theadanews.com - Ada, Oklahoma

Local News

Related Photos

  • Gwendolyn Caldwell addresses the monthly legislative luncheon.

    speaker.jpg
October 24, 2011

Cooperating chambers goal of group

Justin Lofton Staff Writer The Ada News

Ada —  

Gwendolyn Caldwell of the state Chamber of Oklahoma said the chamber is working to grow cooperation with the state’s many municipal chambers of commerce in legislative and other issues.

Caldwell spoke Friday at Ada Area Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Legislative Luncheon at Pontotoc Technology Center.

She said the state chamber’s goal is to make Oklahoma more business-friendly and has traditionally partnered with the state’s businesses to advocate their goal with state legislators.

“We have been very lucky in Oklahoma,” Caldwell said.  “We have a very pro-business legislature and a lot of states don’t have that.”

She cited legislative victories in lawsuit, education and health care reform for the state’s businesses and said state Sen. Susan Paddack, D-Ada, has been a friend to the state chamber.

In an effort to encourage more cooperation with local chambers of commerce, Caldwell said the state chamber put on an advocacy workshop.

“We have not called upon local chambers in the ways we should have,” she said.

She said 30 chambers were represented by 60 attendees at the workshop where the state chamber laid out its key principles.

Economic development is one of the state chamber’s major issues.

“We want to support tax incentives that create and maintain jobs,” she said.

Caldwell said state Rep. David Dank is the chair of the Appropriations and Budget Revenue and Taxation Committee and he’s currently calling on recipients of tax credits to defend those credits.

“There are a lot of tax credits out there that are pretty much useless, not being used for the purposes they were intended to be used, ineffective or are being abused,” she said.

She said the chamber supports Dank’s efforts in this issue.

“If you fight for a tax credit and your industry is really using it the way it should be used, you should have no problem defending it,” she said.

Energy is another issue the state chamber is interested in.

She said the chamber is interested not only in maintaining necessary incentives for exploration, production and refinement of oil and natural gas in Oklahoma,  but it is also interested in making Oklahoma a business-friendly state for clean energy producers.  At the same time, she said the chamber wants to oppose unnecessary regulations.

On immigration, she said the state chamber wants the federal government to make sure the United States has secure borders but also the skilled workers it needs to do jobs that need to be done.

“We are still pushing for the federal government to take a stance on this issue,” she said.

Lawsuit reform, taxation, transportation, workforce, worker’s compensation and health care are among the other issues important to the state chamber.

Along with many entities throughout the state, the state chamber has made water issues a priority.

“We want to make sure that water needs are met for all of Oklahoma’s residents and assure we have an adequate supply for business and industry,” she said.

Caldwell said the state chamber wants to help local chambers of commerce understand its stance on legislative issues and be a legislative resource for them.

Text Only
Local News