Chamber Briefings 
January 28, 2017
Upcoming 
Events

SAVE THE DATE!

Fantastic 50 Awards
April 27, 2017
Westfields Marriott, Chantilly

Virginia Chamber Annual Dinner
May 11, 2017
The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond

7th Annual Health Care Conference
June 8, 2017
Greater Richmond Convention Center
Chamber in the News

More than a job (Virginia Business on Stephen Moret)

New leader at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership promises reforms, economic growth across regions

Virginia Council of CEOs forms partnership with Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Virginia Chamber of Commerce announces partnership with the Virginia Council of CEOs

Treacy elected chairman of Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Business notes: The Virginia Chamber of Commerce elected its board of directors this month

DuVal: Support Broadband Access
Member News & Events






President's Message

We are now 2 1/2 weeks into the 2017 General Assembly session. The deadline for filing bills was Friday, January 20th, and over 2400 bills and resolutions were introduced this year. We are tracking over 450 bills and we're constantly updating our Bills We're Watching. Please check back often for updates on what we're tracking and our positions on bills that may impact your business. 

This year's General Assembly session is only 45 days long, so things are moving along quickly. We were happy that our bill to provide business input on the Board of Education passed the House this week. Many anti-business bills have already been defeated as well, including minimum wage increases and paid sick leave requirements. You can read more about these bills below.

On Wednesday, we hosted nearly 300 Chamber and business leaders in Richmond for Chamber Day at the Capitol. This year, House and Senate leaders held panel-style discussions led by Dr. Bob Holsworth on an wide variety of topics, including education and workforce, legal reform, regulations, Virginia's economy, and the budget. Participants from the House included Speaker Bill Howell, Delegate Kathy Byron, Delegate David Toscano and Delegate Mark Keam. The Senate panel participants were Senator Steve Newman, Senator Bill Stanley and Senator Jennifer McClellan. You can view videos of both panel discussions here--please feel free to share these with your colleagues as well. At the Chamber Day luncheon, we heard from the new President and CEO of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Stephen Moret, on his vision for the organization. You can view Mr. Moret's remarks here.

That evening, over 500 people joined us for the Old Dominion Assembly legislative reception, including the Governor, First Lady, and many General Assembly members, members of the Governor's Cabinet and state agency heads. 

Also on Wednesday, Dennis Treacy, President of the Smithfield Foundation was elected to serve as Chairman of the Virginia Chamber Board of Directors. Suzy Kelly, CEO of Jo-Kell Inc. was elected first vice chair. 19 new board members were also elected. A full announcement of the new Chamber leadership and board members can be found below.
Bills We're Watching

Our bill tracking system, "Bills We're Watching," provides a quick and easy way for our members to stay abreast of all legislation pertinent to business. Short, concise summaries of each bill are provided along with the Chamber's "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" position.

Click on the image above to view Bills We're Watching. 
Dennis Treacy Elected Chairman of Virginia Chamber of Commerce

19 new members join Chamber leadership on the board of directors
 
The Virginia Chamber of Commerce elected Dennis Treacy, president of the Smithfield Foundation, to serve as chairman of the board of directors at the Chamber's annual meeting January 25 in Richmond. Treacy served as first vice chair of the board in 2016. He succeeds 2016 Chairman Tom Palmer, senior vice president and regional vice president for the Central Virginia regional commercial banking office of Wells Fargo.
 
Dennis Treacy serves as president of the Smithfield Foundation and has served in leadership roles with Smithfield Foods since 2002. He also serves on the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors as vice-rector and serves as the chair of VIRGINIAforever. Prior to joining Smithfield Foods, Treacy was director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Treacy also served as assistant attorney general in the natural resources section of the Virginia Attorney General's office. He has previously served as vice chair - economic development with the Virginia Chamber.
 
"We have two top goals for the Virginia Chamber in 2017," said Chairman Dennis Treacy. "We will assemble a bold plan for long-term economic growth with Blueprint Virginia 2025. And we will implement those recommendations, strengthening Virginia's reputation as a top state for business. The Virginia Chamber will continue to be a thought leader in proposing solutions to our economic challenges, as well as a vehicle through which those ideas come to fruition."
 
"Dennis Treacy has a well-deserved reputation for getting results by finding areas of common ground among many stakeholders," said Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber. "We are grateful to have his leadership this year as we produce an update to Blueprint Virginia and work with policymakers to overhaul Virginia's economic development strategy and modernize our tax structure."
 
The board of directors elected 19 new members at the annual meeting, including electing Suzy Kelly as first vice chair. Kelly is CEO of Jo-Kell Inc., headquartered in Chesapeake. She was re-elected to the Chesapeake City Council in 2014, and has served on many board and commissions, including Governor McDonnell's Commission on Government Reform and Restructure.
 
Other new board members include:
 
James J. Anderson , III, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP
 
John C. Asbury , President & CEO, Union Bankshares/Union Bank & Trust
 
Timothy Bentley , Resident Vice President, Norfolk Southern Corporation
 
Gilbert T. Bland , CEO, The GilJoy Group
 
Tad Deriso , President & CEO, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation
 
Bill Downey , President & CEO, Riverside Health System
 
Calvin W. Fowler, Jr. , President & CEO, Williams Mullen
 
Herbert D. Frerichs, Jr. , General Counsel & Government Relations, Perdue Farms, Inc.
 
Adam Fried , CEO, Atlantic Builders, Ltd.
 
Paul Henderson , Managing Director, S&P Global Inc.
 
Jim Kibler , President, Virginia Natural Gas
 
Michael W. Matthews , PE, Past Chair, Virginia Council of CEOs
 
John G. Milliken , Chairman, Board of Commissioners, Virginia Port Authority
 
Dan Pleasant , COO, Dewberry
 
James Reinhart , Chief Operating Officer, Quality Technology Services
 
Randall Smith , Executive Vice President & COO, Liberty University
 
Frank M. Tamberrino , President & CEO, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce
 
William Tavenner , Vice President, Sales, Ferguson Enterprises
 
Nicole Palya Wood , Senior Director, PhRMA
Bill to Include Business Leaders on Board of Education Passes House

Last week, we told you about one of our priority bills for this year's General Assembly session, HB 2341, which would require 2 of the 9 members of the Virginia Board of Education to represent businesses. As we continue to work to develop a workforce that fits the needs of the business community, input on those needs will be key to meeting our goals.

We're pleased to report this week that the bill has passed the House with a vote of 92-7. The bill will now head to the Senate and we will continue to keep you posted on its progress.
Chamber Works to Defeat Costly Anti-Business Bills

While we develop and advocate for a proactive agenda in the legislature to advance the goals of Blueprint, some of our most important work is monitoring and alerting legislators to bills that would hurt our business climate. 

A number of bills were introduced this year to raise Virginia's minimum wage above the federal standard.  Over the last several years, minimum wage increases represent the single largest potential new cost to Virginia businesses proposed by members of the General Assembly. The Virginia Chamber has worked to educate legislators on the impact that an increase would have on making it more difficult for businesses to expand and hire new employees. This year, there were five bills in the House and Senate to increase the minimum wage on a statewide or local basis, all of which were defeated this week.

We also helped defeat a proposal that would have required employers to provide up to 60 "caregiving days" per year. This proposal would have cost Virginia employers up to $740 million a year to fund the program and the Commonwealth approximately $14 million to administer the program.
General Assembly Resources

Who's My Legislator? Virginia's Legislative Information System (LIS)
House of Delegates Member Directory Senate of Virginia Member Directory
Virginia House of Delegates Live Session Video Stream Senate of Virginia Live Session Video Stream
Search for a Bill Listing of General Assembly Session Meetings
Interested in International Expansion? Take Advantage of VITAL!
The Virginia Chamber is proud to partner with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership on VITAL, the Virginia International Trade Alliance. As a VITAL partner, our member companies have access to steeply discounted rates for international market research as well as international trade shows and international trade missions facilitated through VEDP. 
 

Click below for more information:

If you or a company that you work with is interested in learning more about VITAL, please contact Samantha Quig, Corporate Communications Manager, at [email protected] or 804-237-1457.
Keep up with the Virginia Chamber on Twitter!