Legislative Priorities

KANSANS WORK

The most acute issue facing Kansas businesses is their difficulty
recruiting and retaining employees. Four key areas must be addressed:

• Childcare. The Topeka Chamber urges the state to explore
  solutions to the critical lack of available childcare. This has
  become a roadblock to businesses and families trying to return to
  work.
• Workforce Training. The Topeka Chamber urges further
  collaboration among all the relevant stakeholders (K-12, higher
  education, early childhood education providers, technical
  educators, community colleges and the business community) to
  continue to develop creative approaches to workforce training.
• Higher Education. The Topeka Chamber supports the requests of
  the Kansas Board of Regents to increase funding for public
  universities, community colleges, and technical colleges to
  include need-based student aid programs.
• Housing. The quality and quantity of our housing stocks are not
  adequate to attract talented people to live and work in our
  communities. The Topeka Chamber urges the state to explore
  ways to help the residential real estate market regain its ability to
  produce housing in step with demand.

Kansans connect

Undisrupted movement of people, goods and ideas into and across the
The Topeka Chamber region is critical to unlocking the economic
potential along the Animal Health Corridor.

• Transportation. The Topeka Chamber supports undiminished
  funding of the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Programs (i.e.
  Polk-Quincy Viaduct Project continues to completion without
  delay, K10.)
• Broadband.

Kansans are fiscally responsible

The Topeka Chamber supports a stable, fiscally responsible tax policy
that encourages business growth and is competitive with surrounding
states. The Topeka Chamber encourages the legislature to seek ways to
make state tax reporting requirements more business friendly, especially
for small businesses.

The Topeka Chamber also supports the Kansas Framework for Growth,
as well as existing incentives, such as the HPIP, PEAK and STAR
bonds.

kansans are in it together

The Topeka Chamber supports efforts to create a culture of health in the
workplace and our neighborhoods. This includes strategies and solutions
that would improve outcomes, expand access, help control health care
costs and ensure the ongoing viability of health care providers and those
they serve. The Topeka Chamber supports taking advantage of federal
funding by expanding Medicaid.

For information about the Chamber’s legislative priorities, contact Juliet Abdel, president.