Ambassadors take on Lansing

Posted by on May 11, 2015

Amy ClicknerAs you can imagine, important decisions are being made and policies are being created every day in the state capitol. For us, that is 400 miles away, often times making it difficult to participate in the process in person. That is why legislative advocacy is a key strategy of the LSCP.

We understand that many of our large employers have their own government relations staff and we are here to complement those efforts. But for small and mid-sized businesses, we play the important role of being their eyes and ears at the state level. We do this in a variety of ways.

At the staff level, we receive daily legislative updates allowing us to track bills that have been introduced, as well as, insider news from Lansing. Our Chairman’s Circle members also receive a summary of this activity on a weekly basis. When there is legislation being created or debated that will affect our region we make sure to vet the information, share it with our members, encourage feedback and decide on a strategy moving forward. For issues that already fall under the legislative priorities outlined in our policy agenda, we move to either supporting or opposing.

An important group under the LSCP umbrella is the Marquette County Ambassadors. For 30 years, this group of local leaders has made an annual pilgrimage to Lansing armed with white papers outlining the most critical issues affecting our region. In a two day period, they divide and conquer approximately 30 separate meetings and host an evening reception for all of the state legislators, key department staff, lobbyists and various other friends of the U.P.

This year was a hallmark event for the Ambassadors. Building on the success of a joint visit with Delta County last year, this year the group collaborated with five counties (Delta, Dickinson, Houghton, Baraga and Keweenaw) to carry a strong and consistent message to Lansing. Top issues for the region? Energy, dark stores, transportation and workforce.

Here are some examples of the people and departments we met with:
• Department of Environmental Quality
• Lt. Governor Brian Calley
• Michigan Public Service Commission
• Michigan Economic Development Corporation
• U.P. Legislative Delegation
• Deputy Legal Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Rick Snyder, Valerie Brader
• Department of Natural Resources
• Department of Corrections
• Department of Community Health
• Natural Resources Commission
• Travel Michigan
• Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

These meetings and the associated white papers fit into our overall Policy Agenda. The guiding principles of our Policy Agenda are:

• Support a regulatory climate that will help the region attract quality business, industry and jobs to the area and to retain/expand existing business and industry while balancing environmental stewardship.
• Support development and maintenance of infrastructure systems that encourage economic development.
• Advocate for changes necessary in P-20 education to prepare all students for careers of the future and to provide a skilled workforce to support the region’s employers.

Building relationships in Lansing, and Washington, are critical components of any successful economic development organization’s strategy. To find out more about how the LSCP implements our strategy visit www.marquette.org and click Connect to Advocacy & Regulatory Affairs.

If you have any feedback in this area, don’t hesitate to give me a call (906.226.6591) and we can discuss.

LSCP CEO, Amy Clickner, writes a bi-weekly column for the Mining Journal.

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