Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce

Issue Support Policy and Procedures

The Chamber believes in supporting important issues and causes that impact dues-paying members by offering the credible name of the organization as a supporter.  As such, the Chamber takes great care in protecting the reputation of its members and the good name or the Chamber itself.  We do this by following principles and policies to ensure Chamber support statements accurately reflect the desires of as many members as possible, and to ensure that the Chamber has the resources and capabilities to effectively vet requests. Following is the process for requesting Chamber support statements:

1. Support requests are initially submitted through a written form by a Chamber member or non-Chamber member. If submitted by a non-Chamber member, the requestor must have a Chamber member as a sponsor. The Chamber President, when the need arises, can bring issues straight to the board.

1. • Completed request forms are submitted to the Board Advocacy Committee for initial review. The form can be submitted at the same time to the Government Affairs Committee, the Natural Resources Committee and the Board Advocacy Committee if needed.  Please include any copies of actual legislation or rules with the request form.
   • Requests will be reviewed against the Chamber’s beliefs, mission, vision and broad impact on membership.
   • The Board Advocacy Committee will make a recommendation to the whole Board for approval or denial or may send the request to the Natural Resource Committee and/or Government Affairs Committee for further review and comment before making a final recommendation to the Board.
   • The requester can schedule presentations with the Government Affairs and/or Natural Resources Committee. Additionally, the Board can request a presentation based on information from the Board Advocacy Committee, the Government Affairs Committee or the Natural Resources Committee.
   • Support requests from other chambers and state business associations can be made directly to the Chamber President. The Chamber President would review the request with the Board Advocacy Committee before action.

2. Requests for Chamber support statements for local, state or federal legislation or rules should also be presented to the Chamber’s Idaho and/or Washington State Government Affairs Committees. Support requests may be submitted to the Natural Resources Committee, the Government Affairs Committee and the Board Advocacy Committee at the same time if expediency is a concern.
3. Requests will be processed as quickly as possible and will not be rushed. Although we will accommodate to the best of our ability, there is no turnaround time guarantee.   We suggest requesters begin the process early and fill out the form completely at first submission.
4. There is no guarantee that the Chamber will lend their name for support. Requesters must clearly state why their effort is important to the majority of the Chamber members.  Additionally, some requests may be simply too complex and detailed, making it difficult for the Chamber to conduct necessary due diligence with resources at hand.
5. Requests involving social and/or community issues not directly linked to local, state or federal legislation or rules, will be submitted to the Board Advocacy Committee for initial review and comment, and then forwarded to the Board of Directors for review and discussion.
6. At this point in time, the Chamber does not endorse candidates running for office.
7. The Chamber does not allow direct solicitation of individual members by outside entities or organizations during Chamber meetings and events.  Soliciting support, signatures or requesting to use or publish businesses’ and/or members’ names should not occur during Chamber meetings or events.  If an issue has previously received formal support by the Chamber, however, such solicitations can be referred to an appropriate outside contact for further participation.