The Fort Worth Chamber recently hosted a panel of public safety leaders: Fort Worth Police Department Chief Neil Noakes, Fort Worth Fire Department Chief Jim Davis, and Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez. They gathered for a conversation about the importance of public safety in relation to business prosperity. The conversation was moderated by Leah King, […]
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Dade Phelan recently announced the creation of the House Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies. According to a release from Speaker Phelan, the purpose of the committee is to “conduct a comprehensive review of the advancements in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies (AI/ET)”. Specifically of interest […]
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule on determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor went into effect. The updated rule rescinds a 2021 version of the rule, and adopts a six factor “economic realities” test for making such a determination. Workers being classified as employees rather […]
The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce supports policies that promote and enhance the overall vitality and prosperity of the Texas economy. The policy priorities articulated here are deliberately broad, intended to champion the voice, vision, and interests of our diverse Chamber members, their businesses, employees, and customers.
To achieve these outcomes, the FWC will proactively engage our elected officials and other policymakers to advocate for the enactment of policies that align with these priorities, while resisting proposals that we believe would directly harm our members, undermine our economic competitiveness, or tarnish our reputation as a pro-business community.
At all times, we aim to influence the policy discussion in a respectful, open, and ethical manner.
Preserve Texas’ economic development incentives and support policies that promote innovative approaches to attracting capital investment in the state.
Ensure that our state’s diverse energy market, water supply, and transportation options are affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure.
Support a tax system that stimulates economic growth by balancing the interests of all Texans, avoids a disproportionate tax burden on select sectors of the economy, and provides rules and processes that are transparent.
Ensure access to an equitable and rigorous public education system through the sustained outcome-focused funding and additional support to address the ongoing impacts due to COVID-19.
Invest in Texas’ higher-education institutions through sustained formula funding and increased assistance for academic research and workforce development programs.
Align educational programs with workforce needs through existing and new state-level incentives for work-based learning opportunities and career focused instruction and learning.
Support the development of programs and initiatives to provide reskilling opportunities for non-traditional student populations in high-demand fields.
Support the ability of Texas businesses to determine appropriate healthcare coverage and access for their employees.
Provide adequate, predictable, and stable funding for Texas healthcare providers, including trauma care, maternal health services, and early childhood health services.
Fund the expansion of behavioral health services that address the full continuum of care, including the expansion of inpatient facilities and additional outpatient programs at all levels.
Provide systemic support for Texas’ childcare infrastructure to expand access to quality and affordable care options that enable parents to participate in the workforce.
Ensure Texas remains a welcoming state for all and the premier state in the nation for all people to live, work, play, and do business.
Preserve individual companies’ rights to manage their organizations and employees according to their unique needs.
Elevate initiatives tied to public safety that build greater trust between various communities and those serving in public safety roles.
Primary business issues with a direct connection to business and where it would typically be appropriate for the fwc to take a position, though it may not always choose to do so.
These issues are core to business’ bottom line, such as taxes and regulations of major significance. The fwc will often take positions on these issue in coordination with our members in an effort to amplify their importance and present a united front to lawmakers.
Due to the sheer volume of such issues, we will not take a position on every such issue. When an issue rises to a level of significance for our membership and there are not clearly conflicting positions within our membership, we will likely take a position. The priority placed on the issue will be determined largely by practical considerations.
Enabling Business Issues that create an environment for businesses to thrive and contribute to regional growth and opportunity.
These issues include public and higher education, workforce development, and transportation and infrastructure.
FWC members typically do not dedicate their internal resources to addressing these issues, rather they look to organizations like the FWC to build consensus and impact policy outcomes on their behalf. As such, this activity is a key value-add the FWC provides our members.
Positions are developed in consultation with our members through the Government Affairs Committee and other channels.
Social issues with Indirect Impact on business may resonate within the community but have little or no impact on business. While these issues attract considerable public attention and tend to generate strong partisan responses, they seldom have a clearly identifiable nexus to business or economic development.
In cases where a nexus to business is strongly established, the FWC must determine if it can truly impact to final outcome. Taking a position on such issues will be based on overwhelming consensus of the FWC Executive Board upon the recommendation of the Government Affairs Committee.
