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The Mission of the Regional Leglislative Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties
Through a combined effort, the Regional Legislative Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties (RLA) influences legislation and policy decisions, provides coordination to advance the common business legislative interests of the participating chambers and associations, serves as a public policy advocacy group for the region, and provides leadership in legislative advocacy on state and federal issues that impact the participating members. The RLA creates a strong, unified voice for the business community in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, improves and enhances the business climate, and maintains and supports the economic vitality, social community, and quality of life of this region.
The partners have memberships that employ more than 250,000 people in the region, and the outreach continues to recruit other chambers and associations in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Current Alliance members include:
- Camarillo Chamber of Commerce
- Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Fillmore Chamber of Commerce
- Gold Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Moorpark Chamber of Commerce
- Oxnard Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce
- Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce
- Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Ventura Chamber of Commerce
- Ventura County Economic Development Association (VCEDA)
The RLA is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding and is a 501c6 organization. The board of directors is composed of representatives from the participating chambers of commerce and associations, with a maximum of two representatives from each member organization, one of which must be the CEO or their employed designee. The RLA board is comprised of an equal number of chamber and association executives and designated volunteers. This provides all partners equal voting rights regardless of the chamber or association’s membership size.
The chamber and association representatives are responsible for disseminating the information to their respective boards and members.
The operations of the RLA are managed by the board with the aid of the executive director.
The Regional Legislative Alliance is a public policy advocacy group and takes action on appropriate statewide and federal legislation that impacts the business and economic climates of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The current critical issues include, but are not limited to:
- Employment
- Housing
- State Governance
- Infrastructure–Communications, Transportation, Water, Energy
- Taxes and Fees on Business
- Workers Compensation
The benefits of the RLA are: (a) participation in a forum for a broader discussion of issues and an organized way to cooperate and collaborate; (b) receive more clout that can be achieved by a larger constituency; (c) access to current and accurate information and analysis of key issues; (d) assistance for chamber CEO’s, their staffs and their government affairs committees; and (e) a tool for member recruitment and retention.
History of the Regional Legislative Alliance
A couple of chambers in Ventura County discussed the regional concept in 1998. The idea lay dormant until the fall of 2001 when a group of chamber executives from both counties came together to seriously discuss the pros and cons of such an alliance. From there the Regional Legislative Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties began.
The memorandum of understanding between all of the partners provides for a fair fee schedule that allows the smallest of chambers to participate. The funds are used to hire a part-time executive director who also manages the website and researches legislation within the realm of our issues policy.
The RLA website is used regularly for internal information and communication. A policy statement has been developed and refined each year. The RLA has taken stands on hundreds of major issues, mostly related to state legislation and the propositions on the various ballots. The group is closely aligned with the California Chamber of Commerce and participates in their Business Legislative Summit in Sacramento. As part of the Summit, the RLA hosts a dinner and meetings with key legislators and appointees who make decisions that impact our region. The RLA maintains a scorecard on all legislators from the region. RLA partners have memberships that employ over 300,000 people in the region.
After just five years of operation, the leaders of the 12 chambers and business associations of the RLA are very pleased with the impact the organization has made.
