that can lead to economic growth.

Strategic state investments in STEM education, entrepreneurial development, and research and development will be critical. Direct investments in technology institutions such the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, BIZTech, UAHuntsville and Alabama A&M, will also help this region capitalize on its technological potential.

Support the Development of an Alabama Site in the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation The federal government is investing $1 billion in the development of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), consisting of approximately 15 manufacturing innovation institutes around the country. These public-private partnerships are intended to serve as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence, which will help to make U.S. manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States.

Alabama is quickly becoming a center of advanced manufacturing for the nation with tremendous corporate investment by the automotive and aerospace industries. Alabama would benefit tremendously as a result of a manufacturing innovation institute being located in the state. While the NNMI is designed with a national scope to help manufacturers become more competitive, the location of this institute in Alabama would encourage investment and job growth for existing manufacturers in the state, as well as the recruitment of new industry.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville is leading a team of local organizations to develop a proposal to locate a manufacturing innovation institute in Alabama. The state’s support of this institute on the UAHuntsville campus will be crucial to the success of this proposal. If the UAHuntsville project is chosen, this institute would play an important role in the continued growth of corporate investment in Alabama as well as job creation for all sectors of the state’s manufacturing industries.

Prepare Alabama for the next round of BRAC

the planned capacity projects required for Memorial Parkway and Mountain Gap Road and Winchester Road. u Martin Road Widening: Fund the widening of Martin Road from Zierdt Road to Laracy Drive. u Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd/Northern Bypass: Interchange at Memorial Parkway to Highway

72 East: Funding for this construction project. u Research Park Boulevard from I-565 to North of US 72: Requested Action: Funding for this

improvement project. u I-565/Research Park Boulevard Interchange Modification at Gate 9: Funding these needed

interchange modifications to support exponential growth in traffic at Redstone Arsenal and the adjacent Redstone Gateway development u US 72 West from Providence Main to County Line Road: improvements to US 72 West using

National Highway System funds. u Winchester Rd from Naugher Road to New Market Road: Provide funding to construct

improvements on the next phase of Winchester Road. u Jeff Road: fund the widening of Jeff Road from U.S. Highway 72 to Alabama Highway 53 u Graphics Drive Extension: Fund this needed improvement.

Education /Workforce Development Pre-K-12 Education Programs –

The Secretary of Defense requested two additional rounds of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in the President’s 2013 Budget submission. While Congress did not grant BRAC authority in 2012, future rounds of military base consolidation appear to be likely. Military spending in Alabama is very significant with Redstone Arsenal alone accounting for six-percent of the State’s total GDP. In order to support the military bases in Alabama, the Alabama legislature should make every effort to create a “military friendly” environment for the service members and civilians supporting the military. The state should pass legislation that would help veterans, service members, and military families currently living in the State and civilians and military transitioning to Alabama from other States.

Likewise, in order to help protect and grow military bases in Alabama, the legislature should create a matching fund to support military base improvements that would increase the military value and attractiveness of its bases as a site for future military consolidations.

Lastly, additional powers are sought for Huntsville’s Federal Building Authority to support critical capital projects and on-going BRAC support activities at Redstone and on other military bases across the State.

u A “college and career” ready workforce is critical to Alabama’s ability to grow and attract the strong business and industry that will ensure our state and region’s economic vitality. The legislature is urged to fully implement the Alabama Board of Education’s PLAN 2020, which will drive the instructional, assessment, and accountability efforts towards meeting more rigorous college and career ready standards.

Infrastructure

u Alabama is poised to authorize charter schools during the 2013 legislative session. As the state

The prospect of future rounds of Base Realignment and Closure make infrastructure improvements a top priority for the community. The economic success of our region is reliant upon effective transportation networks that can efficiently move commuters, freight, and services that are vital for continued growth and development of the Tennessee Valley inclusive of Redstone Arsenal.

The Chairman of the Madison County Commission and the Mayors of Huntsville and Madison and Redstone Arsenal leadership have jointly endorsed the following key projects as the top road priorities for the region: u US 72 East/ARC Corridor V from Shields Road eastward to the county line: Funding be

allocated and appropriated through any remaining ARC dedicated monies and any eligible MAP-21 funds as soon as possible to improve this much needed corridor. u US 231 North and South Overpasses and Corridor Improvements: Funding for the construc-

tion of the scheduled improvements at Memorial Parkway and Mastin Lake Road. Funding is also requested for the preliminary engineering, right of way acquisition, and construction of

u While public education is not mandatory until age 7 in Alabama, research shows that the

return on investment in pre-K programs is much higher than even elementary and secondary education, especially for at-risk children. The Chamber supports the recommendations of the Pre-K Task Force. Children that attend high quality pre-K are more likely to enter kindergarten ready to learn, read at grade level by third grade, graduate from high school and go on to college and have higher earnings. The Chamber encourages state lawmakers to begin pre-K expansion by supporting the first of ten annual $12.5 million funding increases for First Class Pre-K, raising the line item for the Office of School Readiness from its current (FY2013) level of $19,087,050 to $31,587,050 for FY 2014 as recommended by the Pre-K Task Force.

considers this step, it will be important to give school districts the same flexibilities that enable charter schools to be successful without negatively impacting the public schools that must educate all students. We ask that the legislature be very cautious about opening individual charter schools within public school districts because of the inequities in management that will exist and the requirement placed on the public schools to educate all students. Passage of Students First was the first step in giving school systems the personnel flexibilities to maximize student achievement. Additional flexibilities are requested to allow public schools the same elements of success that charter schools enjoy. For instance, we support providing block funding to systems to allow discretion over certain categories of funding. We also support giving a superintendent the authority to close a failing school – one that has been in “improvement” status for three or more years – and to require those teachers to reapply for their positions. We ask the legislature to support alternative teacher certification for career readiness programs in STEM related fields. The Chamber specifically supports legislation proposed that would allow local systems to “opt out” of the mandatory school calendar bill which set limits on when schools must start and end.

The Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) budget request for 2014 is $38 million. At the previous level of $27 million, AMSTI was just able to sustain itself – to train newly hired teachers and teachers changing grade levels at existing AMSTI schools. Except under very special circumstances, no new schools have been added and no AMSTI Summer Institutes have been held since 2009. Students who attended AMSTI schools and classes for one year showed a gain of two percentile points on the SAT-10 mathematics problem solving assessment when compared with students who did not attend AMSTI schools. These gains compare to an average of 28 extra days of schooling in math. Exploratory results indicated students who attended AMSTI schools and classes for at least two years showed a gain of four percentile points when compared with students who did not attend AMSTI schools. These gains compare to an average of 50 extra days of schooling in math. This success is especially remarkable because AMSTI is in less than 50% of Alabama schools. AMSTI was originally slated for statewide implementation by 2012. The Alabama Reading Initiative has been successfully implemented across the state, allowing some of its funding to be applied to AMSTI. The Chamber recommends increasing the AMSTI budget to $38 million in order to sustain the program benefiting thousands of students and to begin additional expansion opportunities as proposed by AMSTI. u

Workforce The Chamber supports the continuation and expansion of the statewide Career Coaches program that provides targeted career guidance to middle and high school students. This program has been funded through the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development with the funds going to the two-year colleges in each region. Expansion of this program in coordination with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and efforts to ensure the parameters and professionalism of the program would ensure that Alabama students receive effective academic and career guidance in line with the state’s employment projections and high-growth, high-demand occupations.

Support Technology Focused Economic Development Efforts North Alabama’s aerospace and defense technology companies are beginning to feel the impact of federal budget uncertainty and impending cuts. To preserve the highly skilled and educated workforce and avoid further economic recession, we must create new opportunities with emerging technologies in commercial markets.

Significant growth opportunities exist in North Alabama in the fields of cyber security, energy, robotics, small satellites, telecommunications, modeling and simulation, and biotechnology. The region was awarded funding through the Small Business Administration to foster job creation, small business growth and commercialization in Advanced Defense Technology, and opportunities and assets have been identified that could establish North Alabama as the leader in innovation in these technologies. Mayor Battle, the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Valley Corridor have established initiatives in support of this goal and are working together to accomplish the objectives. It is vitally important that the State Legislature partner on these initiatives for the long term health of the economy in Northern Alabama. u We appreciate the Legislature’s creation of the Innovation Fund in 2011, and we ask that

guidelines for investment be established to ensure that the Fund generates new jobs in the technology sector. We also encourage the Legislature to identify a sustainable source of revenue for the Innovation Fund that would enable it to grow annually. u The Chamber supports a Research and Development Tax Credit. Thirty-six states, including

all those surrounding Alabama with an income tax, have such a credit. We encourage the local delegation to take a leadership role on this issue. u The Chamber supports passage of an Alabama Jobs Creation and Retention Act with the

complementary constitutional amendment language that will allow this type of incentive legislation to pass. The Alabama Jobs Creation and Retention Act will include a withholding incentive that will allow approved companies to retain a percentage of state income taxes withheld from eligible employees. This incentive will make Alabama more competitive in business and industrial recruitment efforts. u Major 21st Century Manufacturing Zone - Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Legislation: The

Chamber supports legislation that would authorize a municipality to designate certain real property as a Major 21st Century Manufacturing Zone. This bill would provide requirements to qualify as a zone and provide that projects within the zone would make tax increment payments for purposes of repaying tax incentives. This bill would provide that property within the zone would be developed for certain manufacturing purposes and would provide incentives for certain manufacturing projects that commit to develop or expand within the zone.

Higher education America’s most successful communities have high-quality research universities at the center

of their economic and technological development. These universities create the intellectual environment to provide the next-generation workforce, discovery of new knowledge and the development of new technologies.

Severe weather research

Alabama has suffered its share of destructive weather events; tornadoes in most regions of the state and the risk of hurricanes in Gulf Coast region. Alabama’s collective vulnerability to these events continues to grow as our population and infrastructure expands. Our ability to understand severe weather events from a scientific perspective is key to becoming able to predict, withstand and rebound from these events. UAHuntsvile is home to the state’s leadingedge severe weather research, the Office of the Alabama State Climatologist, and boasts an atmospheric sciences department ranking in the Top 10 in the United States as measured by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The development of a coordinated effort to improve our understanding of severe weather and how to respond better before, during and after major weather events would benefit all Alabamians. Consistent funding of severe weather research and the Office of the Alabama State Climatologist is a priority for UAH and the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County.

Address retirees’ salary cap

The University of Alabama in Huntsville, as well as other research universities across Alabama, remains hamstrung in research endeavors by state laws that limit a state employee’s compensation should they be employed by a state entity after retiring. However, an opportunity exists where retired university research faculty members have the ability to write proposals and lure large amounts of federal, out-of-state and commercial research grants to our state through Alabama universities. Since they are restricted from earning a salary of greater than $22,500, this limits the ability to earn an appropriate salary from their efforts if they attempt to apply for the funds through their home university. As a consequence, many of our retirees must become non-resident employees of out-of-state universities so as to be paid through that university.

Overhead dollars from these efforts reside in the out-of-state university, which does little to earn the funding.

Were we able to simply exempt federal research dollars from the income restriction - to enable retired faculty to continue to pull in NSF grants, NASA grants, or DOD contract work we could retain the best of our research faculty and staff, and continue to build Alabama with external funds. Amend existing language to allow retired university faculty to earn a salary beyond the cap if their income is derived from non-Alabama sources, such as federal, commercial grants or state agencies that are not RSA entities.

Home Rule The Chamber supports the Madison County Commission request for the legislature to propose a constitutional amendment which would allow Madison County residents to vote to give them “Home Rule” powers, with or without taxing powers. The unincorporated areas of Madison County are over 100,000 in population, representing an increase of 46 percent in 20 years. If this population was an incorporated area, it would be Alabama’s fifth largest city. Home rule would allow the County to respond quickly to protect the business and property interests of those living outside the incorporated areas of Madison County.

Health Care We urge the legislature to support reform of Alabama’s Medicaid program to control costs and ensure long-term sustainability by improving efficiency, addressing fraud and abuse, and ensuring access to quality health care for the citizens of Alabama. Expanding Medicaid coverage would help to prevent the burden of the uninsured being shifted to the rest of the citizens of Alabama.

Telecommunications Infrastructure Communications infrastructure is the central nervous system of our economy, connecting our businesses to their customers throughout the world. Wired and wireless broadband networks are essential components in growing and diversifying our economic base. The Chamber supports policies that promote greater access to affordable broadband for all our citizens and businesses, spur private sector investment in broadband infrastructure, promote innovation, competition and choice, foster public-private partnerships, create jobs and recognize the competitive nature of today’s telecommunications market. We also advocate policies that avoid excessive government intervention, including unnecessary regulation of the Internet, which will inevitably drive up costs for businesses and residents.

For more about the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, visit us online at www.HSVchamber.org.