IRRESPONSIBLE GUN LEGISLATION DEFEATED For the second consecutive year, the Chamber led a group of 50 businesses, associations, law enforcement groups and higher education institutions to oppose irresponsible gun measures. This session began with 83 bills to expand gun rights in Oklahoma. Only one bill opposed by the Coalition was passed by the Legislature, SB 1212, which would have allowed for open or concealed carry without a permit. At the request of the Chamber and others, Gov. Fallin vetoed this harmful legislation. TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT FUNDING PRESERVED The Chamber is a long-standing supporter of maintaining adequate funding for the state’s transportation system and increasing investments in transit options, both important drivers of economic development. After experiencing significant funding cuts in 2017, funding for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation was protected during the 2018 legislative session, allowing a historic number of central Oklahoma transportation projects to proceed. Another key transit connector, Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer, was protected from any loss of funding and received full funding in the final budget agreement. The Chamber continued to support opportunities to extend the Heartland Flyer north to Newton, KS, to connect Oklahoma City with Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago and other destinations on the national system. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES PROTECTED As an economic development organization, the Chamber relies on a number of specific economic and community development programs to recruit
companies to Oklahoma and promote the growth of our existing companies. All programs identified by the Chamber as critical to economic development were protected this year. Most lawmakers now understand their value, and the Pew Evaluation Process, strongly supported by the Chamber, continues to provide a data-driven, empirical analysis that supplies legislators with facts on incentives. One such incentive, the Quality Events Act, was improved and extended until at least 2021 by the passage of SB 1252. The Quality Events Act is designed to help Oklahoma communities attract and retain high-quality, high-economic impact events by allowing them to capture a portion of the sales tax revenue generated by a high-economic impact event. Primary improvements enacted by SB 1252 included eliminating the requirement that communities perform a costly economic impact study prior to the event and the designation of a point person at the Oklahoma Tax Commission to work directly with applicants under the QEA. SUPPORTING PRO- BUSINESS CANDIDATES Recognizing the critical role elected officials play in the future of the Oklahoma City region, the Chamber formed the Greater OKC Chamber Political Action Committee in 2010 to aggressively pursue the election and re-election of candidates who take a stand for Oklahoma City’s key economic development priorities. During the most recent election cycle, the Greater OKC Chamber PAC raised $115,875 and contributed $130,000 to pro-business candidates competing in the 2017 and 2018 elections. Of the 100 contributions made in state legislative and local races, 83 were made to successful candidates, giving the Chamber PAC an overall winning percentage of 83 percent. Since its founding in 2010, the Greater OKC Chamber PAC has strengthened the Chamber’s ability to advocate on behalf of the Oklahoma City business community by contributing $465,350 to help elect pro-business candidates.
G R E A T E R O K L A H O M A C I T Y C H A M B E R
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