It’s good to be home!
I am honored to be given the tremendous opportunity and responsibility to be the lead advocate for the
business community in Oklahoma as the next President and CEO of the State Chamber of Oklahoma.
I know I’ve got some big shoes to fill, too. For more than a decade, Fred Morgan set the standard for chamber leadership by improving the state’s business climate and protecting Oklahoma’s job creators. I’m glad to know that Fred will still be a part of the business community, and I look forward to working with him.
As your next President and CEO, I am motivated to do whatever I can to ensure that Oklahoma remains competitive for your continued investment and growth.
I am eager to use the experiences and skills developed over my career, particularly during the last seven years in the challenging world of promoting and defending Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry, to take the State Chamber to the next level of advocacy and engagement.
So, how are we going to do that? It’s a pretty simple formula that has worked well for me.
We are going to be the most engaged, most helpful, go-to resource and collaborative partner that Oklahoma’s leaders want on their team.
We will have policymakers proactively coming to us for help on their issues, or better yet, asking us to provide them with research-based policy to implement that improves the climate for business in Oklahoma.
We will pick our battles wisely and win on the issues when we choose to engage.
We will promote and utilize members of the State Chamber that are subject-matter experts on a given issue. Chamber staff will facilitate the relationship, but our members armed with real-world experience and credibility will be our not-so-secret weapon. The engagement of these experts will have a profound impact on the public policy decisions that our leaders make.
We will remember the bottom line in the advocacy business: it’s all about relationships, communication and engagement. And in those areas, we will be the very best.
We will be the conveners, the coalition builders, and when necessary, the cajolers. We are going to be the association that you need to be a member of if you want to get stuff done. And, the group that you don’t want to see on the other side of your issue.
Again, I am honored to be the next President and CEO of the State Chamber, and I know that working together we will be incredibly successful ensuring that the voice of business is heard in all of the policy arenas that matter in Oklahoma.
Thanks,
Chad Warmington
President & CEO
State Chamber of Oklahoma
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Mike Jackson
Issue Areas: Economic Development, Taxation and Retail; Energy and Natural Resources; Small Business and Manufacturing
This was the second week of session, and the legislative process is moving at a faster pace than usual.
House Bill 1992
passed the floor of the House this week. The bill allows municipalities to create public safety districts funded by ad valorem tax revenues. The State Chamber worked with supporters to ensure manufacturers, industrial buildings, public service corporations, agricultural land and agricultural cooperatives are exempt from any ad valorem tax increases associated with the newly created districts. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The State Chamber is lobbying against
House Bill 1403
,
which puts additional burdens and regulations on water permitting processes. We’re working with a large coalition to stop this bill from becoming law and to ensure water is available for Oklahoma industry and manufacturing.
We honored Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson and Speaker of the House Charles McCall as economic development advocates of the year at the Oklahoma Economic Development Council’s annual Day at the Capitol event. Based on discussions during the event, we expect language to be added to
House Bill 3150
to allow the Incentive Evaluation Commission to make recommendations based on successful programs in other states.
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Emily Crouch
Issue Areas: Health Care; Workforce Development
Oklahoma has over 3,000 emergency certified teachers across the state.
Senate Bill 1115
would allow a school district to renew an emergency certificate for a teacher an unlimited amount of time. Rather than allow for an unlimited number of renewals, the business community is focused on supporting growing our teacher pipeline and getting the best and brightest teachers leading our students in the classroom. We are hopeful this bill will not receive a hearing before the upcoming committee deadline.
Passed earlier this week in the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education,
House Bill 3805
will support the development of a report that will identify gaps within our education system across common education, CareerTech and higher education. This bill is now headed to the full House Appropriations and Budget Committee.
House Bill 3222
passed the House floor this week and is one of the first few bills headed over to the Senate for consideration. This bill removes the requirement that a driver's license must be revoked upon a conviction for simple possession of a controlled dangerous substance while driving. Among other concerns, revoking an individual's license could have a negative impact on their ability to maintain employment. This bill appears to be a change in the right direction.
Eleven state agencies in Oklahoma spend taxpayer dollars on mental health services. But unfortunately, these entities have no central reporting repository that gives us a comprehensive picture of where those funds are being directed.
Senate Bill 1350
will require a one-time reporting of these agencies' spending, funding and strategies related to mental health and help our state make more informed policy decisions in the future.
After failing in a committee last year,
House Bill 1112
remained in the House Public Health Committee and was not expected to reemerge during the 2020 session. However, earlier this week, the House Public Health Committee heard HB 1112 for a second time during the 57th Legislature. The bill, as amended, required certain immunization lists to be approved by the Legislature. The bill failed in committee, again, by a vote of 4 to 6.
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Cordon DeKock
Issue Areas:
Aerospace, Technology, Defense and Telecommunications;
Transportation and Infrastructure
This week,
House Bill 4028
passed out of committee. This legislation directs the state Department of Transportation to examine where rural roads and infrastructure are inadequate for current demands or future demands.
Next week, a number of other transportation issues will be heard in committee, including
House Bill 2872
. This legislation would require all trucks and trailers — including agricultural vehicles and trailers — to install side underride guards at substantial cost to owners. Also, on the agenda is
Senate Bill 1775
that would consolidate the duplicative functions in the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority with the state Department of Transportation. This was referenced by Gov. Kevin Stitt in his State of the State Address.
Aerospace will see bills regarding unmanned aerial systems (UAS), including
Senate Bill 1688
and
Senate Bill 1896
. SB 1688 would create the Oklahoma Droneport Pilot Program and an associated fund. SB 1896 would create the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Development Act, which would create a central registry for drones in the state and address some privacy concerns.
House Bill 3724
, the so-called Oklahoma Electronics Owner Right to Repair Act, has received a lot of attention this week. This legislation could invalidate intellectual property rights held by manufacturers and undermine the ability of businesses to innovate. A growing coalition of businesses across industries is opposing the bill and urging that the bill should not be heard in committee before the deadline on Feb. 27.
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Kinsey Westwood
Issue Areas:
Human Resources and Labor Law; Legal Reform; Workers' Compensation
The Workers’ Compensation Commission
voted
to take no action on the Physician Advisory Committee’s
proposed deviation
from the American Medical Association Guides to Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Sixth Edition. The State Chamber opposes any deviation from the Sixth Edition and will work hard to ensure there are no attempts to achieve a deviation in the Legislature.
House Bill 3096
aims to modernize Oklahoma unemployment by linking unemployment benefits to economic conditions. Prolonged unemployment insurance benefits keep people out of the workforce and can drain unemployment insurance reserve funds. Pairing unemployment benefits with economic conditions will encourage Oklahomans to get back to work faster when employment is readily available.
The bill also keeps the unemployment insurance fund from exceeding the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) measure for trust fund solvency, which can keep money out of the economy that could otherwise be utilized to create job growth and can also tempt the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) to unnecessarily expand benefits and eligibility. Currently, OESC is sitting on over $1 billion, putting the solvency rate at 1.7 (DOL’s solvency rate is 1). The fund has increased by 6.52 percent between 2018 and 2019. This means Oklahoma has the eighth-most solvent fund in the country and reflects an overtaxing of employers by nearly half a billion dollars.
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Now more than ever, we need an environment that creates opportunities for Oklahomans, encourages new investment in our state, fosters innovation and helps businesses of all sizes grow and create jobs.
But some legislation — however well-meaning — threatens to undermine our ability to prosper.
OKJobKillers.com
alerts employers, entrepreneurs and the public to these dangers. Every year, the State Chamber tracks thousands of bills to identify
job-killing legislation that:
- Imposes costly mandates
- Expands government red tape
- Creates barriers to economic growth
- Increases liability costs
- Rolls back successful reforms
- Raises taxes or shifts taxes to businesses
- Interferes with the ability to contract
- Creates uncertainty in the marketplace
Coming soon, we will release our list of 2020 job killers.
By highlighting these bills, the State Chamber will educate stakeholders to amend or stop bad legislation before it jeopardizes our state’s immediate and long-term economic success.
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Recap: State Chamber Hosts Oklahoma’s Largest Networking Event
Over 700 business, community and government leaders from across the state attended our Legislative Reception Wednesday evening at the Oklahoma History Center.
Distinguished guests included Gov. Kevin Stitt, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, nearly 90 legislators and several state officials and cabinet members.
The event was preceded by the State Chamber Board of Directors Meeting, which included a special keynote address by Lt. Gov. Pinnell sharing his
rebranding initiative for our state
as well as the installment of the State Chamber’s new President and CEO, Chad Warmington.
Thanks to all who attended and supported this event. We greatly enjoyed your company and conversation! Be sure to check out the photos from the event on our
Facebook page
!
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OEDC Holds Annual Day at the Capitol
This week, the
Oklahoma Economic Development Council
(OEDC) held its annual Day at the Capitol to hear from legislators about vital economic development issues and showcase the economic development profession.
OEDC members met with key members of the House and Senate leadership to discuss economic development issues and current legislation moving through the process. In addition, lawmakers briefed OEDC members on other important policy items such as the state budget, health care, education and workforce development, just to name a few.
A highlight each year includes the announcement of OEDC’s Legislative Advocates of the Year: House Speaker Charles McCall and Sen. Roger Thompson. These deserving lawmakers join their peers over the last 25 years as being recognized for leadership in supporting economic development initiatives that contribute to a pro-business environment in Oklahoma.
The event concluded with a Lunch & Learn session featuring Chris Schwinden with Site Selection Group. Schwinden was commissioned by the Tulsa Regional Chamber to do a three-part evaluation of the region's workforce development competitiveness. Schwinden's study discussed how Oklahoma ranks among other states in funding for workforce training, customized training resources, tuition support for students, collaboration among state training institutions and offered potential solutions to allow Oklahoma to compete in the talent attraction arena.
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Member Event:
The Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth Welcomes The Legatum Institute
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Annual Meeting:
June 24
Governor’s Economic Development & Workforce Summit:
August 11-13
Washington D.C. Fly-In:
September 14-16
Golf Classic:
September 30
Public Affairs Forum:
December 9
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PO Box 53217 | Oklahoma City, OK 73152
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[email protected]
. Do not reply directly to this email.
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