Policy Development Process

Each biennium, BIA establishes a proactive legislative and regulatory agenda through a four-step process.

Step 1 - Policy Development Roundtables
With support and cooperation from local and regional chambers of commerce and business groups, we organize roundtable discussions throughout the state. We talk with business and opinion leaders about the advantages of doing business in New Hampshire and discuss their top challenges. We also ask them to recommend specific policy initiatives on which BIA should focus during the coming year.

Step 2 - Member Survey
BIA builds a questionnaire based on information from the roundtables and surveys its membership. The survey asks members to rank their top business challenges and recommend action steps BIA should pursue in response to the challenges.

Step 3 - Policy Committee Review
​BIA staff analyze the results of the policy development survey and align specific business challenges and recommended action steps with BIA's policy committees. These include the Economic Development and Fiscal Policy Committee, the Manufacturing and End Users Policy Committee, and the HR/Health Care/Workforce Development Policy Committee. Committee members discuss the challenges and action steps and forward recommendations to the BIA board of directors.

Step 4 - BIA Board Review
BIA's 90-member board of directors reviews the policy committee recommendations and selects top priority issues and related action steps. This list becomes BIA's proactive legislative and regulatory agenda for the upcoming biennium.

BIA PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC POLICY

BIA supports public policy that:
  • Minimizes inefficient or unnecessary government permitting or approval processes
  • Minimizes shifts in costs or subsidies from the public to the private sector
  • Minimizes benefit mandates
  • Fosters a well-trained and educated workforce

BIA does not support public policy that:
  • Effectively puts business out of business
  • Leads to involuntary socialization or takeover of business
  • Unfairly impacts business
  • Regulates everyone when a specific situation is the target
  • Affects the ability of New Hampshire businesses to be competitive. Regulation of commerce is often best dealt with at the federal level.

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