Legislative Policies

Overview:

The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce is one of the leading business organizations in Los Angeles County and is the premiere organization representing the Beverly Hills business community.

As the premier business organization in the Beverly Hills community, it is the Chamber’s role to create and develop policies that will guide effective pro-business legislative and local policy representation for our membership.

Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee will utilize the following principles to develop policy recommendations to the Board of Directors and to articulate positions on behalf of Chamber membership when meeting with elected officials:

Guiding Principles:

• Stimulate economic development by prioritizing business retention and growth in the region
• Recognize and promote Entertainment, Tourism, Retail, Restaurant, Financial, Healthcare and Automobile industries as the base core industries of Beverly Hills
• Acknowledge Beverly Hills’ interdependence in the global economy and the importance of addressing state and national economic policies and issues impacting the Beverly Hills business community
• Seek accountability in all forms of government operations, and where applicable, periodic measurement of programs
• Ensure all government agencies maintain policies that promote an efficient and equitable market economy. Government programs and regulations should be developed to correct market inefficiencies and not to further complicate existing market inadequacies.
• Support an educational system that prepares students to meet market demands
• Promote quality of life that ensures the Beverly Hills community will remain an attractive place to live, work, and do business
• Encourage cooperation among government agencies and reduce the proliferation of additional regulatory agencies
• View the private sector as a partner in serving the needs of the public
• Ensure regulations on business are kept to a minimum and support policies that do not put area businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
• Support tax policies that ensure regional competitiveness for all industries.
• Promote infrastructure necessary to support commerce and business growth such as sound regionally based transportation policies.

Economic Development:

Beverly Hills Chamber’s policies highlight the importance of a strong economy for Beverly Hills. The Chamber will promote all public policy that encourages economic development through tax based incentives, minimized regulatory burdens, and increased financing at all levels of government. The Chamber supports all of the following initiatives:

• Expand international trade in the region
• Encourage increased air traffic capacity for all regionally based airports in order to ease travel routes for the Beverly Hills visitor
• Promote Beverly Hills as a “clean and safe” place to visit and do business
• Promote “quality of life” issues to ensure that Beverly Hills remains a place where people want to visit, work, shop, dine, live and raise their families

Tourism:

The Chamber is strongly committed to promote Beverly Hills as the premier local, national, and international tourist destination as well as encourage policies that provide investment in the growth of tourism.

Public Safety:

The Chamber knows that a safe and inviting atmosphere for business, its employees, clients, customers, and families is imperative to promoting and enhancing economic development in Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills has world-class fire and police departments, with top national rankings and response times. Businesses benefit from quality public safety, and the City’s public safety departments benefit from the strong local economy that contributes over 75% to the City’s general fund.

Education:

Beverly Hills Chamber recognizes the importance of our educational system and supports innovative efforts to better our educational system, both public and private. The Chamber specifically supports the following:

• Public education decision-making authority at the local level; and
• The support of parental involvement in education, believing that parents need to work with and support the professional educators to ensure an outstanding school system and high academic achievement.

Transportation:

Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce strongly believes that an effective and efficient transportation infrastructure is pivotal to the economic success of the Beverly Hills community and the Los Angeles region.

Healthcare:

Access to quality health care is essential for all Americans. It is critical that working men and women be provided access to basic health care through the business community. The Chamber supports any reforms that include flexibility and promote integrated delivery systems that control costs, increase efficiency and maintain quality such as those policies that emphasize prevention. Funding for health care should be equitably based and avoid an undue burden on business. Any system should incorporate viable processes that control costs and reduces administrative overhead to improve efficiency.

Business Regulation:

The Legal System:

California businesses are currently confronted with an excessive and expensive litigation system. Businesses are overly burdened with surging liability insurance costs, extensive legal obligations, and hefty settlements. Costly legal bills for California business results in higher consumer prices, fewer jobs, and less investment in California. Beverly Hills Chamber supports:

• A legal system that is based on fairness and discourages frivolous lawsuits
• The use of arbitration and mediation to settle disputes
• The reform of our Federal and State product liability laws
• A limit on punitive damages

Management and Labor:

Equitably based standards for Management and Labor relations is imperative if California is to attain its full economic potential. Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce supports the following to maximize worker productivity and job creation:

• Reform of workers’ compensation system to reduce fraud and waste;
• Oppose workers’ compensation reform which unnecessarily creates burdensome and inefficient cost to employers
• Laws which promote worker safety without producing undue regulatory costs
• The concept of “equal pay for equal work” with the decisions on the level of compensation left to the marketplace
• Oppose increases in the California state minimum wage that exceed the federal level
• Fair and honest wages for all employees

Taxation:

Beverly Hills Chamber supports tax policies which are fair and equitable to all taxpayers. The Chamber believes that undue tax policies discourage investment and sends a negative signal to the business community and investors.

Entertainment:

The Chamber recognizes the entertainment industry as a critical component to the economic well being of the Beverly Hills community and Los Angeles region. The Chamber strongly supports those policies that will make Beverly Hills and Southern California competitive places to conduct entertainment related business. Beverly Hills Chamber supports Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright infringement laws and regulations which will safeguard entertainment related product or services.

Hotel Industry:

The Chamber recognizes the value and significance of hotels in Beverly Hills. Hotels are the largest contributors to the City coffers, which in turn maintains the quality of life Beverly Hills cherishes, e.g. superior school system, rapid police and fire response, etc.

Automotive Industry:

Beverly Hills Chamber supports the importance of the auto industry. The local dealerships are an important asset to the community contributing a strong portion of the City’s total annual sales tax revenues (up to 20% in past years). The Chamber encourages the dealerships to continue servicing their vehicles in Beverly Hills to retain their customers.