Competitiveness Agenda
Economic & Business Climate
POLICY SYNOPSIS
To elevate Southern Arizona’s position as a destination for business investment and innovation, the region must maintain a strong, predictable, and transparent business climate. That includes streamlining regulatory systems, supporting foundational industries, investing in infrastructure, and engaging all levels of business—from entrepreneurs to anchor industries. Through strategic collaboration and smart governance with education, nonprofit and private sector partners in workforce development, The Chamber of Southern Arizona can help build a climate that fosters job creation, economic diversification, and long-term prosperity.
Chamber Policy Positions
- Support robust investments in energy, broadband, water, sewer, transportation, energy and other foundational infrastructure to enhance the region’s competitiveness and remove barriers to business expansion across industries.
- Advocate for a more efficient and transparent permitting, zoning, and taxation system that minimizes delays, reduces costs, and provides clarity to businesses of all sizes, while encouraging early involvement of local businesses in policy discussions.
- Prioritize and promote economic development efforts focused on core regional sectors like aerospace/defense, mining, and biosciences/healthcare, while also championing the growth of advanced manufacturing and sustainable technologies.
- Support policies that ensure locally owned businesses, startups, and small enterprises are recognized, included, and empowered in economic development decisions, procurement opportunities, and planning processes.
- Support city, town and county budgeting that balances expenditures with available budget resources, and does so by making policy choices that reduce costs or grow revenue before increasing taxes or fees on businesses and residents.
- Grow talent availability across the region by addressing the factors that attract professionals to a community, like a robust healthcare system, and increase labor force participation rates among current residents in their prime working years.
- Support incorporation efforts to encourage regional allocations of state-shared revenue and inclusion of under-represented communities in regional planning discussions and decisions.
Quality of Place
POLICY SYNOPSIS
A region’s ability to attract and retain talent, encourage business investment, and foster community well-being depends heavily on its quality of place. In Southern Arizona, affordability, access to natural beauty, safety, cultural vibrancy, and infrastructure all contribute to creating livable, desirable communities. However, rising housing costs, underinvestment in public spaces, and uneven access to amenities create challenges that affect employers and residents alike. A competitive region must cultivate inclusive, safe, and amenity-rich environments to remain a destination of choice for families, workers, and investors.
Chamber Policy Positions
- Advocate for clean, safe, and family-friendly public spaces and public infrastructure, including policies that proactively and effectively address crime, chronic unsheltered homelessness, and public drug use.
- Advocate for fully funded and staffed public safety departments throughout the region, that are empowered to do their duty.
Strengthen the prosecutorial process for holding offenders accountable, and influence meaningful policy adjustments. - Support policy changes and public-private initiatives that accelerate the development of workforce and market-rate housing near job centers, transit corridors, and educational institutions to ensure affordability for a growing population.
- Advocate for sustained local and regional funding for parks, trails, museums, and performance venues—recognizing their role in talent retention, tourism, and economic development, especially in underserved communities.
- Support a stronger town-and-gown relationship between the higher education institutions and the regional governments that could accelerate opportunities for new development and other regional partnerships.
- Partner with Visit Tucson, cultural institutions, and tourism stakeholders to promote Southern Arizona as a premier destination for recreation, cuisine, heritage, and events—building on the region’s unique desert environment and vibrant communities.
- Ensure that major business recruitment and expansion efforts are accompanied by investments in surrounding communities—including schools, broadband, health care, and childcare—to support families and workers in high-growth areas.
International Trade & Commerce
POLICY SYNOPSIS
International trade and commerce are vital drivers of Southern Arizona’s economic growth, supported by the region’s strategic location along key North American corridors and its proximity to Mexico. The Tucson region benefits from strong cross-border connectivity, multimodal logistics infrastructure, and established trade relationships—particularly in sectors such as aerospace, mining, and advanced manufacturing. However, to remain globally competitive, the region must continue to invest in border efficiency, transportation infrastructure, and international partnerships. Enhancing customs processes, expanding rail and freight capacity, and leveraging foreign trade zones will strengthen Southern Arizona’s position as a gateway for international commerce and supply chain resilience.
Chamber Policy Positions
- Support efforts to modernize and expand trade and global commerce.
Support the use of existing trade and investment tools and relationships to promote supply chain resiliency and reliability. - Support efforts to attract additional foreign direct investment to southern Arizona.
Support efforts to improve efficiency, modernize technology, upgrade facilities and increase staffing and hours of operation at ports of entry along the Arizona-Sonora border to facilitate tourism, legal labor mobility and the movement of safe and secure international trade. - Support efforts that make southern Arizona a destination for nearshoring manufacturing and operations across key cluster industries.
Economic & Business Climate
POLICY SYNOPSIS
Southern Arizona benefits from strong anchor institutions like the University of Arizona and
Pima Community College, which produce a steady pipeline of skilled graduates in critical fields such as engineering, biosciences, and applied technologies. To stay competitive, the region must deepen partnerships between education, industry, and government to expand career pathways, improve K–12 outcomes, and scale up workforce training programs—particularly in advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and information technology. A focus on inclusive talent development will help ensure that Southern Arizona retains and attracts the skilled workers needed to power its future economy.
Chamber Policy Positions
- Advocate for responsible and accountable resourcing of the K12 education system, and stable funding models of public universities and community colleges, provided that academic outcomes and workforce preparation are improved and accelerated.
- Support policies and local institutions that increase the number of students who are college and career ready, through CTE programs that are aligned to workforce needs, stackable credentials, apprenticed degrees, fast-track programs, etc.
- Work with industry and education partners to ensure a trained and skilled workforce in key industry clusters including Aerospace and Defense, Transportation and Logistics, Healthcare and Health Sciences, and Mining and Renewable Technology.
- Advocate for policies that increase access and reduce barriers in our community to participate in the workforce training and development pipeline and in full employment, including affordable housing, affordable childcare, and other aligned elements of The Prosperity Initiative.
Economic & Business Climate
POLICY SYNOPSIS
While the region has demonstrated strong water stewardship through long-term planning, conservation, and diversified supply strategies, growing demand and ongoing drought conditions across the Southwest highlight the need for continued investment and innovation. In parallel, aging infrastructure—particularly in transportation, broadband, energy, and wastewater systems—must be upgraded to meet the needs of expanding industries and a growing population. Strategic, coordinated investment in resilient infrastructure and sustainable water management is essential to supporting economic growth, ensuring public health, and maintaining the region’s reputation as a well-prepared and future-ready place to do business.
Chamber Policy Positions
- Encourage the continuing need for diverse energy sources in economic development and municipal/regional planning.
- Support Arizona’s and CAWCD’s efforts in the 2026 Colorado River re-consultation to ensure fair and equitable distribution of Colorado River water reductions among the seven Basin states.
- Promote reliable regional infrastructure, coordinated and expanded across local jurisdictions, as an essential government function that is necessary to preserving and improving economic growth and quality of life; given that, strongly support and partner on reauthorization of the Regional Transportation Authority.
- Support statewide efforts to ensure that present and future water allocations provide for current and future business needs, and promote a message about southern Arizona’s strong water position.
- Support legislation and regulations that maintain and improve the safety and reliability of Arizona’s water, energy and utility infrastructure, while ensuring access and affordability to businesses for economic development that in turn benefits Arizona’s ratepayers.
Connect With Us
Want to learn more? A member of The Chamber’s Business Advocacy team will respond to any written inquiry within one business day.
Michael Guymon
Chief Advocacy Officer
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