State Chamber of Oklahoma President and CEO Fred Morgan will testify in front of the Legislative working group on medical marijuana this Wednesday, September 19. Speaker Charles McCall and Pro Tempore-Designate Greg Treat assembled this group to explore issues surrounding the implementation of Oklahoma’s new medical marijuana law. While there are many holes in the statute that need to be addressed by the Legislature, the focus of the State Chamber’s presentation will be on protections for Oklahoma employers.

Upon the passage of State Question 788, the State Chamber immediately advocated for a special session to be called to, at the least, delay implementation of the new law.

However, since a special session was not called, the law went into effect thirty days after passage. The legislative working group has heard from more than a dozen stakeholder groups and countless individual citizens who have an interest in the new medical marijuana industry. These stakeholders include pro-marijuana advocates, law enforcement professionals, medical professionals, and industry experts from other states. It is now time for the business community to speak up and advocate for protection for Oklahoma’s employers. 

Many thanks to our members who either participated in our working group meetings at the State Chamber over the past couple of months or reached out to us individually to give feedback. Your input helped us formulate our message that will be shared with the legislative working group. Be sure to keep an eye out for our presentation and accompanying documents in next week’s CEO Briefing newsletter.

Testing of Medical Marijuana a High Priority

National experts spoke to the legislative working group on medical marijuana this week about the need for testing standards within Oklahoma’s new marijuana industry. Owing to State Question 788 not addressing testing standards in detail, the legislative task force sought advice and guidance from experts who are involved in policymaking in other states.

Public health advocates across Oklahoma are concerned that contaminants and pesticides will be found in medical marijuana products if testing standards and guidelines are not put into place quickly. The legislative working group plans to work with the Health Department in the near future to formulate regulations related to the testing of marijuana products. 

Contact: Adria Berry

This week, the Oklahoma State Election Board launched a new service that will allow voters to update their address or party affiliation online. “We are pleased to announce the launch of phase one of Oklahoma’s online voter registration project, the Online Voter Registration Update service,” said Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary, Paul Ziriax. “This new system provides a secure and convenient way for registered voters to update their address within the same county or change their party affiliation.  

The new service comes after numbers were released this week on how many people switched party affiliations between April and August of this year. More than 19,000 Oklahomans made the switch to the Republican party. More than 9,000 Democrats and around 3,500 Independents switched to Republican. Ziriax stated that this follows the trend that officials have seen in our state over the last 5-10 years.

"We've seen a trend over a number of decades of growth of Independent voters and Republican voters and a decline of the percentage of voters registered as Democrats. So, that in and of itself is not surprising,” said Ziriax. To read more on this story, click here .

Contact Mike Jackson

According to a new report, more Oklahoma students are earning college credit while still in high school; the number has nearly doubled in the past 11 years. Not only are the students enrolling in college courses, they are passing them at 92%, says Tony Hutchinson, who presented the report to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

"We have a pretty low college-going rate in Oklahoma, below the national average," Hutchison said. "Students that take concurrent enrollment — of course these are better-prepared students — go to college at a much higher rate, which is a good thing."

Concurrent enrollment, which the Regents have long supported, is also shown to benefit students after they leave high school. Oklahoma's 2016 college-going rate was 45 percent of all public high school graduates, but 60 percent of concurrent students.

To read more, click here .

Contact Jennifer Monies

The Oklahoma Healthcare Authority Board voted on Thursday to increase provider reimbursement rates for the first time since 2009. The agency received a boost in funding from the legislature this year to ensure this provider rate increase was made available. Through additional administrative savings and drug rebate collections, the agency was able to offer providers more than the legislature anticipated.

With approximately one in four Oklahoman's on the state Medicaid program, this rate increase will help the provider community to be able to continue to treat Medicaid patients.

To read more about the provider rate increase, click here .

Contact Emily Shipley

OK2030 Regional Forums – Various dates and locations

As part of its OK2030 vision plan, the State Chamber of Oklahoma Research Foundation is hosting a series of regional forums and you’re invited to attend. We’ll share progress made so far on OK2030 reforms, discuss what comes next and hear your ideas on how we can continue moving Oklahoma forward. Click here for dates and locations and to register for these FREE events.

Health Care Summit – October 10

9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Hilton Garden Inn & Edmond Conference Center

Health care affordability and accessibility affects businesses of all types and sizes. The State Chamber’s Health Care Summit will highlight innovations that will shape the future of the industry and discuss potential reforms to improve Oklahoma’s health care. Click here for more information and to register.

Infrastructure Forum – November 8

8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | River Spirit Casino Hotel, Tulsa

Infrastructure is key to a healthy Oklahoma economy. Join us as we bring together industry leaders and elected officials for an open discussion on the issues facing Oklahoma’s local, state and federal infrastructure. We’ll explore our state’s historical infrastructure policies, highlight current partnerships and share ideas for strengthening Oklahoma’s structural backbone – our roads and bridges, rail and port systems, broadband, utilities and water infrastructure.  

Contact: Lindsey Sparks

Got questions about the upcoming state questions? Back by popular demand, the State Chamber is hitting the road to offer our 2018 State Questions presentation to local chambers and organizations across Oklahoma. With five state questions slated for the November 2018 ballot, it’s important that your members understand both sides of each issue. Our presentation can be as long as one hour or as short as 30 minutes to accommodate your meeting format. We'll also provide state question booklets after the presentation for your distribution and use.  

To request a speaker, contact Rachael Hunter . There are a limited number of slots open, so request your presentation date today!