Exec V.P. Highlights
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 Well, it is the last week of the legislative session and
things have been hopping here at The State Chamber and of course at 23rd
and Lincoln too. We don't anticipate legislators leaving early, despite
the memorial holiday. In this issue we hope you find the information
about business legislation helpful. Please pass this information on to
your member businesses...it will help keep them informed and educated on issues
of importance to the Oklahoma business climate.
As you may know, The State
Chamber coordinates a trip of 150+ delegates to Washington, D.C. each year to
not only thank our congressional staff for their efforts throughout the year
but to also hear briefings and present white papers on critical business issues
impacting Oklahoma. We always encourage local chambers and economic
development organizations to utilize our sponsorship levels to gather a group
of business folks from your community to be a part of our D.C. trip
delegation. This year's trip is scheduled for September 13-15th. More information forthcoming but think about joining us on this trip to
help your business leaders get involved in the legislative advocacy
process.
The summer calendar is full of
activities including IEDC's Real Estate Re-Use Training and their Annual
Conference: How to Build it, both in Oklahoma City. The OEDC website provided information on these events, should you wish to register.
Wishing each of you a happy and
relaxing Memorial Day holiday.
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Quick Look at 2010 Legislative Session- The State Chamber of Oklahoma
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Session ends on a high
note...of sorts. Following a tough week in which Oklahoma businesses saw a massive
tax increase on paid health care claims and a two-year moratorium on more than
thirty economic development tax incentives, the business community got some
good news late on the last day of the session. Word was that the governor
would sign the bill that blocked probably the largest business tax increase in
state history and the Legislature decided to allow three of the more critical
tax incentives to accrue while being suspended, thus allowing them to be taken
at a later date.
To see the list of "Productive"
and "Counterproductive" legislation passed this session, Click Here.
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Workers' Comp. Split and Finalized
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Early this week, the authors of workers' compensation reform
in the Legislature, decided to split the one w.c. reform bill into four
separate bills. They did this out of concern that the Supreme Court has
recently ruled that "multiple-issue" bills are
unconstitutional. Therefore, we now have four bills moving forward.
The overview of these bills is attached. We estimate the savings to be
approximately $60 million if all four are signed. This estimate is
arrived at by taking the estimate of Bob Burke (a long-time negotiator of w.c.
reform in Oklahoma - and a claimant's lawyer) and cutting his estimate in
half. We have found that doing so gives us a pretty good estimate of the
true savings of reform bills. Attached is an overview of the final package
of bills and a short what does the package of reforms do. All four bills
of the w.c. reform package passed and were sent to the governor.
View the PDFs:
What Does the Final WC Reform Package Do?
Overview of Final WC Reforms
Mike
Seney
Senior
V.P. - Operations
The
State Chamber of Oklahoma
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The State Chamber of Oklahoma's Annual Meeting- June 15th
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To successfully handle the challenges facing Oklahoma, and
Oklahoma businesses, our state leaders require leadership and knowledge.
The State Chamber of Oklahoma's Annual Meeting &
Luncheon will focus on both. We will start with a discussion of the
Budget Challenges to Oklahoma's Future featuring the executives of both
the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
Then we will hear about the Oklahoma Prosperity Project's
efforts to send an informed electorate to the polls in November and Greg Casey
from the national Business and Industry Political Action Committee will discuss
A Time for Choosing: Player or Spectator...a view of the upcoming
national elections.
We will finish the meeting off
with a Keynote Luncheon address by Mac Anderson, founder of Simple Truths &
Successories, the leader in creating products for employee motivation and
recognition.
The first 300 attendees will receive a free copy of Mac's book
"The Essence Of Leadership"
Click Here for more info and to register.
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Hundreds of Census Job Openings in Oklahoma
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As you know, the 2010 Census is currently conducting Complete
Count Door-to-Door Follow Up Operations. However, we are still in need of
more applicants for positions as Census takers in the following counties: Garfield,
Kingfisher, Osage, Pawnee, Payne, Tulsa, Creek, Seminole, Pottawatomie,
Okmulgee, and Okfuskee. We are asking for your help in recruiting
more applicants for these positions.
Census jobs are perfect for teachers, students (18 years old),
retired persons and just about anyone who wants to earn some extra money this
summer. Applicants must be U.S. citizens; take a basic skills test; and
pass a background check. These part-time, temporary positions can last up
to 6 to 8 weeks. The pay range for census takers in Oklahoma starts at
$10 per hour and offer reimbursement for mileage incurred doing census
work.
Census jobs offer great
pay, flexible hours and paid training while performing an important public
service. Best of all census takers can work right in their own
community. Interested persons should call 1-866-861-2010 to find out
where and how to apply.
Attached are a Media
Alert and a Census Jobs Flier that you can post on your website, office,
school, church or place of business.
Thank you for your
anticipated assistance in telling people about Census jobs.
View the PDF Flyer here.
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Assessing IEDC's Strategic Priorities
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The recession has impacted economic development organizations
across the nation as communities grapple with declines in funding and
investments in economic development activities.
In order to better assess if IEDC's strategic priorities are in alignment with
the needs of our membership, we are requesting your input on the following
short survey.
We request that you please complete the survey by Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 7
p.m. EST.
As always, your feedback is valuable to us in helping economic developers find
solutions to complex problems for improving the quality of life in our
communities. Thank you in advance.
» Take the survey
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2010
Oklahoma Aerospace Summit & Expo
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"Flight Plan to the Future"
June 1-4, 2010
Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma
City
An Event that Connects Oklahoma Aerospace and the
Future
Welcome to the 2010 Oklahoma Aerospace Summit and Expo, your
Flight Plan to the Future! It is an honor for the
Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance (OAA) to once again present the region's premier
aerospace event. In addition to the Summit, the OAA provides a
variety of information-sharing and networking opportunities for the region's
aerospace community.
It's a fact: Aerospace is a vital part of the nation's
economy. The Oklahoma aerospace industry is responsible for over 143,000 jobs in
the state, a $5 billion dollar annual payroll, and nearly $12 billion in
industrial output or about 10% of Oklahoma's economy. The reach, diversity and
economic impact of this industry will be very evident at the Oklahoma Aerospace
Summit and Expo, scheduled for June 2 & 3 of 2010, in Oklahoma City, at the
Cox Convention Center.
The Summit has drawn as many as 1,000 attendees and more
than 100 exhibiting companies. Last year, in addition to hundreds attending from
Oklahoma, there were representatives from Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, and
Arkansas. Every aspect of the aerospace industry will be evident: military,
commercial, business and general aviation, unmanned aerial systems and
space.
The Oklahoma Aerospace Summit and Expo will celebrate its
9th anniversary in June of 2010, at the Cox
Convention Center in Oklahoma City. June 1 will feature the Oklahoma Aerospace
Golf Tournament at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club at the University of Oklahoma.
The traditional Summit conference and expo will be held at the Cox Center on
June 2 & 3. On June 4, the Summit's Education and Training Day activities
will be featured at the Oklahoma School for Science and Math in OKC.
Exhibitors, general attendees, educators, public policy makers, and those
interested in finding careers in aerospace will all find Summit 2010 to be a
valuable investment.
The Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance Board of Directors and staff
look forward to seeing you in Oklahoma City, June 1-4.
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IEDC's How You
Build It Conference | June 6-8
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The IEDC
How You Build It Conference will be held, Sunday-Tuesday, June 6th-8th,
at the Cox Business Convention Center, One Myriad Gardens, in Oklahoma
City. In difficult economic times, public developments and public-private
ventures can be the drivers that help communities stay afloat. In addition to
the jobs provided by the development of new projects, they also contribute to
the community's attractive built environment, global competitiveness and the
attraction and retention of talented workers. With
a growing demand for publicly funded and public-private partnership projects,
now is the time for communities both large and small to take proposed
developments off the shelf, reexamine stalled projects and bring them into
reality. Understanding how to conceive, finance, constraint and operate complex
- and all the steps in between - can be a challenge. In
the spring of 2010, IEDC will showcase a new technical conference that teaches
economic developers, local government staff and elected officials and the
development community how to complete projects that contribute to local
economic development and community competitiveness. Covering
traditional topics such as convention and conference centers, sporting
facilities, and performing arts centers - as well as new topics such as
distressed neighborhood redevelopment, transit-oriented development and
sustainable buildings - attendees will learn from industry experts,
representatives from communities of all sizes and the development community on
how to make their project happen! For
more information, the website link is: http://www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/index.html |
Oklahoma Prosperity Project-Book a Briefing Today!
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Of the People. By the People. But Without Your People?
With Oklahoma's July 29th Primary fast approaching, the 2010 elections are a hot topic among your members. They'll soon be searching for solid info on the candidates and issues that impact their companies' ability to grow and compete.
You can help! Book a Prosperity Project briefing for your membership today. They'll learn about the free election education materials your chamber (or EDC)provides through your partnership with The State Chamber - voter registration, vote smart, and get out the vote campaigns.
To book one of our team of speakers for your next event, email Kris Rushor call 405-664-0261.
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OETA News and Public Affairs Highlights
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OETA News and
Public Affairs Highlights
May 29- June 11
Why do you rely on OETA for news and information? Tell us why
these programs are your indispensable news source at oeta.tv/mysource. Your
story could be featured on OETA!
For the latest OETA News and Public Affairs Highlights click here.
Beyond the Broadcast: You can also view OETA's full episodes
and archives of Oklahoma
news and public affairs programs at www.oeta.tv.
Oklahoma News Report posts fresh newscasts at news.oeta.tveach weekday
morning.
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Upcoming Events
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| June 6-8IEDC: "How You Build It" Spring Conference September 7OEDC Monthly Meeting September 26-29
IEDC Annual ConferenceOctober 4-5OEDC Annual Meeting
November 9
OEDC Monthly Meeting*Need More Info on these events? Visit www.oedc.net |
2010 Officers
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| President
Janet Yowell
Vice President
Judee Snodderly
Secretary
Lyle Roggow
Treasurer
Mike Southard
Exec Vice President
Danna Fowble
Past President
Richard Cornelison
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