The Chamber’s Executive Board met on Thursday, June 15 at the NuStar Energy headquarters. The Chamber’s 2023 Chair of the Board Katie Harvey, CEO of KGBTexas Communications, kicked off the meeting by inviting Sam Dawson, CEO of Pape-Dawson Engineers, to give the invocation. Immediately following approval of the minutes, Katie invited the Chamber’s Public Policy Council Chair Jeff Webster, VP Business Development, Jacobs Engineering Group and a former San Antonio City Councilman, to share his thoughts about the recent City Council elections. Jeff provided Board Members with a very high-level review of the election results and shared his positive outlook on the Council.
Katie then called on Jeff for an 88th Legislative session update. Jeff mentioned that more than a thousand bills passed, and that there were some very important bills that passed that will help San Antonio and our business community, including
- HB 5, which will ensure Texas can compete for large-capital intensive investments, which will bring jobs and long-term revenue to Texas communities.
- HB 8, which is the community college finance reform bill, providing an additional $33 million expected for Alamo Colleges to help with reskilling and upskilling our local workforce.
- SB 2220, which adds authority of certain municipalities and local government corporations to use certain tax revenue for certain qualified projects. This bill will help support critical investments for the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the Alamodome, supporting economic development in our region as well as tourism and hospitality.
He also mentioned that there will be a Texas constitutional amendment on the November ballot that will include water funding and funding for broadband expansion and suggested that the Chamber form a task force to advocate for these issues.
The Chamber’s Interim President and CEO Dave Petersen gave an update on the Chamber’s Strategic Plan, including objectives that have been met, gap closure, key metrics, and plans moving forward.
Finally, Dave presented the President’s Update, which included updates on the Chamber staff, our new Customer Relationship Management tool, membership growth, our upcoming Annual Member Meeting, a new program with the US Chamber Foundation, and upcoming events.