Join Us For Our Annual Legislative Reception on February 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center. Pricing is $100 for members and $150 for non-members. Click here for all the details and registration information.

January Edition Of The Oklahoma Economic Report Now Available – State Treasurer, Ken Miller released the latest edition this week. Highlights this month include: State’s financial team promotes Oklahoma; Treasurer’s commentary: Taxes, incentives and spending…Oh my!; 2011 brought improved economic health; Chief Deputy Treasurer named; General Revenue tops estimate. Click here to read the full report.

Special Election Candidates’ Statements Available - Three candidates running in two special elections opted to record statements while interviewing with The State Chamber’s Legislative Affairs Committee.  Phil Berkenbile (R-Morrison) and AJ Griffin (R-Guthrie) are running for State Senate District 20 and will face off in a 4-way primary on February 14.  Jason Reese (R-OKC) is running for State Senate District 46 which will have a general election on February 14.  To hear more about these candidates in their own words, click here to go to the Prosperity Project website, look for the video under the Oklahoma Election Information.
Contact Cordon DeKock

The State Chamber Of Oklahoma's Business Roundtable is a TV show presented by Cox Communications that tells the business story of Oklahoma and how legislation affects Oklahoma's economy. State Chamber President Fred Morgan hosts weekly Roundtable guests including Oklahoma's business leaders and legislators. This week, Bill Handy, Principal of H3 Strategic Communications, is the guest.

Watch at 9 a.m. Saturday mornings on Cox channel 3 or 703 in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa Metro areas. The show is also available 24-hours a day on Cox On Demand. Become a fan on Facebook for all the latest updates, behind the scene pics and more! To see all past episodes, visit our website!

President Obama Will Ask Congress For Another Round Of Base Closures – (NewsOK.com) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said January 26, that the number of domestic bases poses a “fundamental problem” that must be addressed as the Defense Department embarks on a multi-year plan to shrink the military. At a Pentagon news conference, Panetta said, “As we draw down the force, we’ve got to take a look at the infrastructure that’s supporting the remaining force, and the reality is that we’re going to have to be able to reduce that infrastructure.” Click here to read the full article.

In November, The State Chamber and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce released an Oklahoma Military Impact Study discussing the economic impact of Oklahoma’s five military installations.

Obama Delivers State Of The Union – This week, President Obama gave his third State of the Union (SOTU) speech which contained numerous policy changes in many areas. To read a full text of the speech, click here. Oklahoma Congressman James Lankford responded to Obama’s remarks in a press release here.

Broad Tax Extender Group Delivers Letter To Every Member Of Congress – The State Chamber, along with other signatories, delivered a letter on Tuesday, January 24 to every member of congress urging extension of the tax provisions that expired at the end of 2011.  Click here to see the letter.

Negotiations Continue Over Payroll Tax Cut Extension As Compromise Appears Far Off – Early reports regarding House and Senate negotiations over extending the payroll tax cut and other measures for all 2012 have noted the sharp partisan divisions that continue to make it difficult to form a compromise. The current tax cut is set to expire at the end of February and extending it until the end of 2012 is estimated to cost $160 billion. In addition to the payroll provisions, the extension would also cover enhanced federal unemployment benefits, the authorization for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and would also prevent a 27 percent cut to Medicare physician reimbursement rates.

Democrats have stated that the cost of the extension package should be partially offset through a tax increase on high-income earners or corporations. They also warned against reducing unemployment benefits and have advocated that they would agree to not paying for extending enhanced unemployment benefits. Republicans continue to note that tax increases remain unacceptable and that the entire package should be deficit-neutral. Republicans would also like to include a provision that would mandate construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Negotiators will likely meet again as a group on February 1.
Contact Mike Seney

Fed Reserve Unlikely To Raise Interest Rates – NewsOk.com reports that The Federal Reserve went further than ever recently to assure consumers and businesses that they’ll be able to borrow cheaply well into the future and not raise interest rates until at least late in 2014.

U.S. Chamber #GetSerious About Job Growth – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ran a nationwide ad that ran in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Politico and Roll Call this week. The ad includes a QR code that consumers scan with their mobile devices that links directly to Twitter and instructs readers to tweet at the White House and ask if they’re ready to “get serious” about creating jobs. As part of the U.S. Chamber’s American Jobs and Growth Agenda, they are telling Washington to #GetSerious about jobs. To do so, we need to produce more American energy and rebuild our infrastructure; expand trade and tourism; enact regulatory and legal reform; and control government spending and reform entitlements. Click here for more information.

Center For Medicare And Medicaid Services Releases Essential Health Benefit Document – The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a document this week providing illustrative information to complement the bulletin on essential health benefits (EHB) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) released on December 16, 2011. Specifically, the document provides a list of the products with the three largest enrollments in the small group market in each state using data from www.HealthCare.gov. It provides the names of the three largest products in each State ranked by enrollment. This list is provided solely for informational purposes, and does not represent any endorsement by HHS of any particular products. Further information on many of these products can be found on the same website. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) collects data from issuers of individual and small group major medical insurance on their products, as required by PPACA. The information in this document is provided for illustrative purposes and is not an official list of products that will be benchmark options for State consideration. To see a copy of this document, click here.
Contact Matt Robison

Indiana House OKs Right To Work - The Indiana House of Representatives voted 54-44 this week to make Indiana the nation’s 23rd Right-To-Work state after Democrats ended a periodic boycott that had stalled the measure for weeks. Oklahoma voters approved similar legislation in 2002. Recently, State Chamber President Fred Morgan traveled to Indiana to testify on the effects of Oklahoma’s Right to Work law, 10 years later. Click here to read an op-ed from The Journal Record about the issue.

Moore Norman Technology Center Presents HR Seminar – Thursday, February 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the MNTC South Penn Campus.  Tuition is $99 per person and includes lunch. “From the Boardroom to the Courtroom” will be presented by Bill Wells, Principal, Wells Law Firm and Karen Vahlberg, RN, BSN will present “The Influence of an Aging Society on Organizations.” For more information, click here.

Get Motivated Seminar Returns To Oklahoma – This year’s event will have two sessions, one in Tulsa on February 13 and one in Oklahoma City on February 16.  Speakers include: General Colin Powell; Laura Bush; Rudy Giuliani and Terry Bradshaw.  There will be chances to win door prizes including a big screen TV, two iPads and $3,000 cash.  Everyone attending will receive two FREE tickets to three extra bonus seminars.  Click here for more information.

The State Chamber Congratulates Certified Healthy Award Winners – As part of an effort to create healthy places in Oklahoma to live, work, learn and play, the Oklahoma State Department of Health, along with the Oklahoma Academy, The State Chamber, and the Oklahoma Turning Point Council have announced the annual award winners for the state Certified Healthy Oklahoma programs. In 2011, more than 570 applications were submitted from groups throughout the state and over 480 award winners received the “Certified Healthy” status in the categories of Certified Healthy Businesses, Certified Healthy Restaurants, Certified Healthy Schools, Certified Healthy Campuses and Certified Healthy Communities. To see a list of all the award winners in each category, click here. The State Chamber congratulates all those who participated in this effort to create a healthier Oklahoma!
Contact Matt Robison