Central Kentucky Legislative Day at the Capitol:
Commerce Lexington is all about connecting you to our local, state and federal elected leaders. The focus of the Central Kentucky Day at the Capitol event is to provide an opportunity for advocacy, relationship-building and issue education in Frankfort during the 2023 Legislative Session. During the event, business and community leaders from Central Kentucky, local and state elected officials, local chambers and economic development groups will come together in Frankfort to discuss state policy issues of importance to the region. Attendees will interact with state legislators, top-level executive branch officials and other issue experts. Join us on Tuesday, March 14, in Frankfort from 8:30 a.m. to noon for the 2023 Central Kentucky Day at the Capitol presented by Charter Communications. Review the Central Kentucky Legislative Day Briefing Book ON-LINE HERE.
State Lawmakers Return to Frankfort for Regular Session
In January, state lawmakers return to Frankfort for the 30-day Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. During the “short session,” legislators are expected to focus on policy clean-up items rather than any major budget issues. Additionally, there will be 31 new legislators (26 state House members and 7 state Senators) learning issues and processes. A top state priority for Commerce Lexington will be encouraging legislators to lower the state’s personal income tax from 5 percent to 4.5 percent. In recent years, the General Assembly has taken action to reform the state’s tax code to make Kentucky more competitive with surrounding states. These reforms have included lowering the state’s corporate income tax rate to five percent, creating a framework to allow for the lowering of the state’s individual income tax rate over time based on revenue triggers, and modestly expanding the state sales tax base to additional services.
Commerce Lexington will also be advocating for the General Assembly to take steps to reform Kentucky’s local government taxing structure to allow for greater economic competitiveness and diversification in taxing options. Kentucky is one of a handful of states across the nation that are heavily reliant on local occupational taxes (payroll taxes and business net profits) to fund the majority of local government services. To be competitive and keep up with demands for services and investments in quality of place, our local communities need more taxing flexibility that allows them to make decisions that work best for their economies. Currently, local governments are limited by the Kentucky Constitution to three areas of local taxation – occupational, property and other licensing fees. The first step in local tax modernization requires the General Assembly to pass a Constitutional Amendment removing the restrictive language and authorizing the General Assembly to create a new framework for local governments. The second step is for the Constitutional Amendment to go on the ballot for Kentucky voters to ratify. The third step is the General Assembly crafting a new local government tax code with options for local governments to choose to adopt.
Land use planning, identifying more land for economic development throughout the 9-county region, and increasing investment in product development are other top priorities for Commerce Lexington’s economic development and policy advocacy. The lack of shovel-ready land is a challenge not only for Lexington but for other counties in the region as well. Currently, Lexington has less than 10 sites (with 10 acres or more of contiguous land) for light industrial uses, and these parcels are scattered throughout the city. The region also lacks a mega-site (500+ acres) to market for major economic investment opportunities putting our region at a competitive disadvantage.
Addressing the workforce challenges facing employers across all sectors continues to be a policy priority for Commerce Lexington. Creating an intentional strategy to attract and retain talent to Central Kentucky will be a focus for marketing, increasing work-based learning experiences, and policy advocacy for funding investments to support these strategies in 2023.
Commerce Lexington Releases 2023 Policy Priorities:
Commerce Lexington Inc. is proud to work on behalf of our members and the Central Kentucky business community as an effective public policy voice at all levels of government to improve Kentucky’s business climate. Throughout the year, Commerce Lexington’s Public Policy Council researches, analyzes and discusses important policy issues from the perspective of how it may affect the Central Kentucky business community, then recommends advocacy position statements. These statements guide the chamber’s advocacy efforts for the year.
Please take a few minutes to go online and review the 2023 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES document to learn about issues Commerce Lexington will be tracking on behalf of the business community this year at the local, state and federal levels of government. Many of our policy priorities will be focused on supporting the recently launched “Regional Competitiveness Plan” aimed at increasing the region’s competitiveness for jobs, GDP growth and workforce over the next five years. More than 45 key public and private sector leaders representing the nine-county economic development region analyzed current economic conditions, challenges, and opportunities and reached consensus on a limited number of action items for collaboration that would be impactful on the whole region. The region served by Commerce Lexington includes: Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Montgomery, Scott and Woodford counties. The plan includes action items focused on enhancing the regional brand and marketing efforts to recruit and retain businesses and talent in the region; increasing the amount of shovel ready land and buildings for economic development; policy changes to improve the tax and regulatory climate; and funding for critical infrastructure needed to support more workers and jobs in the region.
In January, state lawmakers return to Frankfort for the 30-day Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. During the “short session,” legislators are expected to focus on policy clean-up items rather than any major budget issues. Additionally, there will be 31 new legislators (26 state House members and 7 state Senators) learning issues and processes. A top state priority for Commerce Lexington will be encouraging legislators to lower the state’s personal income tax from 5 percent to 4.5 percent. In recent years, the General Assembly has taken action to reform the state’s tax code to make Kentucky more competitive with surrounding states. These reforms have included lowering the state’s corporate income tax rate to five percent, creating a framework to allow for the lowering of the state’s individual income tax rate over time based on revenue triggers, and modestly expanding the state sales tax base to additional services.
Commerce Lexington will also be advocating for the General Assembly to take steps to reform Kentucky’s local government taxing structure to allow for greater economic competitiveness and diversification in taxing options. Kentucky is one of a handful of states across the nation that are heavily reliant on local occupational taxes (payroll taxes and business net profits) to fund the majority of local government services. To be competitive and keep up with demands for services and investments in quality of place, our local communities need more taxing flexibility that allows them to make decisions that work best for their economies. Currently, local governments are limited by the Kentucky Constitution to three areas of local taxation – occupational, property and other licensing fees. The first step in local tax modernization requires the General Assembly to pass a Constitutional Amendment removing the restrictive language and authorizing the General Assembly to create a new framework for local governments. The second step is for the Constitutional Amendment to go on the ballot for Kentucky voters to ratify. The third step is the General Assembly crafting a new local government tax code with options for local governments to choose to adopt.
Land use planning, identifying more land for economic development throughout the 9-county region, and increasing investment in product development are other top priorities for Commerce Lexington’s economic development and policy advocacy. The lack of shovel-ready land is a challenge not only for Lexington but for other counties in the region as well. Currently, Lexington has less than 10 sites (with 10 acres or more of contiguous land) for light industrial uses, and these parcels are scattered throughout the city. The region also lacks a mega-site (500+ acres) to market for major economic investment opportunities putting our region at a competitive disadvantage.
Addressing the workforce challenges facing employers across all sectors continues to be a policy priority for Commerce Lexington. Creating an intentional strategy to attract and retain talent to Central Kentucky will be a focus for marketing, increasing work-based learning experiences, and policy advocacy for funding investments to support these strategies in 2023.
Commerce Lexington Releases 2023 Policy Priorities:
Commerce Lexington Inc. is proud to work on behalf of our members and the Central Kentucky business community as an effective public policy voice at all levels of government to improve Kentucky’s business climate. Throughout the year, Commerce Lexington’s Public Policy Council researches, analyzes and discusses important policy issues from the perspective of how it may affect the Central Kentucky business community, then recommends advocacy position statements. These statements guide the chamber’s advocacy efforts for the year.
Please take a few minutes to go online and review the 2023 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES document to learn about issues Commerce Lexington will be tracking on behalf of the business community this year at the local, state and federal levels of government. Many of our policy priorities will be focused on supporting the recently launched “Regional Competitiveness Plan” aimed at increasing the region’s competitiveness for jobs, GDP growth and workforce over the next five years. More than 45 key public and private sector leaders representing the nine-county economic development region analyzed current economic conditions, challenges, and opportunities and reached consensus on a limited number of action items for collaboration that would be impactful on the whole region. The region served by Commerce Lexington includes: Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Montgomery, Scott and Woodford counties. The plan includes action items focused on enhancing the regional brand and marketing efforts to recruit and retain businesses and talent in the region; increasing the amount of shovel ready land and buildings for economic development; policy changes to improve the tax and regulatory climate; and funding for critical infrastructure needed to support more workers and jobs in the region.