2011 State Agenda

The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County The 2010 elections brought significant change to Alabama’s political landscape and new faces in State government leadership. The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce looks forward to working with Governor Bentley’s administration and the newly elected Legislature to help advance the economic condition of the State.

We are grateful to the State for the support that it provides to our region and optimistic about the continued growth that this region can expect to experience. More than 24,000 new jobs have been announced in Madison County in the last six years. In time, these new jobs will produce hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue to the State in property, sales, gas and income taxes. This revenue growth comes without any increases in taxes, but it does come with a cost. In order to successfully realize this growth, the Huntsville/Madison County community must improve its infrastructure.

There are also opportunities for the State to help accelerate future growth by investing in key technological capabilities and improving education. This Agenda identifies six initiatives that will provide for the continued growth of the entire State and our region.

Infrastructure/Roads Developing sufficient road infrastructure to support the growth in the region continues to be among the highest concerns. State investments in the transportation network are essential. The Chairman of the Madison County Commission and the Mayors of Huntsville and Madison have jointly endorsed the following key projects currently included in the State’s Transportation Improvement Program as the top road priorities for the region: u Interchange at I-565 and County Line Road u Improvements to ARC Corridor V u I-565 interchange improvements at Greenbrier Rd u Memorial Parkway overpasses and service roads from North of Whitesburg to South of Golf Road from Sparkman Drive to Mastin Lake u Blake Bottom Road overpass at Research Park Boulevard u Improvements to Old Madison Pike, Church Street, Winchester Road,

Alabama Highway 53, Zierdt Road, and Hobbs Island Road.

For many years, the Huntsville/Madison County region did not receive a fair return of the gas taxes collected locally by the State. During the last election cycle Governor Bentley endorsed a pledge supporting a return of at least 80 percent of gas tax revenues we generate to remain in our region.

In order to meet the 80% target return on gas tax revenues during the next four years, we would encourage the State to fund the following projects: u Preliminary engineering design in the amount of $10.6 million for Highway 72 West

from Providence Main to County Line Rd u Research Park Boulevard from I-565 to Highway 72 West u Winchester Road from Bell Factory Road to New Market Road u US 72 East (ARC Corridor V) overpass at Ryland Pike u Memorial Parkway overpass at Mountain Gap Rd u Memorial Parkway overpass at Winchester Road. u Construction in the amount of $30 million for the Northern Bypass Phase 2

from Pulaski Pike to US 431/Memorial Parkway.

Support Technology Focused Economic Development Efforts North Alabama is fortunate to have a high technology-based workforce and economy. Much of this workforce and economy is fueled by federal government spending which is likely to level off in the near-term and remain either flat or decline for the foreseeable future. These scenarios create a new imperative that we expand into new technology areas as well as to diversify.

Strategic investments are needed from the State, leveraging with federal and local investments to stimulate technology based economic growth. Successful local examples of such current partnerships include the NASA Space Science and Technology Center and the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology. Similar examples of successful federal, state and local partnerships can be found across the State. New opportunities abound.

Specifically, our region has tremendous opportunities in the fields of cyber security, energy and bio-

technology which, properly supported by the State, will mature into centers of economic growth.

The region was recently awarded an Advanced Defense Technology Cluster - Small Business Administration/DOD grant – one of only 10 awarded across the country, out of over 170 applications--and provides an excellent joint opportunity to help stimulate job growth. We believe a coordinated effort between federal, state, local governments and industry should be pursued.

We encourage the Governor to host a series of statewide Technology Summits to identify and mature these and other similar opportunities and facilitate communication and collaboration in key future growth areas. Huntsville should be one host site for such a summit and the Chamber would be happy to take the lead organizing this event on the Governor’s behalf.

The Chamber supports legislation for a new source of funding that would stimulate growth of these high tech endeavors in Alabama. Previously, the State has been able to rely upon the funds from economic development accounts to stimulate growth. These funds have been put to excellent use, generating thousands of new jobs and hundreds of millions in capital investment. Unfortunately, these funds have been exhausted and a new revenue source is needed.

Workforce Development / Education No other factors are as critical to workforce recruitment and development as the level of personal and financial commitment a state has to quality Pre-K through post secondary education. As skilled workers consider relocating to the Tennessee Valley, among their first questions is about the quality of education for their children and the capacity of local schools to accommodate growth. Our region’s reputation for importing well-educated talent is strong, but our stature diminishes when challenged on how much of that talent we grow here at home. We also recognize that our workforce is aging and there is a great need to prepare the next generation of workers to fill our high-tech jobs.

Pre-K-12 Education Programs Studies have shown that the greatest opportunity for learning occurs at young ages. Some studies have taken this fact to new levels showing that the greatest return on investment occurs on education investments begun prior to our children reaching the K-12 level. Pre K-12 is a critical element of our education system and has the highest potential for return on our investment in our youth. All children in Alabama should have the opportunity for adequate preparation for public schooling and to go on to reach their full potential. In addition, we know that education missed at the K-12 level will never be replaced and the return on investment potential is not replaced by on the job training later in life. This means that every child must attend a school that provides a safe, comfortable and disciplined learning environment with quality principals, teachers and other leaders in place; and every child must have access to advanced and rigorous curriculum in classrooms with appropriate teacher/pupil ratios. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama challenges all Alabamians to be committed to two principles: 1) All students can learn at high levels and 2) All schools can improve.

Unfortunately, the Alabama K-12 system has consistently underperformed in these areas historically. The chamber believes that, with proper preparation, all students can contribute successfully to the workforce and their communities. The Chamber believes that Pre-K education should be available to all Alabama students.

Stable Funding for Education Investing in education is crucial even in times of reduced state budgets. Throughout its history, the state of Alabama has depended on unstable and regressive funding sources for Pre-K-12 and

higher education. Federal funding of public education focuses primarily on Title I schools and special education needs. That means the difference in how globally competitive our public schools can be We strongly encourage our State Legislators to look for new and creative ways to sufficiently fund all levels of education and to better insulate that funding from economic downturns. We also urge our Legislature to assist municipal and county governments in adequately providing supplemental local financial support for education.

Implementing the key ingredients of successful charter schools The issue of charter schools has been hotly debated for several years in the Alabama Legislature.

Presently, state law forbids the use of public funds to establish charter schools. According to the National Education Association, “charter schools and other nontraditional public school options have the potential to facilitate education reforms and develop new and creative teaching methods that can be replicated in traditional public schools for the benefit of all children. Whether charter schools will fulfill this potential depends on how charter schools are designed and implemented, including the oversight and assistance provided by charter authorizers.” Presently, Alabama law basically makes it impossible to design, implement or even entertain the notion of charter schools.

We believe in light of the challenges facing our public education system that enabling legislation should be approved that merely opens the door for local school systems to experiment with new approaches to staffing schools, teaching students and delivering specific and measurable academic achievement results. Whether you call them charter schools or something else, we must allow for more creativity and innovation in our public schools.

Direct Link Between Education and Economic Development We also encourage full funding and implementation of two proven programs that have become best practice models throughout the country: the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) and the Alabama Mathematics, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI). AMSTI in particular is in a vulnerable situation. We support AMSTI funding of $37.1 million in 2011 that would allow first-year schools to complete teacher training, allow training of new and transfer teachers in existing AMSTI schools, and allow for a modest increase in math and science specialists to support teachers in class. The Chamber also supports continued funding and expansion for the Engineering Academy Initiative for Alabama, which provides targeted engineering instruction to high school students.

Higher Education America’s most successful communities have high-quality research universities at the center of their economic and technological development. These universities create the intellectual environment to provide the next-generation workforce, discovery of new knowledge and the development of new technologies. The Chamber recognizes that UAHuntsville and Alabama A&M University must have sufficient resources to play that role for this community.

National Solar Observatory – Headquarters relocation Through a process of competing proposals to be submitted by leading research universities in the U.S., the National Science Foundation (NSF) will relocate the National Solar Observatory (NSO) program headquarters from its current dual location in Tucson, AZ and Sunspot, NM. UAHuntsville, with partners in government, industry, and academia, will lead the development of a proposal to make Huntsville the chosen site.

The NSO is the nation’s premier ground-based solar physics research program, with broad-reaching impacts in understanding space weather, communications navigation, satellite design, optics and education. It is operated on behalf of the NSF by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, an organization of more than 40 universities and 1,000 scientists, with annual revenues in excess of $160 million.

The NSF is America’s premier funding source of cutting-edge scientific and engineering research. The relocation of the NSO to Huntsville would provide academic institutions, NASA, the U.S. Army and companies within Cummings Research Park with unprecedented access to some of the best minds in America. Expertise includes pioneering optical designs, to eliminate atmospheric effects, scientific research, data center operations and networking, space weather and education. It promises to bring additional avenues of growth among the Huntsville community, the state of Alabama and the NSF with strategic ties that will last for decades.

The State’s support and investment in this center on the campus of UAHuntsville is crucial for the growth of this important asset for the state of Alabama.

Center for System Studies Technological advances emerging today are comprised of multiple components working tougher to reach complex solutions. The Center for System Studies at UAHuntsville has been created to integrate, coordi-

nate and understand four types of complex systems – aero, defense, energy and environment – since they have huge impacts on our society’s security, innovation, and sustainability.

UAHuntsville is committed to being a leader in the emerging discipline of complex systems, and has the goal of establishing the Southeast as the national and international leader for systems research and development, bringing benefit to research interests now emerging across multiple disciplines, and impacting many of Alabama’s most pressing challenges.

It is critical that the Alabama Legislature continue to provide financial backing to this important academic and research endeavor for UAHuntsville.

Food Energy and Water Systems – A Global Solution Alabama A&M University, a land grant institution in the State of Alabama, has a responsibility to assist the State and nation in critical areas of agriculture and the mechanical arts. Energy, food and water systems are locally and globally intertwined. These systems face problems in terms of distribution, preservation and overall quality. The solution to the problems associated with each system cannot be viewed as unique but must be approached from a holistic standpoint. Alabama A&M University’s land grant research unit and engineering school possesses the intellectual capital and appropriate personnel to engage complex or integrated systems to address issues of global importance. A major research unit to undertake the necessary study and data harvesting necessary to tackle the problems associated with food energy and water systems and to recommend a global solution is already established with longitudinal success. Additional resources for enhanced cutting edge technology and equipment are necessary to expand research and technical assistance efforts.

Career Awareness Our community faces critical workforce shortages in many high-paying jobs. A large part of the problem is lack of career awareness among middle and high school students. This also contributes to the drop-out rate, which is unacceptably high across our region. In 2009, the State dedicated $500,000 to a career coaches program to encourage students to stay in school and guide them into high-demand, high-wage jobs in our community. With this funding, 18 coaches were hired to serve the 8 counties of Northeast Alabama through the five community colleges in the region. In just nine months, these coaches reached more than 34,000 students. We request $1.2 million for the participating community colleges to continue this program as a key component of workforce development in the Tennessee Valley.

Telecommunications Infrastructure The communications infrastructure is the central nervous system of our economy, connecting our businesses to their customers throughout the world. Wired and wireless broadband networks are essential components in growing and diversifying our economic base. The Chamber asks for policies that will promote greater access to affordable broadband for all our citizens and businesses, spur private sector investment in broadband infrastructure, promote innovation, competition and choice, foster public-private partnerships, create jobs and recognize the competitive nature of today’s telecommunications market. We also advocate policies that avoid excessive government intervention, including unnecessary regulation of the Internet, which will inevitably drive up costs for businesses and residents.

BRAC Tax Impact Zone Last year the Alabama Legislature passed legislation that would allocate a portion of the taxes that the state would receive due to post January 1, 2006 employment growth at Redstone Arsenal and Research Park. This was for north Alabama school districts impacted by the growth. The legislation would permit the issuance of a $175,000,000 bond issue which would be allocated to the various communities of north Alabama based on a growth sampling taken by AMCOM. We request the bonding authority be raised to $350,000,000. In order for a school district to be eligible to receive funding, a community will be required to have a sales tax rate (state and local) of 8.5%, or have increased its sales tax rate by at least one-half a percent since January 1, 2006. There is a formula that allows a property tax increase for schools in lieu of the sale tax increase. Any tax increases must remain in effect for the life of the bonds.

Workforce Recruitment With help from the State of Alabama, the Chamber continues to conduct a national workforce recruitment campaign on behalf of the Tennessee Valley communities. We greatly appreciate the legislature’s generous support over the past three years. As the BRAC move schedule culminates in 2011, we request continued support for our recruitment efforts to ensure we have the necessary talent to fill BRAC and other high-tech jobs in our community that require experienced workers. Additional grants are critical to securing the talent we need to fill high-tech jobs in our community.

For more about the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, visit us online at www.HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com