Chamber ready to support governor on Common Core, uncompensated care and TPT
PHOENIX – Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer released the following statement in reaction to Gov. Jan Brewer’s State of the State address today:
“This governor demonstrated today that she is not one to shy away from tough decisions. Her call to expand AHCCCS coverage was not an easy one, but she is right to seek ways to mitigate the effects of the hidden tax of uncompensated care felt by Arizona businesses and working families.
“As the Arizona Chamber Foundation found in its analysis of cost shifting that results from uncompensated care, hospitals are forced to shift the burden to private health insurers by charging higher rates that are borne by employers and other private insurance consumers. We applaud the governor for her strong leadership on this issue.
“On education, Gov. Brewer made a forceful case for the full implementation of Arizona’s Common Core Standards. We support her desire to ensure that Arizona’s students are prepared for higher education and tomorrow’s workplace. We get there by ensuring that our standards are aligned with the expectations of today’s competitive economy.
“On taxes, the governor and Legislature have made tremendous strides to make our tax code much more competitive. Creating a simpler and fairer sales tax system is the right area to tackle next. We look forward to helping advance substantive positive changes to our sales tax system in 2013.
“I was also encouraged by the governor’s tribute to our men and women in uniform. The Chamber in 2013 will make it a priority to seek ways to integrate our veterans into the civilian workforce by allowing their skills obtained in military service to apply towards the acquisition of applicable state professional licenses or permits. It’s the right thing to do for our vets and will better position Arizona to attract talented individuals to the state.”
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