The Business Issues & Public Policy (BIPP) Committee is the advocacy arm of the Chamber. BIPP identifies and acts on key business and community issues of interest to Chamber members. Areas of focus include local, state and federal legislative issues, as well as business and industry related issues such as transportations, development, environmental health & safety, regulation and business trends. The committee makes recommendations to the Chamber Board of Directors for official adoption. The committee also informs and educates membership and members of the Mountain View community on key issues through topical forums, written communications, and publicity.

The committee meets on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, 12:00pm – 1:30pm via Zoom. To join, please read the guidelines below and send an email to info@chambermv.org to request an invitation to the next meeting.

Qualification of Members

Any Chamber member in good standing is eligible to become a member of the BIPP committee. To become a BIPP committee member, a Chamber member must attend a BIPP meeting and submit a committee agreement form. Attendance at a second BIPP meeting signifies committee membership and voting privileges. Attendance count will be taken via sign-in form or over Zoom. The BIPP Committee shall meet at regular intervals. Absence of a Committee member from three consecutive meetings without an excuse deemed valid by the Committee Co-chairs may be construed as a resignation of that Committee member.

Voting

Each member business in good standing shall be entitled to one vote. A member is in good standing if it has met the committee attendance requirements and paid its dues in full for the current year, and is not in arrears in paying its dues and any other Chamber payment/s for any previous year or years. Once voting privileges have been met, a BIPP member may transfer his/her vote via proxy if they are unable to attend a meeting.

Meeting Agenda

The staff and the Committee Co-chairs will review and set the agenda items in advance of meeting in accordance with the mission. Items that are aligned with Chamber public policy principles and/or have a committee history of taking position on a similar item will be placed on a consent calendar.

Meeting Confidentiality (To be read by Chair at beginning of meetings)

All Chamber meetings are confidential unless specifically determined otherwise by the CEO, COO or the Board of Directors. Therefore, unless noticed otherwise, it is to be understood that any statements made Chamber meetings will not be made public. Additionally, any recommendation from a committee to the Board of Directors shall not be made public. It is important that the organization speak as one voice.

Advocacy

The Chamber welcomes discussion and presentation of any subject within the organization’s sphere of activity or operations. Advocacy matters are the responsibility of the Board of Directors, with recommendations provided by BIPP. Presentations on policy matters should be made first to the BIPP Committee, unless otherwise suggested by the Chair of the Board or the President/CEO in which case the matter may go directly to the Board of Directors. Presenters before the BIPP committee may also be asked to present to the Board of Directors.

Advocacy positions will be based on the merits of the proposal and adherence to the Chamber's policy values and principles. They will not be based on the proponent’s membership status. Board positions generally require one month to pass the committee recommendation process, with the Chamber Board of Directors as the final decision-making body.

We recognize that a healthy economy is balanced by quality of life, and believe in businesses and the community at large working together to make Mountain View the best place to live, work and play.

Political Campaigns and Endorsements

The Mountain View Chamber of Commerce is non-partisan and will support positions, measures and initiatives that further our mission, goals and objectives, and shares the Chamber's policy values and principles. We support local leadership who are eager to engage the Chamber of Commerce as a key partner in developing meaningful solutions.

For ballot measures and political candidates, the Chamber follows a formal, documented endorsement process. An endorsement by the Chamber of Commerce means the candidate may name the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce as an endorser in public statements and campaign materials; ballot measure or legislative group can name the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce as stating it is supporting the initiative or opposing it, depending on the outcome of the recommendation. Chamber endorsements do not include financial support.

The Chamber will announce its endorsements to Chamber membership and the general public through PR, media outreach, social media, and on its website. Any Chamber member, officer, director, staff, or committee member that wishes to publicly support a candidate can do so, but may only state their affiliation with the Chamber in their endorsement if the Chamber has already officially announced its endorsement of the candidate.

This policy is not to be construed as an effort to limit or discourage political activity of any member in any way, but only to limit the use of the Chamber of Commerce name and the name of any committee. Neither is the policy construed to mean that political candidates are prohibited from using the Chamber of Commerce name as a part of civic activities or organization memberships in campaign literature, advertising or editorial matter.

Thank you to our BIPP Sponsors!