Dear State Chamber Members and Prospective Members:

This is an exciting time to be a part of The New State Chamber of Oklahoma. With new leadership at the state House, Senate and executive levels has come an opportunity to make Oklahoma’s business climate second to none.

We have already started, having just concluded one of the most successful legislative sessions for the Oklahoma business community in recent memory. The State Chamber successfully lobbied for the passage of lawsuit and workers’ compensation reform to help bring down costs and create an equitable system for all businesses.

We also helped pass meaningful health care and education reform to ensure we have productive, skilled workers. We bolstered our state’s economic development efforts by supporting a closing fund to help attract new companies to our state and working to protect effective tax incentives used by Oklahoma companies to expand and create new jobs.

There is still much left to do, and we need your help more than ever. We are dedicated to electing pro-business candidates to office, educating them on the issues important to the business community, holding them accountable for their votes on economic issues, and, when necessary, pointing out the anti-business votes that occur during the legislative session. These steps will ensure that the business community has a strong voice at the Capitol not just now, but for years to come.

We are here for one reason—to create a business climate in Oklahoma where companies want to move here, and companies here are able to grow and expand. We watch legislation coming out of the state Capitol and Washington, D.C. that would hinder that growth potential, and keep you informed about how those decisions could affect your bottom line.

To those businesses that are already supportive of this vital mission, we thank you and hope you will continue to invest in our efforts. And to those companies who have not yet joined, there has never been a better time to get involved. The business community speaking with one unified voice can truly lead to real change in Oklahoma.

Bill Burgess
2011-2012 Chairman of the Board
The State Chamber of Oklahoma
Chairman, Vortex, Lawton