Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Hails GM Announcement on Battery Plant Project as “A Great Day for the Lansing Region”
Lansing,
Michigan
– The General Motors (GM) announcement that it intends to build two electric
vehicle (EV) battery plants in Michigan, including one in Delta Township, has
been hailed by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce (LRCC) as “a great day
for our region.”
The GM announcement today came after the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a package of incentives that were the final in a series of moves by state and local governments to clear the way for the projects. Locally, GM will invest $2.68 billion in an EV battery plant to be located near the current GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant. The project will support GM’s future growth in the electric vehicle (EV) market and create up to 1,700 new jobs in the Greater Lansing region. GM also announced it is making an additional $550 million in investments to its two existing assembly plants in the Lansing region, the Lansing Grand River and Lansing delta Township plants.
In December, the Lansing City Council and Delta Township Board of Trustees took an important step by voting to amend their 425 agreement – a legal move needed to allow the project to move forward. The state legislature also adopted a bill package that creates incentives to land significant jobs and investment projects, including those in EV/battery and semiconductor industries.
“The fact that we are on the cusp of this historic investment by GM is a testament to the willingness of our local and state leaders to join together in a collaborative, bipartisan fashion to make this happen,” said Daman. “We are most grateful for the work of Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, Lansing City Council, the Delta Township Board of Trustees and Capitol Caucus in the state legislature for their outstanding leadership on this issue.”
GM is one of 13 LRCC Leadership Circle members, a group of investors that are proven business and community leaders.
State bills
SSB3044 & HSB551 – Governor’s Bill establishing a flat individual income tax rate, a reduced corporate tax rate, and other provisions (Chamber Position: For)
This bill makes a number of changes to Iowa tax law, most notably creating a flat 4% individual income tax rate by 2026 (which would benefit small businesses that often operate as sole proprietorships or LLCs) and over time would decrease Iowa's corporate income tax rate from 9.8% today to 5.4% in the future. It also would create tax benefits for employee stock ownership, eliminate taxation of retirement income, and make other changes to tax law.
SSB3046 & HSB541 – Expanding the Last Dollar Scholarship (Chamber Position: For)
This bill would expand eligibility for the last-dollar scholarship to any part-time students. Currently, only summer students can be part-time and still receive the scholarship.
SF2074 – SAVE Penny for Childcare in Schools (Chamber Position: Undecided)
This bill would allow school districts to use money from the SAVE 1-cent sales tax for three years in support of development of pre-school at district facilities
HSB540 – Economic Development Authority Program Changes (Chamber Position: Undecided)
This bill would change eligibility requirements for certain programs at IEDA. More research is needed to determine the impact on Dubuque.
HSB511 - Increasing the 2- and 3-year-old staffing ratio (Chamber Position: For)
This bill would increase the staffing ratio for 2-year-old rooms from 1:6 to 1:8 and for 3-year-old rooms from 1:8 to 1:10. This would potentially increase the number of available spots for children in these age groups and improve the economics of childcare facilities by increasing revenue per staff. Providers have concerns over the impact of this change on staffing and safety, however DHS believes these changes are sound.
HSB539 – Reducing the age requirement for staff or volunteers in childcare settings (Chamber position: For)
This bill would lower the age requirement to 16 for individuals working, substituting, or volunteering at a childcare facility. Individuals would still require any safety certifications and training required of a typical employee, substitute, or volunteer.
HF2024 – Eliminating the absence penalty for CCA recipients (Chamber Position: For)
This bill would allow providers to continue receiving state childcare assistance payments regardless of attendance as long as the provider would have charged a private pay family. Providers and families have cited the attendance requirement as burdensome, making it difficult for some children to maintain enrollment at facilities. Without this change, children on CCA can lose their spot if they do not attend a certain number of days at the facility when previously scheduled to attend.
Rochester Regional Chamber: The #1 Online Lead Source You Aren’t Using
Join Steve Hyer from IGD Solutions and Desiree Martinez from All in One Social Media to learn about how to take advantage of video marketing (maybe say youtube since that is the focus or is that too scary?) by getting out ahead of your competition. Steve and Desiree will walk you through the steps you can take to get started. We will leave you with a formula of how you can approach Video Marketing and make it work for you.
Topics Covered:
• Introductions
• Why do I even need to do this? (How does this work to get me leads?)
• How to add this into my existing marketing
• Common Q&As
Do I have to "star" in the video?
What equipment do I need?
How often do I need to do this?
• Planning - what videos to make, SEO, CTA, "scripting"
• Now what? How to do more with these videos
Resources Provided:
• Script template
• List - 50 videos every business needs to make
• Tools list
Live Question and Answer
Time: Feb 3, 2022 10:00 AM
Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Joins New All In Initiative
The SVACC joins nearly fifty Chambers across the state in urging the Illinois Legislature to provide additional economic and regulatory relief for businesses.
The SVACC joins the initiative Chambers All In for Economic Recovery for its second year. Chambers All In for Economic Recovery is a collaboration of chambers across Illinois. The coalition calls on the Illinois Legislature to prioritize economic and regulatory relief for Illinois' businesses. It is the mission of all chambers to support our respective business communities and help ensure that businesses can thrive for years to come.
Last spring, Chambers All In for Economic Recovery launched its inaugural platform. The coalition releases its updated platform for 2022.
If enacted, the coalition identified a platform that would create a foundation for economic recovery. The platform includes ways to help diminish the financial hardships businesses face amid a labor shortage, spur economic development and recover from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly 50 chambers from across the state representing thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of employees call for the legislature to champion this platform and provide relief to the business community.
“This Campaign allows us to partner with other Chambers to be an advocate for our members.” Shared Kris Noble, Executive Director.
People interested in learning more about the All-In platform should contact the SVACC at 815-625-2400. Additionally, the community can engage with the initiative by following the Chamber on social media at Facebook (@saukvalleychamber).
Portage County Business Council Seeks Golden Apple Award Nominations
STEVENS POINT, WI—The Portage County Business Council’s Partners in Education Committee seeks nominations for the 2022 Golden Apple Excellence in Education Award to recognize teachers who have made significant contributions to education. All nominations are due by Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
The Golden Apple Award is given annually to a teacher who exemplifies creativity, enthusiasm, commitment and development of a positive learning environment. The selected recipient and all nominees will be recognized at PCBC’s Creative Excellence Awards Breakfast on Friday, April 1, 2022.
Nominee’s for this award must be a Pre-K to 12th grade teacher from a public or private school serving students from Portage County (WI) with at least one year of teaching in their current district. Nominees for this award should exhibit innovative teaching strategies, demonstrate enthusiasm and vitality in teaching, and inspire students to learn.
Anyone can submit a nomination of a teacher: a student, a parent, a fellow teacher or a community member. An individual may nominate only one person for the award. Nominations may include optional letters of support from other parents, colleagues, students, former students, etc.
Complete this nomination form in its entirety to allow the Partners in Education Committee to make an award decision. Nominees will be judged on their creativity, enthusiasm, and commitment to education and their ability to provide a positive learning environment.
Please email any supporting documentation (i.e.: letters of support, recommendations) for this nomination to Karen Myers at KarenM@portagecountybiz.com. Contact Karen with any questions by email or phone at 715-344-1940.
#bestChamber practices: Frank J. Kenny: (Chamber Pros) Your Chamber of Commerce Content Must Match the Resources Your Members Are Looking For
What kind of content are your members looking for? Information and resources that can help your members be more successful. When you provide it, they will begin to see you as the place to go for their business needs.
Again, you don’t need to create all of this from scratch. Use the resources available in your community to build a robust collection of information and help. Then market your resources and encourage people to share them.
Business and community visitors to your site are looking for:
How to start a business in your community. List the steps to creating a business. Include a section on different ways to register your business and why you might choose each. You may have a member/sponsor that helps with this and you could link to content on their site. Don’t forget taxes, licenses, permits, and zoning that are specific to your community or state. Assume the person reading the information knows nothing about doing business in your area. Add sections and resource links on help available to minorities, women-owned, and veteran businesses. Info or links on how to write a business plan, become a federal contractor, or things you need to know to buy a franchise can be helpful as well.
Funding. Grants and other forms of funding (such as loans) are a big deal right now, but the process can be overwhelming. You can help by curating links and lists of important information on what they are, how to procure them, and deadlines to apply.
Certificates of Origin. Explain how to get one and the costs involved.
COVID. Enough said about this one. Maintaining updates could be a full-time job these days. That’s why many chambers have created a resource section that links to specific government mandates, advice, etc.
Home-based business or work-from-home resources. If you have several home-based business members you could create a special section for those who are hiring or expanding. Work-from-home resources may include local businesses that are currently hiring as well as information on ergonomic set ups, organizational and productivity aids, as well as members who can help with home office set ups.
Social media. There are a lot of people who need help here. After all, social media for business is not the same as personal posting. Create a list of best practices, ways they can get involved with you, and how connect on social.
Relocation or visitor information. Even if your area has a CVB or visitor’s center, there are many people who think the chamber should be the first spot they stop when requesting information on an area. (They’re not wrong.) There are many ways you can organize this information from magazine style layouts to interest-specific guidance. Check out the resources on the Dallas Regional Chamber’s page.
Chamber marketing and/or membership opportunities. Your members (and potential members) don’t want to see a list of every way they can pay you marketing dollars or every single benefit you offer. Instead, break marketing opportunities or member benefits down in a digestible fashion. Some chambers organize by goals or stage of business such as exposure, reputation building, etc. Take a look at how the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce emphasizes the “fit” behind every member benefit.
Source: Frank J Kenny
Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories, Maps, Quarterly Magazines, Digital Directory and Community Profiles: The no cost, no risk BEST Chamber Publishing Partner in the USA!
December Indiana Employment Report
Indiana’s unemployment rate fell from 3.0% in November to 2.7% in December—a record low for the state dating back to 1976, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD).
In addition, private sector employment jumped by 10,900 over the last month and has now increased for six of the last seven months. This has resulted in a gain of 82,400 jobs year-over-year. Total private employment now stands at 2,705,500—35,000 below the December 2019 peak of 2,740,500.
“With a 2.7% unemployment rate and more than 150,000 job postings statewide, there are now more employment and economic opportunities available than there have been in several decades,” DWD Commissioner Fred Payne said. “We will continue to offer Hoosier job seekers the proper skills training to secure the job of their choice, and Hoosier employers the tools to find workers to fit their needs.”
By comparison, the national unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% in November to 3.9% in December.
Learn more about how unemployment rates are calculated here: https://www.hoosierdata.in.gov/infographics/employment-status.asp.
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