OKLAHOMA CITY – Fred Morgan, president and CEO of The State Chamber of Oklahoma, issued the following statement on the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision finding House Bill 2437 to be in violation of the Oklahoma State Constitution:“The State Chamber is extremely pleased at the decision of the Oklahoma Supreme Court to find that the legislature’s action in passing a tax on health care claims was unconstitutional.

“This is a big relief to the business community as it would have added millions of dollars to our bottom-line costs and may have threatened the ability of employers to provide health care to their workers.

“The citizens of Oklahoma voted more than a decade ago to require either a three-fourths vote of both houses of the legislature, or a vote of the people, on any revenue measure passed by the legislature.

“The Supreme Court today upheld the people’s voice. We appreciate the leadership of Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland in recognizing the unconstitutionality of this legislation and stepping out to challenge it.”

About The State Chamber of Oklahoma
Representing more than 2,000 Oklahoma businesses and 400,000 employees, The State Chamber of Oklahoma has been the state’s leading advocate for business since 1926. For more information, visit www.okstatechamber.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2010
Contact: Houda Elyazgi
helyazgi@saxumpr.com
(Office) 405.608.0445 or (Cell) 405.474.5789

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