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Advocacy As Pittsburgh’s leading regional advocacy organization, the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce works to influence lawmakers and other key decision makers on a number of state and federal issues important to economic growth and prosperity. To achieve our objectives, we regularly conduct outreach initiatives that bring together public and private sector partners around policy issues that affect our business climate competitiveness. Our outreach initiatives include the chamber’s monthly First Friday series, which brings together the region’s government and public affairs community to engage with elected and other public officials on issues that are important to the region’s business community. We also hold several legislative receptions throughout the year to recognize the achievements and efforts of our local, state and federal elected officials to create a more competitive climate for business investment in our region. In addition, the chamber partners with several regional and statewide coalitions that are aligned with our mission to create a stronger, more prosperous region and state. Find out more about our coalitions. For information on engaging in our state advocacy work, contact Jennifer Beer, Director of Government Affairs, at 412.281.4783 x3114. And for information on how to get involved in our federal advocacy initiatives, contact Brandon Mendoza, Government Affairs Associate, at 412.281.4783 x4552. 
Select one of the following pages to find out more about the state and federal issues we are working on now:
Pennsylvania’s corporate net income (CNI) tax rate of 9.99 percent is the second highest in the country, and the highest of any large state. Additionally, the Commonwealth is the only large state that caps the amount of net operating losses (NOLs) that a company can carry forward and offset against their CNI tax liability in future years. These issues can raise a red flag for businesses looking to locate or expand here, hindering our region’s ability to attract investment. In 2005 the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, through the Allegheny Conference, led the formation of CompetePA – a statewide coalition of more than 130 businesses that is focused on reforming the state CNI structure and addressing other business tax competitiveness issues. Recent successes championed by CompetePA and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce include the increase of the sales factor formula to 100 percent and the continued phase-out of the Capital Stock & Franchise Tax (CSFT). Moving to a single sales factor apportionment formula and continuing the CSFT phase-out were priorities of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and CompetePA that will lead to a stronger business climate for our region and the Commonwealth. Visit CompetePA’s website for more information and details on how to get involved. Additional resources:
Thriving communities are essential for a prosperous state and a healthy business environment. The business community understands that our future is inextricably linked to the health of our communities. Yet, Pennsylvania's 2,562 municipal governments operate under outdated, inflexible and uncompetitive state laws and policies that often undermine their financial stability. In particular, the uncontrolled costs associated with municipal pensions and binding arbitration decisions create an unsustainable situation for even the best fiscally managed municipalities. The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce is working through the Coalition for Sustainable Communities (CSC) [hyper-link] to advocate for reforms to these issues and other issues. A recent success championed by the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and the CSC include the passage of SB 1321 – now Act 133 of 2012 – that put the teeth back in Act 47. This law restores a well-established provision that requires arbitrators to consider a municipality’s fiscal condition when crafting an arbitration agreement between municipalities and their employees. Visit the CSC’s website for more information and details on how to get involved.
An efficient civil legal system is essential for a prosperous economy. All of us shoulder the burden of an expensive and inefficient legal system through higher prices, lower wages, decreased returns on investment in capital and land, restricted access to healthcare and less innovation. The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce is working with a broad based coalition of organizations – from medical societies to insurance groups and the business community – to assure that we have a broad package of reforms that would limit lawsuit abuse and increase fairness, common sense and personal responsibility. A recent success championed by the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce include the passage of Act 17 of 2011, “Joint & Several” liability reform, which was signed into law by Governor Corbett. This legislation was considered the first major step of a comprehensive campaign to increase fairness in the Commonwealth’s legal system. Additional resources:
Transportation and Infrastructure The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and the Allegheny Conference support the recommendations put forth in Governor Corbett’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission report. We believe well-planned transportation and infrastructure investments make the Pittsburgh region more attractive for business investment and provide a high quality of life for residents. The chamber believes that a key role of government is to provide sound networks to move goods, services and utilities to market, and has long supported policies that strengthen these networks. A recent success championed by the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce is the passage of Act 88 of 2012 which enables public-private partnership (P3) legislation. P3 legislation is an important tool in our transportation and infrastructure investment toolbox and it will help to create jobs and opportunity through new options to develop and fund Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure needs. Visit the Transportation and Infrastructure website for more information and details on how to get involved
Energy / “Friends of NETL” (National Energy Technology Laboratory) For 100 years, Greater Pittsburgh has been the birthplace of energy innovation due in large part to the cutting-edge research conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) located in suburban Pittsburgh, PA. NETL – the nation’s only federal government laboratory devoted to fossil fuel research – dedicates federal dollars to research, innovation and commercialization of technologies that make fossil fuel use and electric grids more cost-effective, efficient and environmentally responsible. The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce supports a broad, all of the above, strategy for energy, including continued encouragement of research & development in fossil fuels technologies. Our region must continue to support the research, development and commercialization conducted by NETL. “Friends of NETL” is a community-based coalition that endorses the mission and goals of NETL. It is engaged in communication, education and advocacy efforts to demonstrate the broad support that NETL’s mission has across the region and country. Businesses, chambers of commerce, trade associations, universities, environmental groups and energy groups that are encouraged to join. Reasons to join include:
Membership in the coalition is open to all interested companies, organizations, and institutions. Learn more about joining “Friends of NETL”
Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition – a network of metropolitan chambers of commerce in the Great Lakes region. The region is among the world’s most important economic engines, covering all or parts of twelve states and two Canadian provinces. The coalition is pioneering a new type of collaborative model between the federal, state and local governments and the private sector to develop the groundwork for a stronger, more interconnected Great Lakes region. As part of the coalition, the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce advocated for the passage of a roughly $105 billion fully-paid-for federal Transportation Reauthorization bill which is likely to provide support for engineering for such projects as Oakland-Downtown transit and the extension of the new highway, Continental 1, through western Pennsylvania. Learn more about the Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition’s agenda
The Power of 32 is one of the largest regional visioning initiatives ever undertaken that engaged thousands of individuals across 32 counties in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to create a shared vision for economic growth and regional prosperity. The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development were early collaborators within the Power of 32 process and played a key role in formulating it’s regional agenda. The Power of 32 is an ongoing project. Early achievements include:
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