Meeting Public Comments

Drew Kamp [Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce]

As I review the text of the bill, this is less comprehensive than SF402 and HSB235, but it still ties to the proposed new code section 554E, which if mirrored after the proposed provisions of 554E included in SF402 would have broad impacts to technology in general. As home to Google's largest global data center, policy proposals such as this, as well as connections to this new code chapter are concerning, as they would have broad impacts and several unintended consequences. During the discussion on SF402 yesterday, we heard several speak to the impacts tying in all state and local political entities would have, including access to email systems for public entities, general computer software functionality and all tie ins that includes, web services for these governmental entities, and many more. That is concerning to us as a business advocacy organization who partners with these entities regularly and such proposals would adversely impact their ability to effectively and efficiently operate, as well as our ability to connect and work with these entities. It is also important to note provisions of the proposed new chapter 554E (if modeled after the provisions in SF402) have the potential to impact existing contracts, which may open the state to litigation and the costs associated with said litigation. Coming back to the local perspective, bills such as this will adversely impact technology companies and their relationship with the state. Google has been a great partner to Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, and Southwest Iowa in general. Google has not only invested $2.5 billion in the Council Bluffs community, they have also invested in community betterment projects for a dozen years and granted hundreds of thousands of dollars back to our community. They are exemplary corporate citizens and have made Council Bluffs and Southwest Iowa a better place by their presence in the community. They have also provided a wide array of resources to assist small businesses as they weather the impacts of COVID19 and were a key player in the Blink community wide WiFi system, which is known on a global scale for its success and impact in providing connectivity to the entire community, especially underserved areas, which has been critical as more people work, learn, and receive healthcare virtually. Bills such as this send the wrong signal to tech companies already located here and considering locating here. Those located here may consider limiting investment, expansion, and job creation at their existing facilities, which negatively impacts state and local government revenue and communities in general, as a wide array of organizations have been assisted by Google's grants and philanthropic activities throughout the community. In closing, this bill changes the current messaging to the tech community that Iowa is open for business and an ideal place for them to invest, locate, and grow their footprint, all while investing in the communities in which they have operations or will potentially have operations.We respectfully ask you consider these factors as these discussions continue to occur, as they will have broad and lasting impacts. Thank you for allowing me to address this issue.