ABI Leads on Environmental Policy

The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) has been known for its policy, advocacy and political work for many decades. Most notably, ABI’s advocacy for Iowa’s Right to Work law, a fair workers’ compensation system where employers direct and pay for all care, and a stable unemployment trust fund that is there for employees who lose their job through no fault of their own.

If you are a new member of ABI, or haven’t yet joined the association, you may not know ABI is also known for its environmental regulatory work. As you have read in past editions of this column, our organization has five public policy committees. While most of the committees do the bulk of their work during the policy development process in August each year, the Environment Committee meets year-round.

The Environment Committee has more than 175 members. Committee members focus their efforts on regulatory proposals and also reviewing what other states are doing that may work in Iowa. To stay up to date on what’s happening, ABI public policy staff subscribes to the Department of Natural Resources newsletters. We are also members of the National Association of Manufacturers and receive regular updates from them on federal issues. ABI staff meets with professional and technical staff at the DNR, we attend Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) meetings and participate in meetings and calls with organizations that can help us increase our technical knowledge.

Although you may think of ABI as an organization that is at the Capitol 24/7 January-May, we hope you won’t forget we are also here for members January- December 24/7 on regulatory issues. If you want to learn more about the Environment Committee and how to get involved, we have three ways for you to get engaged:

1. Join the Environment Committee by contacting Nicole Crain or Brad Hartkopf at ABI.
2. Read the Environment Newsletter, which committee members receive directly and others can read when published in the ABI e-news.
3. Let us know if you have positive or challenging issues about your relationship with the DNR to share with ABI staff. We want to be a resource to you and need your input to make a difference.

Whether it’s the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Revenue, Iowa Workforce Development or any other state agency, we hope you will turn to ABI when you think of a resource to help on technical policy and administrative issues. To all ABI members, thanks for your support of ABI and your help to ensure ABI’s environmental efforts are successful.