Third Quarter Is Important

With football season almost upon us, most of us can’t wait for that first kickoff.  The usual flood of sports talk shows, message boards, and other football hype have already begun with familiar, if not overused clichés.

One of the many football standards that coaches and announcers love to bring up is the importance of starting the second half, or third quarter strongly to build momentum for the final push toward victory.  The same applys to our local economy.

Of course, there are many more substantial economic indicators, like unemployment rate, retail sales, and tax revenues to gauge the economy, but don’t discount  one of the simplest, if not the most scientific methods:  tracking local ribbon cuttings.

Through the first half of the calendar year, Chamber ribbon cuttings in Enterprise were off substantially with only 11 events conducted through the first 6 months.

But we seem to come out of the locker room fired up, because we have conducted or scheduled more ribbon cuttings in July and August than in the entire first half of the year.  And summer is traditionally a slow period for these activities.

I don’t know if the coach gave us a great pep talk at half time, or if things have just started to come together, but whatever the reason, I’m glad to see more businesses open their doors.

Let’s keep the momentum going.

Good For Business, Too

In the previous post, I mentioned some of the new legislation that is largely favorable to business.  During the recently ended session of the Alabama Legislature, there was quite a bit of proposed business-negative legislation that was killed or not addressed.

Legislation that would have called for the state to accept a one-time federal payment of $100.5 million while expanding unemployment benefits permanently never made it to the Senate.  This is good news for business because it would, in effect, become a $42 million tax increase on jobs.  The fight on this is probably not over, since the deadline to accept these funds, and permanent expansion of benefits, is September.

Legislation that would have forced businesses and employers to verify that their employees are in the country legally was killed.  This law would have forced employers to prove that all their employees are here legally, or  be forced to close their doors.  While most people agree that this has a valid goal, the administrative burden should not be on the employer.

Cellular phone retailers do not have to worry about collecting E-911 fees for the Wireless E-911 board.  Proposed legislation would have moved the responsibility for collecting these fees from the wireless carrier to the retailer.  As a cell retailer, I can tell you that this would have been another undue burden on business.

As posted earlier, the Guns to Work Bill was shot down.  This would have taken away a property owners right to decide whether guns could be brought on to his or her property.  See an earlier post for the details.

Another bill that never saw the light of day  would have excluded findings of fact made under unemployment compensation statutes from consideration as evidence in other proceedings. This legislation would have deprived retailers and other businesses of the ability to use an employee’s previous statements and findings in discharge and other cases.

House Bill 577   would have required Alabama employers to give about 8 1/2  hours of sick time for every 80 hours worked to  an employee who works more than 2,060 hours annually.  The legislation also would have required employers to keep time sheets for every employee for five years and create a presumption of guilt if the records were not kept.  The bill didn’t even get a committee hearing.

Another bill with laudable life-saving goals, but an expensive price tag for small businesses did not make it.  House Bill 355 would have required any business that serves or admits more than 1,000 customers monthly to have an automated external defibrillator. The devices, which cost up to $3,000, require training specific to their operation as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.  Not to mention the potential for law suites if not used properly.

The second attempt to remove the state tax on groceries and over-the-counter medicines was defeated.  Not that these taxes shouldn’t go away, but the lost revenue would have been replaced by the gradual elimination of the state deduction for federal taxes paid.  This $407 tax increase would have been especially damaging to small businesses.  We need to find a way to eliminate theses taxes with rebates or subsidies to the poor, not further tax small businesses.

There were lots of other job-killing and business-damaging bills that never made it to law.  All in all, this legislative term was a good one for business.

Good for Business

The recently finished regular session of the Alabama State Legislature may be remembered for the battle over bingo, dealing with Education budget shortfalls, and FBI investigations.   But amidst the circus atmosphere, many issues that affect business were dealt with, primarily with positive outcomes.

According the Alabama Retail Association, several new laws are on the books that will help small businesses grow, create jobs, and assist law enforcement in fighting crime.    

Starting in January 2011, Alabama pharmacies will electronically track the sales of over-the-counter products that contain ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, key ingredients in the production of the illegal drug, methamphetamine.  The cost of equipment and training for the retailers will be covered by the pharmaceutical manufacturers.  Alabama will be able to share data with other states to help thwart illegal purchases of legal medicines.

As mentioned in previous posts, retailers and other businesses can now deduct up to 50 percent of the gross wages paid to any employee earning $10 or more an hour who is hired off the unemployment rolls and then employed full time (37.5 hours weekly) for a full year. The one-time deduction can only be claimed after a worker has been on the payroll for a year.

The legislature overrode the Governor’s veto to allow retailers to sell fortified wines.  As of July 1st, retailers will be able to sell desert spirits like port, sherry, and vermouth, previously available only at state ABC stores.  The same act will allow beer retailers to sell gourmet beers that contain higher levels of alcohol.  Previously, only retailers with on-premis and off-premis licenses could sell the products, but now any beer retailer can sell product with an alcohol content up to 13.9 per cent.

A recent Act aligns the minimum thresholds at which individuals and businesses must send in quarterly estimated income tax payments  with federal standards. Under  Beginning with tax year 2009, the rules for federal and state quarterly tax estimations is the same with a few limited exceptions.

Just as important are the proposed anti-business bills that did not pass.  I will cover these in another post.

A Legislative “No-Brainer”

In a rare show of bi-partisan cooperation, the Alabama Senate gave final approval without dissent to the Reemployment Act of 2010.  When Gov. Riley signs it into law, as he is expected, employers and the unemployed will both get a much-needed break.

The law will allow employers to deduct up to 50% percent of the gross wages paid to any employee hired off the unemployment rolls who is then employed full-time (37.5 hours weekly) for a full year. The one-time deduction can only be claimed after a worker has been on the payroll for a year.  A job must pay at least $10 per hour to qualify for the deduction.

This is expected to reduce income tax liability of an employer by about $325 for each $10,000 in wages paid to a qualifying employee earning at least $14 an hour.  There will be graduated deductions for 2011 and 2012 based on wages paid.

Obviously, this is good news for those workers on the unemployment line as well.  With this substantial incentive to employers, a worker on the unemployment role is sure to move to the top of the list for a job opening.

Now, let’s just keep working on creating more of those job openings.

The What and When of the Health Care Law

Th. U.S. Chamber has created several resources for business and employers to help them prepare for the new regulations they are facing from the  Health Care Law.

There are a couple of new articles that update the timeline of regulations,  the aftermath of the law’s passage,  and what business can expect.

Since there is little chance that the law will be repealed or significantly changed, employers should be prepared for the added costs and regulations they will be facing in the coming months and years.

You will find the articles here:

http://www.uschamber.com/chambers/healthcare

Dollars and Diversity

I am asked quite often why Enterprise is growing and prospering at such a rapid rate.  My response always begins with Ft. Rucker. 

 A recent economic study found that Enterprise, once solely a farming community, now has 5 equal spokes in its economic wheel, adding business, industry, service jobs, and the military to agriculture & agribusiness.  Much of the added growth in business, industry, and the service sector can be credited to the presence of a vital military base as our neighbor. 

 Ft. Rucker has given us so much more than a strong spoke in our economic wheel.  It has become an integral part of who we are. 

 As a native of Enterprise, and a Baby Boomer, I cannot remember an Enterprise without Ft. Rucker.  Like so many others, the base provided an opportunity for my father to find work and support his growing family.  One of his first jobs was as a carpenter employed to help construct wood-frame barracks on the rapidly growing Camp Rucker.  After World War II, he secured a civil service job that he kept until retirement.

 Ft. Rucker has not only improved the quality of life of our area, it has improved the quality of our community.  So many military families have come through her gates and into our community that several generations now call Enterprise home.  They have brought with them a diversity of culture and ethnicity that has remade a small agricultural town like so many others, into a multi-faceted, multi-cultural community.  

 Just this week, the city was recognized by the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials with its NBC LEO Cultural Diversity Award.  This is not the first time our city has been honored for its active efforts to welcome and celebrate the many cultures that have been drawn to Enterprise by Ft. Rucker.

 So many military families stationed at Ft. Rucker have chosen to make Enterprise their home because of our fine school system.  In just the last 10 years, the student population of our school system has increased 24%.  That means our school population is outgrowing our general population, which itself has grown almost 20% in the last decade, making Enterprise one of the fastest growing cities in the area and the state.

 We used to think of Ft. Rucker as a neighboring community.  We now consider it and its people part of our community.

February Jobless Rate

There is some good news on the unemployment front:  Unemployment dropped by 1/2 percent in February in Coffee County.

The latest figures from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations shows Coffee county at 8.5% unemployment, down from 9% in January.  That is about 1% higher than this time last year.

For perspective, Coffee county  has the 3rd lowest unemployment rate in Alabama.  The state average unemployment rate remained unchanged from January at 11.1%.  The national average is 9.7%.

Although not where we want it, our unemployment rate is far better than those of other areas, including Barbour county at 14.6%.  Most other counties in the Wiregrass, with the exception of Houston, saw a slight decrease in their unemployment rates for February.

Let’s hope the overall downward trend in these rates continues as we slowly pull out of this period economic uncertainty.

Award-Winning Economic Development

Congratulations to Frank Thompson and the Enterprise Coffee Geneva Economic Development Corporation for a well-deserved honor:  the 2010 Alabama Economic Development Achievement Award.

ECGEDC was honored for their critical work in assisting industry and manufacturers in growing their workforce, and in providing the attractive climate and facilities needed to recruit new industry to the area.

By taking a regional approach to Economic Development, ECGEDC is able to pool the resources and assets of our area to help us better compete with other locations for new industry. 

Even in a tough economic climate, we have been able to grow jobs and attract new companies through the work of ECGEDC.

Congratulations, Frank.  Thanks to you and ECGEDC we are all winners.

Guns-To-Work Disarmed

In what some saw as a shoot out between the 2nd Amendment and the 5th Amendment, it looks like property rights trumped gun rights–this time.

The the Alabama House Commerce Committee voted unanimously yesterday  to carry over SB 360, the “Guns-to-Work” bill, effectively killing the legislation for this session.  This is good news for property owners, employers, and individuals, according to the Business Council of Alabama.

According to Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Linden, a business owner, he supports the Second Amendment right to bear arms and personally owns several guns, “but as a businessman, I have a responsibility to the people who come to do business with me.”  McCampbell added, “I draw the line at caring for the safety of people I’m charged with caring for at my place of business.”

 Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee,  said the timing of the bill was “very bad,” and that it is wrong to tell an employer he could not tell his employees not to bring a firearm on his property. “Truly you are violating the right of that employer,” she said.

The bill would have made it illegal for a property owner to establish a policy prohibiting employees, customers, or individuals from bringing guns on to their property or work place.  The bill would have made it possible for a worker or customer to bring legally permitted firearms into a parking area and leave them in their private vehicle, even if the property owner did not want them to do so.

With frequent incidents of workplace shootings, including the recent incident in Huntsville, many employers and business owners feared that the close proximity of a firearm could prove deadly in cases where a workplace argument or a business disagreement could escalate with tragic results.  The property owners also feared that unwanted firearms on their property could expose them to liability and inhibited their efforts to provide a safe environment for their employees and customers.

Okay, What’s In It?

In a now  infamous quote that is making the rounds on conservative talk radio, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responds to a question about the contents of the massive and bewildering soon-to-be passed Health Care Bill by quipping, “Let’s pass it and see what’s in it!” 

Okay Madam Speaker, you have passed it (albeit it by an obfuscated, heavy-handed method as onerous as the bill itself), so let’s see what’s in it.

Here are links to sources from the U.S Chamber that may help businesses try to understand some of the impact this legislation will have on them and their employees.

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/housesenatebill_final.pdf

http://www.uschamber.com/chambers/healthcare.