2023 PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA
SPONSORED BY
ADVOCATING FOR YOU
The Columbia Chamber has been the trusted voice of the business community since 1902. This responsibility is not taken lightly. As such, the Chamber serves as a watchdog for public policy items that we deem impactful to local businesses and business leaders.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The Columbia Chamber Public Policy Team is the dedicated voice of our region’s business community. We work to shape the Greater Midlands Region into a vibrant, diverse, and sustainable business climate by:
• Supporting legislation and public policies at every level of government that will help attract new quality business, industries, and jobs
• Encouraging and educating entrepreneurs in their pursuit to expand and create new businesses
• Helping the region’s businesses and industries retain and recruit talent and prosper
DEMOGRAPHICS
With a thriving, youthful population, the Greater Columbia area is a place fueled by innovative young professionals supported by seasoned career mentors making it an ideal place to develop your business.
36.4% 24 years of age or younger
Cost of Living2
Columbia has an affordable cost of living with a score of 93.5 which puts it -6.5% below the national average.
Atlanta Score: 101.9
Charlotte Score: 97.2
Nashville Score: 97.7
National Average: +1.9%
National Average: -2.8%
National Average: -2.3.%
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Population4 *Richland and Lexington Counties 724,675 Growing to 761,003 people by the end of 20353
YOUTHFUL MEDIAN AGE Columbia 34.2 U.S. 38.8
Age1
1 U.S. Census 2 C2ER, 2020 Cost of Living Index 3 South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office 4 South Carolina Power Team
BUSINESS CLIMATE
Taxes & License Fees
■ DEVELOP a competitive tax environment
■ UTILIZE business-friendly initiatives to encourage economic growth
■ MAKE property tax rates more competitive and eliminate selective tax breaks
$1M
Regulations, Ordinances, & Permits
■ STREAMLINE permitting processes
■ ADVOCATE for regulatory environments that promote business growth and reduce unnecessary costs
■ REDUCE barriers that cause start up delays
Columbia’s combined commercial property tax rates (school, city, and county) are 1.95x higher than Charleston, 1.65x higher than Greenville, and 1.36x higher than Rock Hill
Note: City of Columbia taxes represent averages of school districts within the city. Total tax on $1M industrial facility by school district.
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Property Tax on a
Industrial Facility MUNICIPAL SCHOOL COUNTY Source: Acuitas Economics Property Tax Capacity Analysis $70k $60k $50k $40k $30k $20k $10k 0 CITY OF COLUMBIA CITY OF CHARLESTON CITY OF GREENVILLE TOWN OF LEXINGTON CITY OF ROCK HILL $13.4 $38.4 $9.8 $61.6 $6.3 $16.2 $9.1 $31.6 $7.1 $21.3 $9 $37.4 $12.5 $43.3 3.6 $59.5 $8.8 $26.0 $10.6 $45.3 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Source: Acuitas Economics Property Tax Capacity Analysis Tax Millage Rates CITY OF COLUMBIA CITY OF CHARLESTON CITY OF GREENVILLE TOWN OF LEXINGTON CITY OF ROCK
MUNICIPAL SCHOOL COUNTY 127.2 366.2 93.8 587.1 59.8 154.7 86.6 301.1 67.8 202.9 85.3 356 119.5 412.4 34.3 566.2 83.2 241.1 100.6 424.9
HILL
EDUCATION, WORKFORCE, & TALENT
■ PROVIDE students with skills, training, and knowledge to become productive members of the workforce
■ STRENGTHEN the pipeline between the classroom and career-readiness to foster demand-driven skills attainment
■ CULTIVATE strong public-private partnerships from early to post-secondary education to ensure a solid foundation of career awareness
The Midlands Youth Apprenticeship is a program which is designed to help create a talent pipeline for area businesses while creating a viable work place path for students after high school.
Students involved in the Youth Apprenticeship Program take normal high school classes and at the same time attend Midlands Technical College two to three days a week in dual enrollment classes. At the end of the two-year program, students will have earned a high school diploma, certification in a specific field from Midlands Tech, credentialing from the U.S. Department of Labor and two years of paid work
■ ALIGN the needs of businesses
SC Ready — 8th Grade Math
Source: Palmetto Promise
MILITARY
experience. The businesses who participate in this program will have created a potential employee who is ready on day one to work in the specialized positions that their company requires.
Students in Lexington One, Lexington Five, Richland One, and Richland Two school districts are currently able to participate.
with the developing workforce
Career Ready
— Percentage of Graduates Career Ready
■ ENGAGE with local leaders to reinforce the connection between the community and military installations
■ EDUCATE local businesses regarding opportunities available on military installations regarding workforce development and service needs
■ CREATE outreach initiatives to continuously promote and reinforce the installations
■ ENSURE our community remains attractive by focusing on service member and family quality of life
Fort Jackson, the South Carolina National Guard and McEntire Joint National Guard Base, Department of Defense Contractors, military retirees and veterans, and the US Army Reserve have a combined economic impact excess of $6.6 billion
COLUMBIA CHAMBER PUBLIC POLICY TEAM
In the Midlands, Fort Jackson has an economic impact of over $4.2 billion
The military’s economic impact on South Carolina is $34.3 billion and it supports 254,095 Jobs
There have been over $1 billion in capital infrastruction improvements on post.
Source: The Economic Impact of South Carolina’s Military Community: A Statewide and Regional Analysis
Carl Blackstone – President & CEO | cblackstone@columbiachamber.com
Henri Baskins – Executive Vice President | hbaskins@columbiachamber.com
Susan McPherson – Vice President of Public Policy & Military Affairs | smcpherson@columbiachamber.com
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LEXINGTON ONE LEXINGTON FIVE RICHLAND ONE RICHLAND TWO STATE AVERAGE 34.3% 39.4% 19.1% 21.9% 30.7% 66.8% 76.9% 35.3% 54.5% 55.6% LEXINGTON ONE LEXINGTON FIVE RICHLAND ONE RICHLAND TWO STATE AVERAGE
Meeting or Exceeding Proficiency