Ballot initiatives presented to voters are sometimes convoluted and complicated. Some are simple. Some deservedly earn the response, “Do we really need to do that?” There are three initiatives headed to the statewide November ballot that are all bad for Arizona. Voters should reject all three. The first one is to legalize the recreational use…
The Arizona Chamber Foundation and the Foundation for Excellence in Education have released a joint policy brief that examines the challenges to ensuring more Arizona high school students are able to access advanced coursework that will prepare them for the rigors of college, as well as the benefits to students who take such courses in their…
The U.S. House and Senate last night passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or the FAST Act, a five-year transportation funding bill. The legislation is now headed to President Obama’s desk. We expect and encourage the President to sign this important legislation into law today, before the current funding expires. The Arizona Chamber has…
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry strongly supports efforts in Congress to pass a multi-year federal highway funding bill. It has been ten years since the last long-term funding bill. The series of short-term extensions that Congress has passed in recent years have prevented state transportation planners from moving forward on much-needed strategic transportation…
We wrapped up the southern swing of our 2015 Arizona Road Show on Wednesday with a visit to Sierra Vista, home of the Army’s Fort Huachuca. These stops through Southern Arizona – including to Yuma, Tucson and Nogales – have given us real insight into the economic might that exists in this region. Much of…
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is on the verge of agreeing to the first significant tariff-cutting deal in 18 years. For those of you who haven’t taken Econ 101, tariffs are BAD. They raise prices and make our economy inefficient, which leads to a dead weight loss. The agreement eliminates tariffs on many new technologies.…
Gone are the days when college graduates enter the workforce, stay with the same company for 40 years, retire and receive their pension from the same company that employed them out of school. Companies are more efficient today than they were generations ago; this is an economic reality that millennials like me understand. With college…
On Wednesday, Senator McCain filed an amendment to further ensure that federal resources can be used to expand access to high-quality schools for low-income students. This amendment reinforces Governor Ducey’s idea to create the Arizona Public School Achievement District this year. The Achievement District seeks to ensure every Arizona student has the opportunity to attend…
In 2012, the President signed into law the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Among other long-term highway authorizations, the Act designated U.S. 93 as the future Interstate-11. This important interstate will link together Phoenix and Las Vegas, the two largest American cities not currently connected by an interstate highway. In…
Last month, The Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry participated in the 106th Arizona Town Hall. Each year Town Hall gathers community members from across the state and engages them in a process to build consensus around pressing state issues. This year’s policy emphasis was on Transportation. The forum provided an in-depth conversation about Arizona’s…