As a U.S. Chamber Accredited and 5-Star Chamber of Commerce, we serve as the voice of the business community at the local, state, and national level on a number of public policy fronts.
Key Issues
The Chamber’s annual legislative agenda, titled Key Issues, highlighted our regional priorities for 2023 in seven areas: Business & Economic Development; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Health Care; Military & Defense; Transportation; Workforce Development & Education; and Workforce Housing.
Key Votes
After the 2023 legislative session, our Chamber’s annual guide, titled Key Votes, tracked the votes of each State Representative and Senator on bills impacting the Tampa Bay region, starting with votes on the key issues outlined in our Chamber’s legislative agenda.
Advocating for the Return of Transportation Dollars
We continued to advocate for the immediate return to Hillsborough County of $570 million in escrow collected from the county’s 2018 Transportation Sales Surtax and that it be used only for transportation projects. While others proposed a sales tax holiday, our Chamber successfully advocated against it during the Florida Legislature’s regular session and special session in 2023 – raising awareness of the 30-year, $13 billion backlog in transportation projects in need of funding. In December alone, Chamber Members sent 660 letters to our legislators in Tallahassee.
Catalyst Trip
In September, Chamber members met with our region’s congressional delegation, members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and advisors in the White House to advocate for key concerns. They included increasing the locality pay for active-duty service members, much needed reforms in the property insurance industry, and reinstatement of innovation tax credit terms that allow businesses to invest in research and development.
Candidate Interviews
Increasing voter engagement at the local level, we produced our annual video series of Candidate Interviews in advance of the March 7 Tampa City Council races. The series included nearly 20 candidates in Districts 1 – 7 and was shared across our media platforms.
Tampa City Council Runoff Debate
On March 28, we hosted the only Runoff Debate with all Council Candidates participating. Partnering with Hillsborough Community College and MoU partners, the debate was free to the public and livestreamed.
Public Policy Roundtables
Sponsor: Verizon
The first of two Public Policy Roundtables focused on Florida’s new immigration law, SB 1718, featuring State Representative Berny Jacques; Maria del Carmen Ramos, Shumaker; and Mike Harting, 3 Daughters Brewing.
The Public Policy Roundtable focused on healthcare affordability featured Kipp Snider, PhRMA; Bree Rizzo, Florida Blue; and Sherry Hoback, Tampa Family Health Centers.
Chamber leaders met with Tampa Bay legislative delegation members to advocate for the return of the $570 million in escrow collected from the 2018 Hillsborough County Transportation Sales Surtax.
Sep. 12–14 – The Chamber delegation travelled to Washington D.C. with business leaders to meet with our region’s Congressional Delegation.
Aug. 8 – Public Policy Roundtable focused on Florida’s new immigration law, SB 1718 and its implications for local businesses.
Ensuring the broadest access possible for local voters, we partnered with 10 News Tampa Bay to livestream our March 28 runoff debate.
Nov. 6 – The Chamber delegation, including Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, rode the new Brightline Train, receiving a guided tour from transportation leaders.
Nov. 3 – Public Policy Roundtable focused on healthcare affordability.
The Chamber’s annual Benchmarking provides the business community and industry leaders with invaluable perspective on economic development initiatives, partnerships, and consequential legislative decisions in regions with interests or concerns similar to ours. In 2023, more than 100 members traveled to Boston. Here at home, we received more than five chambers of commerce and associations traveling to Tampa Bay for their own benchmarking trips. Delegations from Charlotte, NC; Dayton, OH; Houston, TX; Nashville,TN; and Oklahoma City, OK sought out details on various areas of our programming.
22nd Annual Benchmarking Trip: Boston
Oct. 9 – 10 The Tampa Bay Chamber delegation traveled to Boston, Massachusetts for the Benchmarking Trip. Tampa Bay area business leaders met with representatives from Accenture’s Innovation Hub, Massachusetts Port Authority, the President of the Boston City Council, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and The Longwood Medical & Academic Area (LMA) collective, which serves one of the largest concentrations of medical institutions in the country.
Led by 2023 Benchmarking Program Chair Stuart Brown, Accenture, the trip centered around best practices and innovations that can be adapted or learned to meet our region’s needs.
Meeting Highlights
- Driving change through innovation, developing community partnerships and collaboration with educational institutions to build a healthcare innovation ecosystem.
- Capitalizing on all aspects of the seaport, from containers to cruise ships.
- How chambers of commerce, advocating on behalf of their members, can make an impact on public policy in their region and state.
- Developing pathways to economic mobility through workforce development programs that include apprenticeships, workforce training and collaborations like the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership.
Chamber Delegation visited Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Leaders from the Massachusetts Port Authority, Accenture’s Boston Innovation Hub and one of the country’s largest concentrations of medical institutions, Longwood Collective, met with our delegation.
Benchmarking speakers included representatives from the Boston City Council, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Liberty Mutual’s Apprenticeship Program, and this Q&A with Chairman Brian Butler and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
Sponsors
- Accenture
- Baker Barrios Architects
- Bank of America
- Florida Aquarium
- Suffolk Construction
- Tampa General Hospital
- TECO
- USF Health
- Verizon
A reflection of our Chamber’s strategic vision, workforce development programming helps meet the needs of the region’s business community and supports our advocacy in business growth and workforce needs. Programming and public policy initiatives help create sustainable talent pipelines, and align training programs, degrees, and apprenticeships with industry needs.
Work Redefined Series
Sponsors
- Hillsborough Community College
- Feeding Tampa Bay
- Suncoast Credit Union
- Wehr Constructors
Quarterly, Work Redefined events enhance workforce development programming at the Chamber. The series of panel discussions and gatherings are designed to help grow and retain top talent in the Tampa Bay region. Sponsored by Hillsborough Community College, this year’s series focused on training needs in technology; recruiting and retaining talent; artificial intelligence in the workplace; and the annual State of the Workforce.
Workforce Development Committee
The Chamber’s Workforce Development Committee is a moving force behind the academic and business partnerships that connect the business community with training partners in the front lines.
Workforce Development Interview Series
New in 2023, we launched the Workforce Development Interview Series showcasing local assets helping the business community address increased needs in recruitment, retention, and up-skilling employees. Among the subject experts in the five-part series were Hillsborough Community College and the University of Tampa.
Work Redefined: Hiring Hidden Talent featured subject experts from I Rise FL, The Grow Group Inc. and CareerSource Tampa Bay.
Our committee worked alongside Chamber Members to help launch the Electrical Line-Worker Training Program at Hillsborough Community College Brandon Campus.
Our Workforce Development Interview Series garnered attention from local media, including this interview on Fox 13 on the HCC Post-Secondary Adult Vocational & Apprenticeship Program.
September – State of the Workforce was centered on artificial intelligence in the workplace.
During filming at Vu Studio, we showcased how partnerships with local organizations can be a powerful resource for businesses addressing workforce shortages using the example of HCC and TECO.
Our Chamber supported the “ALL GOV Job Fair” hosted by the Hillsborough County Clerk of the Court. The one-day job fair included opportunities with 12+ government agencies and local municipalities.