2019 ABI Public Policy Development Begins

July 13, 2018 | Uplifting downtime Nicole Crain, Senior Vice President, Public Policy, ABI, ncrain@iowaabi.org

At ABI, planning for the next legislative session begins as soon as the previous session has adjourned. ABI’s public policy team traveled throughout the state in May to meet with members and discuss the outcome of the 2018 legislative session and provide a preview of the election landscape for November.

These meetings are the starting point for ABI’s policy development process. However, the bulk of the work takes place during the public policy committee process. Committee meetings, which are strictly for members only, allow for engagement and dialogue with other members on key issues facing Iowa employers. The committee meetings will take place in August, and the more members who engage, the better ABI can represent Iowa businesses during the 2019 legislative session.

In 2018, we set a record of more than 200 members from 120 different companies participating in the committee process. This played an integral role in the many accomplishments we saw at the Statehouse during the 2018 legislative session.

After the policy meetings, the ABI Legislative Committee will meet to review committee recommendations and propose association priorities to the ABI board of directors. The ABI board will also meet in September to finalize the 2019 legislative priorities and policies. Learn more about the committees below and visit www.iowaabi.org/events to register.

August 7 | Employment and Workforce –Focuses on traditional human resource issues, including health care benefits and the challenges of workforce and skill development, as well as unemployment compensation issues.

August 8 | Workplace & Product Safety – Focuses on safety of any business’s most valuable resource: its people, as well as the products and services they make and provide. This committee will address occupational safety, workers’ compensation and liability issues.

August 14 | Economic Growth – Focuses on economic development issues ranging from workforce and economic development state incentive programs to transportation of people and goods.

August 15 | Environment – Focuses on air, water and land quality issues impacting the regulated community, including permitting challenges.

August 16 | Tax – Focuses on all forms of taxes levied on businesses, including property, income, sales and use taxes.