Sign on: Keep our Children Safe, Improve our Toxic Chemicals Law
To the Honorable Members of the Joint Standing Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources,
As small business owners, we advocate for policies that promote responsible economic development, environmental stewardship, and investment in community. We are the backbone of Maine’s economy, and we help provide a political voice for Maine’s small business community. We believe that good economic policy works both for small business owners and the customers they serve.
To the Honorable Members of the Joint Standing Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources,
Dear Senator Collins and Senator King,
Throughout our nation’s history, generations of new American business owners and workers have helped build strong local economies and strong communities. Today, outdated and out-of-touch immigration policies are hindering our economic progress instead of fueling it. It’s time for common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform that works for small businesses and our local economies.
The Maine Small Business Coalition believes that immigration reform should:
Today, the Maine Small Business Coalition, in partnership with the U.S. Public Research Interest Group, released a new report that reveals that Maine loses $58 million in revenue a year due to offshore tax dodging. Many of America's wealthiest individuals and largest corporations use tax loopholes to shift profits made in America to offshore tax havens, where they pay little to no taxes.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has placed consideration of a political spending disclosure rule on its agenda for 2013. This rule would be a significant step forward in increasing transparency and leveling the playing field in national elections. Unfortunately, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has come out in opposition to the SEC's proposed rule.
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce also signed on to the national Chamber's letter of opposition to this common-sense rule - the only state chamber to do so.
House and Senate Democrats yesterday announced a set of priorities focused on improving the economy and supporting the middle class.
We're glad to see that one of these priorities is fixing the rate hike bill, Public Law 90, and that House Speaker Mark Eves cited the rate hikes experienced by Maine Small Business Coalition members in his remarks as a problem that must be addressed.
Fixing Maine's insurance system means taking three immediate steps: