The Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire is pleased to host U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte on Jan. 25, for a briefing with business leaders. The senator will speak at a luncheon event to be held at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Sen. Ayotte will provide an update on her efforts at the federal level to create a positive climate for New Hampshire businesses to compete and create jobs. She is expected to deliver prepared remarks and then take questions from the audience.

The luncheon event is sponsored by Bank of America, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Catholic Medical Center, Centrix Bank, FairPoint Communications, Fidelity Investments, Gallagher Callahan & Gartrell, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, McLane GPS, Rath Young and Pignatelli, and TD Bank.

Cost to the attend the luncheon is $35 for BIA and Capitol Connect members and $49 for non-members. To register, visit BIAofNH.com and click on the events calendar. Call 603-224-5388, ext. 116 for information.

Sen. Ayotte was the first woman to serve as the state's Attorney General. Appointed to that position in 2004 by a Republican governor, she was twice reappointed by a Democratic governor. In her first bid for public office, she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 with 60 percent of the vote. In the Senate, Ayotte serves on the Armed Services, Budget, Commerce and Small Business committees. She is the ranking member - top Republican - on the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.

About the BIA: The Business and Industry Association is New Hampshire’s statewide chamber of commerce and leading business advocate. The BIA represents more than 400 members in a variety of industries, including advanced manufacturing, high technology, professional services, financial services, health care, hospitality and tourism, public utilities, higher education and insurance. Member firms employ 86,000 people throughout the state and contribute $4.5 billion annually to the state’s economy. Through advocacy with state legislators and regulators, the BIA works to promote a healthy business climate and robust economic future for New Hampshire.

The BIA’s 2013 public policy priorities include: preserving the New Hampshire Advantage through  support of fiscally conservative state budgets with a business-friendly regulatory and tax structure; supporting business tax policies that foster economic growth; supporting infrastructure development; supporting efforts to increase the availability and affordability of housing for working people; supporting pro-business labor rules and regulations that consider the rights and responsibilities of workers and management; supporting efforts that enhance outcomes and reduce/slow the growth of total healthcare costs for employers and the state; supporting efforts to develop New Hampshire’s future workforce; working towards mitigating the long- and short-term costs of energy; supporting efforts to reform the state’s telecommunications regulations to ensure fairness and equal competition among all service providers; and supporting environmental policies, legislation and administrative rules that balance economic development with the long-term viability of the state’s natural resources through a collaborative process. For more information about the BIA, visit BIAofNH.com.