CEO to CEO Briefing

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February 12, 2010

SAVE THE DATE - March 25, 2010 - An evening Salute to Dick Rush, President/CEO of The State Chamber of Oklahoma for the last 23 years. Details forthcoming!

LAST CHANCE! REGISTER TODAY For The State Chamber’s 2010 Legislative Reception, Tuesday, February 16th – The 2010 Legislative Reception will take place at the Oklahoma City Marriott on Northwest Expressway from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The event brings together legislators, other public officials, chamber executives and business leaders from across the state. We encourage you to attend and personally invite your legislators. Registration is $100 for State Chamber members and $125 for non-members. Groups of 10 or more are $80 per person. Local chambers and trade associations should take advantage of this discount. Because we invite the entire legislature, there is no charge for the lawmakers. Click here for more information and registration. If you wish to stay overnight, The Marriott has given The State Chamber a courtesy block of rooms for $99.00 a night.
Contact Ronn Cupp or Karen Cagle.

State Information Major Workers’ Compensation Reform Bills Expected Next Week – Legislative leaders in the House and Senate have indicated to State Chamber lobbyists that substantial workers’ compensation reform legislation will be brought forward next week at the state capitol. While the Committee Substitutes are still being drafted, it is expected that both of them will move forward through both houses into a conference committee for finalization.
Contact Mike Seney.

Term Limits For Statewide Offices Garner Strong Support – A recent Oklahoma Poll as reported by Randy Krehbiel in the Tulsa World found Oklahoma voters strongly in support of a proposed constitutional amendment to term limit statewide elected officials. More than 75 percent in the poll of likely voters said they favor the amendment proposed in State Question 747, which limits the lieutenant governor, attorney general, state auditor, labor commissioner, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instruction to two four-year terms. Corporation commissioners, who now serve six-year terms, would also be limited to two terms. The governor is already limited to two consecutive terms, but the proposed amendment eliminates current language that allows for non-consecutive terms.
Contact Ronn Cupp.

Federal Information Sen. Reid Splits Bipartisan Jobs Bill - Extension Of Former Indian Lands Tax Credits Placed In Later Bill – While initial review of the Senate's bipartisan jobs bill, announced earlier this week, included an extension of both the accelerated depreciation and the employment tax credits language that have been so important to Oklahoma businesses, Senate leader Harry Reid has split the bill. The proposed extension of these Former Indian Lands Tax Credits (through December 31, 2010) will now apparently be in a Senate bill to be considered later this spring. The first bill, to move at the end of this month, includes a one-year extension of the law governing the Highway Trust Fund.
Contact Ronn Cupp, Mike Seney or Bud Marshall.

Economy, Jobs, Terrorism Top Public Priorities For 2010 – Strengthening the economy, creating jobs and defending the country against future terrorist attacks top the public’s list of priorities for the president and the Congress to address in 2010, according to surveys by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Eighty-three percent of respondents rated the economy as their top priority, jobs came in second at 81 percent, followed by terrorism at 80 percent. Health care was eighth at 53 percent, the environment was 12th with 44 percent and global warming finished dead last of the 21 issues rated at 28 percent. The survey was taken January 6th – 10th.
Contact Ronn Cupp.

Federal Healthcare Reform Summit Anticipated – President Barack Obama has called for a February 25th bipartisan summit designed to bring the Democrats and Republicans together on the issue of healthcare reform. Obama plans to invite both party’s Congressional leaders to a nationally televised meeting designed to bridge the partisan divide over health care reform. However, the Senate and House majority continues to discuss the potential utilization of budget reconciliation — a procedure that would allow legislation to pass on a simple majority — as an option to pass reform this year.
Contact Matt Robison.

Public Health Grand Rounds Begin – The Public Health Grand Rounds, seminars held in the College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma’s Health Sciences Center, 801 NE 13th St., Rm 150, OKC, begin with light lunch at 11:30 a.m., with the presentation from 12 noon to 1 p.m. They are also video-streamed live to the Schusterman Academic Center, 4502 E. 41st St., Rm 3108, Tulsa, and then archived on the college’s website (www.coph.ouhsc.edu/coph). These sessions are open to the public and no pre-registration is required. Click here to see the full schedule.
Contact Matt Robison.

Salary Freeze; The Double Edged Sword - Did you implement a salary freeze or are you considering one?

Beware! Implementing a salary freeze is a simple matter; however, exiting from a salary freeze can be an economic challenge. The challenge lies in the loss of market position and misalignment with your stated salary philosophy. You may be at risk of losing key employees before you are able to reposition your salary structure.

Quorum will show you what you need to know and how to plan before implementing a salary freeze. This is HR’s seat at the table when the chips are down.

This is just one of the timely and appropriate topics to be covered in the 2010 Basic Compensation Workshops planned for Tulsa on February 24th and Oklahoma City on February 25th. This workshop will guide you through the Oklahoma Compensation Survey™ and provide detailed instruction on how to structure your company’s compensation plan to meet the market demand and administer a performance based salary budget. Click here for more information.

This workshop should be attended by human resource and compensation professionals as well as office managers, accounting managers and small business owners desiring a better understanding of Oklahoma compensation trends and how to apply the data to their business needs. This program has been Pre-Approved for Five (5) Hours HRCI credit.
Contact Linda Story.

It’s That Time Again – Time To Sponsor Tech Now - The Tech Now program is designed to encourage students with disabilities to explore post-secondary education and careers related to technology. The Technology Council members have been THE t-shirt sponsor at their Annual State Competition over the last several years. The sponsorship amount is a mere $200.00 each. Your company logo will be proudly displayed on the back of the t-shirt and your company name listed on the Technology Council website. To become a sponsor and pay with a credit card, click here. For more information, contact Sandy Cagle at (405) 272-4412.
Contact Jim Mason.

Calendar Information Meet The State Chamber Of Oklahoma’s NEW President And CEO, Fred Morgan, during the February 26th Small Business Council luncheon meeting! He is very excited about this new opportunity and wants to meet and visit with you! Since this Small Business Council meeting is scheduled immediately after the first major legislative committee deadline, you will also learn from our lobbyists about the KEY business and economic development measures under consideration by this year’s Oklahoma Legislature. For more information and to register for the meeting, click here.
Contact Matt Robison.

SAVE THE DATE - March 25, 2010 - An evening Salute to Dick Rush, President/CEO of The State Chamber of Oklahoma for the last 23 years. Details forthcoming!

State Chamber of OK