Public Policy Update

At last month’s Public Policy Committee meeting on March 23rd, the committee welcomed guest speaker Liz Rodriguez, with the Santa Barbara Community Formation Committee, to hear an update on the draft recommendations for Civilian Oversight of the Santa Barbara Police Department, and the different models being discussed by the Community Formation Commission and the Santa Barbara Police Department. The Santa Barbara City Council will consider the recommendations at their April 22nd meeting. To view the draft recommendations, click here.

The committee also welcomed Adam Regele, Senior Policy Advocate with Cal Chamber. Adam gave the committee an update on state legislation. There are many new bills this year, and Cal Chamber works hard to identify the bills that will impact businesses, and advocate in support or opposition of them, often in cooperation with local chambers and businesses. For a comprehensive look at the bills currently on Cal Chamber’s watch list, click here.

Jennings Imel, Executive Director of the Western Regional Office with the US Chamber of Commerce spoke to the committee on the US Chamber’s work at the national level. Currently, the US Chamber is focusing on inflation as it relates to supply chain issues and looking at energy and housing as solutions to bring inflation down. The US Chamber is also working on addressing the current workforce issues through the America Works Initiative, which offers data, case studies, and solution options for businesses to explore.