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 Since 1895, Metro Chamber volunteers have worked to improve the economy and enhance the quality of life in the greater Sacramento region. The annual Cap-to-Cap program is one of many Metro Chamber activities that brings the region’s business, labor and government leaders together to build consensus for important regional priorities. Cap-to-Cap is an ongoing [...]  Government relations is one area in which it would be very hard for you to do for yourself what your REALTOR® association does for you. Just the amount of time and expertise involved can be overwhelming. Volunteers and state and federal lobbyists work all the time to protect your ability to do business, by looking out for private property rights and private property values. It’s not an exaggeration to say that our industry is under attack every day. The work the association does here is so vital, and you may never hear anything about it. A problem may start when a regulator has what seems like a good idea, but does not understand the ramifications. This is where our two SAR advocates do such important work. Caylyn Brown and Eric Rasmusson follow issues at the County and the cities of Sacramento, West Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Orangevale and Carmichael, as well as other government agencies such as water, sewer and air quality. By developing and maintaining critical relationships with local officials, Caylyn and Eric are often able to deal with issues when they are still ideas, long before they are proposed as ordinances or regulations. A good example of the behind-thescenes work they do occurred when Caylyn was reviewing the agenda of an upcoming council meeting of one of our suburban cities. She noticed a proposed regulation of “Open House” signs. One effect of the regulation would have been to limit open houses to Sunday afternoons only, which would have had a direct and detrimental impact on our Members’ ability to do business in that city. The city staff person didn’t realize that that’s what the regulation would have done. Diligent SAR staff and volunteer efforts took care of the issue before it went any further. Continue reading: Working to Protect Your Ability to Do Business  By the time you read this, some 300 Sacramentans, including six representatives from SAR, will have returned from the Metro Chamber’s Cap-to-Cap trip to Washington DC. The annual Cap-to-Cap program brings the region’s business, labor and government leaders together to build consensus for important regional priorities. Volunteers working on 13 teams will bring the region’s top issues to our nation’s leaders via 90 issue papers and more than 230 appointments with elected leaders, the Obama administration and other agency officials. Cap-to-Cap is the largest local chamber of commerce program of its kind in the nation. I have a special regard for this effort. In 1943, in the middle of WWII, my father, Otto Rohwer, who was then the president of the Chamber of Commerce, went to Washington DC as part of a regional delegation to lobby Congress – not for more defense contracts – but for appropriations to build the Folsom Dam. Sixty-seven years later, I am serving on the Flood Protection team. On the Flood Protection team, we worked for 200-year flood protection. Funding is not the only issue; we worked to educate federal agencies on how outdated regulations and policies stand in the way of flood protection and improving regional water supply. The other Members of our delegation this year were Doug Covill, President-elect; Kathy Fox, Secretary- Treasurer; Nelson Janes, Executive Vice President; Caylyn Brown, Government Affairs Director, and Eric Rasmusson, Government Affairs Consultant. We spread out through the halls of Congress and numerous government agencies, bringing Sacramento’s message. |
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Thursday, May 19th, 2011
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