Government Affairs

The Garden City Area Chamber is the voice of Business for the business community! We work to promote and foster a governmental policy and program that will stimulate a competitive pro-business climate for our city and state.

The Chamber provides a way to channel the collective voice of the Garden City area business community into a powerful force in the legislative and regulatory process. We believe that our members are the true business experts and together we know we can make a difference.

The Chamber works to build solid coalitions to achieve our goals utilizing a number of unique partnerships with area organizations with a nonpartisan approach to business issues.

Government is one of the biggest influences on business, and a positive business climate can be the difference between profit and loss, success and failure. Business pays attention to government, but too often not enough given the impact it has on the bottom line

The role of the Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber is to bring focus to those issues that can have a positive influence on business, and to those issues that can be costly and unfriendly to business.

The Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber is the communication program between business and government that identifies priorities of business as well as quality-of-life issues. The division provides education and advocacy on the priorities of the membership to the proper government body.

We're committed to work closely and build ongoing relationships with our public officials at all levels of government including local, state and federal and to advocate the business viewpoint by giving input on key business issues dealing with economic development.

Our legislative priorities for 2009 include: Economic Development, Business Regulation, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Immigration, Regionalism, Taxation, Transportation and Workforce.

It will be the task of the committee to write a 2009 legislative agenda based upon the needs of the Garden City Area business community. This agenda to be approved by the Chamber board of Directors and to be supported locally, regionally and nationally.

Goals of this committee are:

• Research issues that affect the local business community and provide information through e-mail or list serve technology to inform members about those issues.
• Communicate with local business people and acquire input on issues that are most important to local business owners.
• Provide education and resources to business people for the purpose of encouraging well-informed participation at the local, state, federal levels of the legislative process.
• Monitor issues and member input for the purpose of developing positions on important issues for the purpose of encouraging positive actions from elected officials.
• Host Legislative Coffees and other events that give business
• people opportunities to interact with area legislators from all levels of government.
• Meet with legislators in Topeka and Washington to discuss the need for business friendly legislation and to discuss the effects of specific bills that are presented at the state and federal levels.
• Adoption and support of an annual legislative agenda.