2025 Pro-Business Agenda

GUIDING STATEMENT
The Lancaster Chamber is committed to fostering a positive business climate that enables all businesses in Lancaster County to thrive. We advocate for our members at the local, state, and federal levels on the business issues that have the greatest impact on the community.

WE ADVOCATE FOR YOU BY:

• Working with elected officials, staff and stakeholders to advance pro-business policies;
• Sharing the impacts of policy or legislative proposals on businesses with elected officials;
• Testifying at public meetings and hearings;
• Monitoring, reviewing and taking positions on proposed legislation and regulations with member input and guidance from the Advocacy Committee and Board of Trustees;
• Representing the business voice on committees and task forces; and,
• Supporting business interests in the media.

WORKFORCE

• Meet Workforce Demands
  • Support efforts to increase effective workforce training and development programs that align community talent with employer needs, ensuring job seekers have the skills required for essential and in-demand roles.
  • Promote policies and shared learning opportunities to support innovation, technology, and capital improvements to increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace.
  • Support public and private investments in high-growth, high-value industry sectors to maintain local supply chains and maximize opportunities for workers to obtain family-sustaining jobs.
• Strengthen the Future Workforce
  • Support legislative measures that appropriate more long-term, sustainable K-12 funding to ensure equitable access to high-quality education.
  • Strengthen partnerships between post-secondary institutions and the employer community to support workforce preparedness and retain students in our community.
• Expand Workforce Opportunities
  • Promote workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion and support equal access to workforce opportunities.
  • Remove barriers to employment for qualified workers, including English-language learners or re-entrants, without adding mandates to employers.
  • Encourage solutions that increase resources for high-quality child-care to ensure families have reliable, safe, and affordable childcare.
• Modernize the Immigration System
  • Institute employment verification reforms and increase visa limits in seasonal, temporary, and high skilled work visa categories to ease labor shortages.
  • Address outdated asylum laws and increase resources at ports of entry to ensure a streamlined, efficient process for legal immigration that enables economic growth and accountability.

TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE & COMMUNITY PLANNING

• Connect Employers and Employees
  • Support new housing development that meets the current and future population’s needs by prioritizing stock variety, mixed-use, and re-development.
  • Contribute to public narrative on workforce and affordable housing projects that create access to safe, quality housing options near job centers.
  • Identify and advance transportation infrastructure improvements, including roadway and mass transit, to address maintenance needs and last-mile connectivity issues.
• Advocate for Smart Growth
  • Promote public and private partnerships, municipal agreements, and collaboration to enhance economic development projects and navigate zoning challenges that stifle business and workforce growth.
  • Collaborate with community partners and local government to facilitate development in urban growth areas, thereby ensuring the protection of farmland, outdoor recreation, and key heritage sites that make Lancaster an attractive place for residents and visitors.

REGULATIONS & TAXES

• Improve Competitiveness by Creating a Business-Friendly Tax & Regulatory Environment
  • Support legislative measures that improve our business climate and strengthen our ability to create, attract, retain, and expand jobs.
  • Ensure the continued reduction and advocate for the acceleration of the reduction of the Corporate Net Income Tax.
  • Advocate for a regulatory environment that is balanced and not burdensome for business.
  • Inform businesses on employment law changes and impacts to their business.
• Encourage Responsible Stewardship of State & Local Finances
  • Support structurally sound, on-time budgets that do not place undue tax burdens on the business community or reduce the effectiveness of essential state programs.
  • Support a two-year budget cycle and zero-based budgeting for the state budget.
  • Support measures to give cities and municipalities tools that will ensure fiscal sustainability without forcing costs on overburdened residents or sacrificing public services and safety.

Approved by the Advocacy Committee on 12.5.2024.
Approved by the Board of Trustees on 12.17.2024.

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