Cap-to-Cap to Focus on Water, Transportation & Innovation

The Sacramento Metro Chamber will lead over 320 of the Capital area’s top business, government and civic leaders on the 45th Annual Capitol-to-Capitol (Cap-to-Cap) program in Washington, D.C. from April 18 – 22 to propose solutions to important regional issues.

“Cap-to-Cap provides a unique opportunity for business, civic and political leaders to align once a year around issues concerning the six-county Capital Region and to work directly with federal representatives to organize broad-base support for critical initiatives,” said Peter Tateishi, Metro Chamber President and CEO. “This program has been very successful over the last 44 years and we look forward to making a strong impact in 2015.” 

This year, the delegation’s top priority issues demonstrate the key areas of focus for the region: water resources, transportation, and innovation & economic development.

The water resources team is calling for federal water officials to support an operational plan to recognize the link between supplies in Northern California and the rest of the state. Additionally, the team will encourage funding for infrastructure improvements and investments for supply reliability and a unified regulatory approach that proactively plans for the impacts of climate change on water use.

The priorities of the transportation team include increased funding and identifying revenues to streamline delivery on regional priority projects that promote mobility to grow the local economy. Other areas of focus surround aviation infrastructure (specifically replacing the control tower at SMF) and increasing safety of shipping crude oil by rail.

The innovation & economic development team recognizes that the growing innovation economy in the Sacramento region can be enhanced through educating and retaining entrepreneurs. Discussions will focus on providing maker spaces for STEM education, supporting basic and applied research, securing increased capital to small businesses, extending energy tax credits and enhancing workforce and community development.

Additional policy teams will advocate for air quality, civic amenities, community development, flood protection, food & agriculture, health care, homeland security, land use & natural resources, and workforce & education. All twelve teams drafted papers outlining policy positions and recommended solutions that can be reviewed on the Metro Chamber website.