During its annual legislative breakfast Dec. 11, the Greenville Chamber released its 2021 public policy agenda with a focus on several policy changes, including education and criminal justice reform.
Some of the reforms the chamber is focusing on include supporting hate crimes legislation, expansion of record expungement for nonviolent offenders, giving more assistance to citizens returning jail or prison to help them find employment, increasing teacher pay to the national average, exploring pay bands to compensate teachers based on special skills and giving Upstate districts more flexibility in recruiting top talent.
“As businesses resume hiring and economic growth accelerates, we may quickly find ourselves back where we were in 2019 when many businesses struggled to find top talent,” said Max Metcalf, Greenville Chamber 2021 board chairman. “We have an opportunity now to remove barriers in advance of a hiring acceleration so we may expand the workforce and expand the Upstate’s prosperity.”
In addition to a focus on criminal justice and education reform, the Greenville Chamber’s policy agenda includes:
- COVID-19 liability reform
- Removing barriers to joining the workforce
- Exploring solutions for more affordable and accessible childcare
- Increasing access to broadband
- Ensuring the availability of affordable housing
- Continued progress on the University Ridge and Downtown Conference Center projects
- Funding Greenlink’s long-term development plan
- Unifying the area’s sewer systems
- Extending streaming and broadcast of local government meetings
“Greenville is expected to have nearly 750,000 people by 2040,” Neil Batavia, the vice chairman for advocacy on the 2021 chamber board of directors, said. “It is imperative that we invest now in transit, broadband and 5G, sewer infrastructure and housing, so that vital infrastructure does not become a liability to economic prosperity.”
Related: Greenville Chamber announces 2020 Minority Business Accelerator graduates, 2021 class
The agenda, released in concert with the Upstate Chamber Coalition and the SC Metro Chamber Coalition, outlines the Greenville business community’s priorities for Greenville County and South Carolina.
While the policy agenda has been revealed, the Greenville Chamber and Upstate Chamber Coalition are not planning to unveil a federal agenda until they gain more clarity about the transition to a new presidential administration as well as which party will control the U.S. Senate.
To view the full 2021 public policy agenda and advocacy guide, visit greenvillechamber.org/advocacy/public-policy-agenda.
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