Business and Politics
ASCOG recognizes emergency management directors
I had the great pleasure to speak to a student group this past weekend about the legislative process and encourage them to become more involved in their government.
I serve as a board member for Youth & Government in Oklahoma , a group sponsored through the YMCA and they had a preparatory meeting this past weekend for their upcoming state meeting.
If your school or a student is interested in participating, contact your closest YMCA or my office for details.
I also had the chance to attend the annual Association of South Central Oklahoma Governments banquet which recognized their efforts over the past year and rewarded their employees for the excellent jobs they do.
ASCOG also recognized the efforts of our county emergency management directors and the jobs they do to keep up prepared for any type of disaster. My local directors recognized were:
• Caddo County - Larry McDuffey
• Comanche County - Clint Wagstaff
• Grady County - Dale Thompson
• Stephens County - Gary Ball
Thank you to each of you for the job you do to keep us safe! It was also recommended that each of us put together a home safety kit in case of disaster.
This September is the 6th Annual Emergency Preparedness month for the United States.
The basic items for a kit are water, non-perishable foods, first aid supplies, tools, clothing, bedding, sanitation supplies and special items consisting of baby needs, medication, batteries, important family documents, a small amount of cash and entertainment items not requiring electricity.
For more information on this, review the information at www.fema.gov or contact your local emergency management director.
Along these lines, I'll be in Washington , D.C. with the State Fire Marshall's office this week meeting the new officials with Emergency Management. I, along with several fire chiefs and three other Representatives, were selected to attend this year to increase our knowledge on emergency management for upcoming policy changes.
I developed a good contact base with those in the Bush Administration and hope to do the same with the current FEMA staff. I will also have the chance to visit with Oklahoma's federally-elected officials about the need for disaster mitigation funds and hopefully find a good policy for maintaining our current emergency management fund at optimal levels.
On the first day, we participated in a leadership and incident command program which took place at the National Fire Academy at Emmitsburg, Maryland and in Washington, D.C. We will also be meeting with our congressional delegation and other national officials dealing with emergency preparedness.
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If you wish to contact me and discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My e-mail address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is www.joedorman.com
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Agriculture, energy sectors drive Oklahoma’s economy
The two driving forces behind Oklahoma’s economy are the agriculture and energy sectors. It is important that we at the legislature ensure that we are business friendly and available to listen and respond, so we maintain these key industries of our state.
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Tourism big business in town
Your Chickasha Chamber of Commerce has a long tradition of recognizing Tourism as a driving “economic engine” for our city.
Tourism brought $6.1 Billion to Oklahoma in 2008, making it the state’s third largest industry. The Chamber supports, both directly and with the Economic Development Council, events that bring excitement, people, and money into our city: money spent at motels, at restaurants, at convenience stores and other retail establishments. -
Thanks for another term
I have to start off this week by thanking the voters of House District 65 for allowing me to serve another two years as your State Representative.
I was re-elected automatically last Wednesday at 5 pm due to no one else filing for the position. -
Spill response flawed from start
Last week marked a sad milestone: 50 days since the explosion on British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon rig triggered the oil spill that is still gushing out of control.
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Session is officially over
These last few weeks were extremely hectic and stressful as we worked to get a budget deal together. At the beginning of last week, we had around 215 bills still working their way through the process.
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Mood tense, but not at risk of progress
We are in the final week of the legislative session for 2010. All my remaining bills have been passed by the House and await a hearing in the Senate or are on the desk of Governor Henry.
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Governor signs 210 bills
Work continues at the Capitol as we race for the finish. We have only three weeks remaining before Sine Die on Friday, May 28. As I mentioned before, these last weeks will consist of work on the budget and in conference committees to find agreeable language on the remaining bills.
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Dorman still waiting on 4 measures
The legislative session is progressing along slowly as we have considered a few bills each day.
We still have around 250 conference committee reports, many of which the leadership has not assigned the committee responsible for review. All four of my bills are still waiting an assignment, even though I have most of the work finished on how I would like to see them pass. -
Tax credits become a focus
Another week down inside the state Capitol. May is well underway and only three weeks remain of the 2010 session.
There are several issues I’d like to update you on, so without further ado, here’s the latest from Oklahoma City. -
Okla. Senate fails to override gun bill veto
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 28-16 on Wednesday with 36 votes needed to override Democratic Gov. Brad Henry's vet.
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