Protecting Arizona’s Economic Competitiveness featuring Danny Seiden and Courtney Coolidge

Every year in Arizona, legislators introduce hundreds of bills, most of which are never enacted. This year, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry (“Arizona Chamber”) identified 67 “Job Killer” bills which would have imposed substantial new taxes, costs, or administrative burdens on Arizona businesses. Ultimately, none of these bills were enacted, and the story has been similar for years. But this raises the question: what would happen to the state’s economy and business environment were some or even all these bills ultimately passed into law?

CSI Arizona has utilized the experience and research of our partners in Colorado to estimate the potential impacts on Arizona’s economic prospects of enacting some of the many policy ideas on this list. Bills like those studied here are being shopped at state legislature across the country, and many of them have been introduced annually at the Arizona Legislature. Though they have not moved in the past, the lesson of Colorado’s anti-business policy transformation over the past half decade shows that climates can change quickly. Our full report can be found here.

Our Executive Director and Guest Host Katie Ratlief welcomes Danny Seiden, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and Courtney Coolidge, Vice President of Government Affairs, to the show to discuss the report, the job killers, and the past present and future of Arizona's economy. 

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Danny Seiden is President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Danny brings more than 16 years of experience in global public affairs and government relations, as well as handling complex legal matters in private practice and public sector service. Prior to joining the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Danny was general counsel to the Valor Global leadership team. He focused on helping achieve growth objectives as well as providing continued public affairs guidance in AZ, WA and other States.

Courtney Coolidge serves as the Vice President for Government Affairs at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Prior to joining the Chamber, Courtney served as the Senior Director for State Relations at Arizona State University and the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Arizona Department of Public Safety where she oversaw legislative affairs, government relations, policy development and implementation. During her time at AZDPS she worked on several significant projects including the Arizona Border Strike Force, self-driving vehicle operations, and management of the Arizona Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Task Force.