Business Advocacy

The most important core aspect of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce is to provide a more positive business climate throughout the state. The Chamber works diligently each day with state law makers and corporate executives to provide important tax break incentives for our established employers as well as perspective businesses. We recognize the importance of providing a positive, free enterprise economic climate and how it affects our future. With a flourishing, business friendly environment, more jobs will be created, putting more West Virginians to work, improving our communities, and finally making West Virginia a marketable location to do business. Strengthening the state’s ability to attract, keep, and grow jobs is the Chamber's highest priority!

Over the past few years, the West Virginia Chamber along with its members have been experienced several victories including: the enactment of major reforms to and privatization of the state's Workers’ Compensation system, reduction in business taxes, passage of several insurance and tort-reform measures, a solution to the state's medical malpractice crisis, creation of added health insurance options, stoppage of onerous labor-backed measures (captive communications, mandatory overtime prohibitions) and tax relief for the technology services industry.

Restore Balance West Virginia

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce continues to support an ongoing campaign, Restore Balance West Virginia, which is a statewide education initiative designed to generate public awareness about our state's laws and policies that are "out of step" with the rest of the nation and to develop local community support for changing these laws. The ultimate goal is to restore West Virginia to a more balanced and competitive environment for job retention and growth.

Mission

Our mission is to work with the state's local chambers of commerce as well as other organizations to

  1. enhance and improve the standard-of-living and quality of life for all West Virginians

  2. achieve a statewide job creation rate that is equal to the national average

Outcomes

  • Enact legislation to address key civil justice issues.

  • Ensure that the state's environmental laws and regulations are based on sound scientific principles and do not place permitees into uncompetitive situations related to surrounding states.

  • Modernize the selection of justices to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

  • Examine how we can reduce West Virginia's business tax rates to the national average.

  • Bring West Virginia's education test scores up to the national average and prepare workers for the 21st Century economy.

  • Continue investment in maintenance and expansion of the state's transportation infrastructure.

 


"Every day, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce works to make West Virginia a better place to do business by giving private-sector employers a voice in state politics and protecting business interests before regulatory bodies, the Legislature, and the courts."