SAHCC 88th State Legislative agenda

• Supports legislation that preempts or removes regulations that negatively impact private business daily operations and or employment practices.
• Supports legislation and funding that increases access to capital and fosters growth and development for micro and small businesses.
  

Broadband

• Supports working with the State and private internet service providers to explore the best options to increase availability, adoption, and quality of high-speed internet service in underserved areas where connectivity is needed the most; including direct funding to San Antonio and Bexar County to address the digital divide in our area.

Economic Competitiveness

• Supports preserving, modernizing, and increasing the availability of economic development tools that keep the Texas economy competitive, encourage significant job creation, attract, and retain capital-intensive projects.
  
• Opposes legislation that would potentially discriminate against Texans based upon race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age or disability.

Energy

• Supports the continued preservation of the Municipally Owned Utility (MOU) business model, which allows CPS Energy to directly serve the needs of the San Antonio community.
• Supports an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that is affordable, reliable, and sustainably derived from diverse sources, including establishing tax strategies that attract and facilitate the utilization of low-carbon technologies.

Healthcare

• Supports legislation that provides innovative solutions for affordable and high-quality health care plans for small business owners and their employees.
• Supports expanding access to affordable healthcare coverage for more than four million uninsured, low-income, Texans.
• Supports Increasing service capacity and funding for core mental health and substance use disorder services for adults and children; funding to address severe workforce shortages and operational cost increases for Local Mental Health Authorities.
• Supports increasing rates to effectively support the needs of individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).

Local Control

• Opposes legislation that would erode and limit the authority of municipalities and local government entities to address the unique needs of their communities, including any prohibition of advocacy and/or communicating community priorities with legislators.

Military

• Opposes any legislation that would threaten current and future military missions in the San Antonio region.
• Supports continued funding for the Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant (DEAAG) and growing the biennial appropriation from current level of $30 million.

Taxes and Regulations

• Supports legislation that reduces the regulatory and property tax burden on all taxpayers. 

Transportation

• Supports preserving all existing TxDOT funding streams, including Propositions 1 and 7, and identifying new mechanisms to help fund transportation projects.
  
• Supports initiatives that protect and expand the ability of VIA, County, and City of San Antonio to fund and deliver local transportation projects and public transportation services. 

Water

• Supports groundwater laws and regulations that provide a stable and equitable framework for developing and managing water supply projects needed for the economic growth of our state.
  
• Supports ongoing water conservation efforts, such as improving water use efficiency and the reduction of water loss.
  
• Supports increased state investment in water and wastewater infrastructure to help utilities address the needs of growing populations.
  

Comprehensive Academic Health Center

• Supports policies that protect Texas’s investments in UT Health San Antonio, our comprehensive academic health center. UT Health San Antonio plays a vital role in research and retooling job training and education to address our growing healthcare workforce shortages by educating more healthcare workers to meet the increased demand in San Antonio and the South Texas Border Region.

Higher Education

• Supports policies that protect and increase investments for community colleges and universities in the San Antonio region to maintain their status as key developers of talent and accelerate their ability to deliver market driven programs that promote economic growth. The Hispanic Chamber also supports policies that balance accountability for outcomes with access for low income and non-traditional student populations.

Public Education

• Supports a state school finance system based on a combination of attendance and enrollment, including adjustments for changing student learning needs, workforce shortages, and inflationary costs.
• Supports sustainably and systematically incentivizing greater opportunities for career expansion and career growth for educators across the K12 pipeline, including counselors, social workers, and school psychologists, to meet the needs of public schools through tuition reimbursement programs, school-based residency partnerships or similar initiatives. 

Workforce Development

• Supports the expansion of opportunities for all Texans to access quality workforce training to upskill and reskill to obtain high-wage, in-demand jobs leading to economic mobility and greater prosperity for our region and state.