Blogs of the LA Area Chamber

Yesterday, 150 business and community leaders from Los Angeles arrived in Washington, D.C. for meetings with members of Congress and the Obama Administration on issues of priority to the City and County of Los Angeles. The delegates were part of ACCESS Washington, D.C., the Chamber's annual advocacy trip with partnering organizations to our nation's Capitol.

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Pension reform, business tax reform, economic development policies, public safety, education reform, LAX modernization and enhancing our transportation infrastructure; these are just a few of the issues discussed each week in this column. Yet the topic of today's The Business Perspective is the most important because it impacts all of these issues and many more. Tomorrow is Election Day and it is critical that we make choices that will set the City of Los Angeles on the right path.

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The Coalition to Fix LAX NOW is excited about two victories in the effort to finally modernize the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Recently the Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) voted 6-1 to support anLAX modernization plan that includes separating the north runways by an additional 87 yards. Soon thereafter, the City Planning Commission (CPC) concurred and voted unanimously to support the BOAC plan to provide Los Angeles with the world class airport we deserve. 

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Last year, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the first surface transportation reauthorization bill after nine extensions. This legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the Twenty-First Century (MAP-21), included a provision known as America Fast Forward (AFF), which was born out of the ingenuity of Los Angeles transportation leadership. Spearheaded by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Metropolitan Transportation Agency and championed by the L.A. Area Chamber and Labor, the program expanded theTransportation Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (TIFIA) fund tenfold for infrastructure projects nationwide. Locally it helped accelerate Measure R projects including the Crenshaw Transit Corridor line, which received a $549 million TIFIA loan this past October. 

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The United States is a nation of immigrants. For 500 years, we have experienced a constant flow of people from around the globe. My family came from Germany in 1860 and was part of the westward migration of hardworking families who settled the plains of Nebraska and converted what early explorers called "the great American desert" into the breadbasket it is today.  

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This Wednesday, the Ad-Hoc Committee on Business Tax Reform will meet for the first time to begin the formal process of phasing in reform of the gross receipts tax once and for all. This committee, chaired by L.A. City Councilmember Paul Krekorian and Vice-Chair Eric Garcetti, will build on the work done by the Business Tax Advisory Commission (BTAC) and lay out a plan for a reduction of the tax known as one of the greatest barriers to doing business in the city of Los Angeles.

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Every so often we have the opportunity to make a significant change in the vision and direction of our government. For the voters of the City of Los Angeles, the 2013 election is one of those times. Nine out of 15 City Council seats are at play in this election, and of those nine seats seven will be filled by new officials as the incumbents are termed out or not seeking another term. These newly elected councilmembers will likely serve 12 years in these positions, setting the agenda for economic development, public safety, city services and much more. 

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After almost a half-decade of decline in funding for K-12 and Higher Education in California, Gov. Jerry Brown's new budget proposal includes a boost in funding that will have an impact on every student who is attending school in the Golden State. This increased investment in education, coupled with a state budget proposal that is nearly balanced, offers hope that our state is on a path toward economic stability if Gov. Brown and the Legislature will also address key issues that are holding back our economy.

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Today the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is holding a hearing on a proposed $275 million annual fee that few taxpayers are aware of, but will have a significant financial implication for all public and private property owners throughout the County. Several Chamber members have already indicated that the new fee on their property would cost them more than 1 million dollars per year.

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The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition to Fix LAX NOW has received a powerful endorsement to move the north runway at LAX — from L.A.'s voters.  

Ahead of the public hearings to modernize the airport and move the north runway, which start tonight, the Coalition to Fix LAX NOW sponsored a comprehensive citywide poll to hear from L.A. voters on what they think about LAX and moving the north runway. The poll was conducted in December and the findings were released on Monday. The results of the poll were extraordinarily clear: move the north runway. 

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