Seventy business and civic leaders from the Sacramento region visited the State Capitol June 20 to advocate strongly for flood and transportation funds and land use issues as part of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s State Advocacy Day.

This was the first-ever regionally organized lobby effort among Metro Chamber businesses at the State Capitol. Mirroring the Metro Chamber’s annual and highly attended Capitol-to-Capitol Trip to Washington, D.C., the State Advocacy Day focused on critically important issues to the region’s economy—and how flood, transportation and land use issues are all interconnected to fostering regional prosperity.

Prior to meeting the dozen state legislators, participants heard from highly recognized State Capitol figures, whose comments echoed the Metro Chamber’s advocacy positions that the region’s economy is strongly dependent on improving infrastructure.

Speaking were John Fillmore, Gov. Schwarzenegger's deputy director of the governor's Office of Planning and Research; Jeff Randle of Randle Communications, who advises the governor; and Aaron Read of Read & Associates, one of the state capital's leading lobbyists.

In particular, Fillmore emphasized that the Governor’s November 2004 bond initiatives for rebuilding the state will help keep the “California Dream” alive for the current population and the expected 12 million new people expected here in the next 20 years.

Much of the Metro Chamber’s advocacy day centered on securing the region’s share of bond funding approved by voters in November 2004. The job of lobbying the region’s legislators to act on the region’s behalf collectively is made easier because area businesses, local officials and the community-at-large have seen the benefits of collaboration.

Over the past three years, the Metro Chamber has worked diligently at getting extension of the Measure A transportation sales tax, at participating in the SACOG Blueprint land use planning strategy for smart growth and at achieving formation of the SAFCA flood protection assessment.


This kind of progress to solve problems and raise funds locally empowers the Metro Chamber delegation when it lobbies state (and federal) officials for funding.

“We’ve accomplished things in our region that others haven’t,” said Michael Faust, Metro Chamber senior vice president for public policy. “This increases our competitive advantage—for state and federal funds—and for attracting and retaining businesses.”

The day ended with the Third Annual State Legislators Recognition Dinner, which honors the cooperation among the region’s state legislators in their collaboration that benefits the region’s economy.

2007 Regional Priority Issues at State Advocacy Day
The following have been identified by the volunteer leadership of the Metro Chamber’s board of directors as 2007’s top regional priorities.

Flood Protection—Secure real and immediate funding to provide 200-year flood protection for our region
Sacramento is more vulnerable to a flood disaster than any other metropolitan area in the nation, and the Metro Chamber believes that the risk of flood is the greatest threat to continued economic prosperity. The Flood Team will encourage state representatives to fully fund the region’s flood protection projects identified in the Department of Water Resources project list issued for early funding, and to work with elected officials to ensure that the Sacramento region receives its fair share in all future rounds of funding from Proposition 1E and 84 funds. The Flood Team will also work in concert with the Land Use Team to ensure that all land use bills are responsible and keep land use authority at the local level in respect to flood control policy.

Transportation—Advocate for balanced transportation solutions
The Metro Chamber favors a transportation plan that balances public safety and interstate commerce with regional mobility and quality of life. The Team will seek support for priority projects from Proposition 1B funds already nominated by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) for funding, and those that still remain to make the CTC priority list. The Team will advocate for a series of projects from Proposition 1A and 1B funding, and will seek full funding of public transit in the state budget. The team will also ask for funding for improved infrastructure for goods and freight movement in the Sacramento region and support current efforts to address California’s long-term funding challenges.

Land Use—Advocate for fair and effective land use policies at the state level
The Land Use team will advocate for a series of integrated policies with the Flood and Transportation teams that seek to advance our region’s competitive advantage over other parts of the state by leveraging our unprecedented “bottom-up” strategy which steers local land use decisions (i.e. Blueprint). We will ask legislators to carefully consider the economic impact of land use legislation related to flood protection and to regional Smart Growth and CEQA initiatives. The Team seeks to ensure that the State Water Quality Board adopts a well reasoned State General Stormwater Construction Permit and State Wetlands policy. The Team will ask for Infrastructure funding for Blueprint planning from Proposition 1C funds and from a series of bills.

For more information on Metro Chamber policy and advocacy activities, contact Michael Faust, senior vice president, at 916-321-9115 or mfaust@metrochamber.org.