Business and Politics
Dorman part of delegation discussing policy in Germany
I had the great pleasure of being selected to represent the United States in a Transatlantic Dialogue to be held in Germany this next week. I was notified a few weeks ago to ask of my acceptance and found out last week it would be legal for me to work with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Washington, D.C. in this area. I will be gone for seven days and deliver two speeches in Germany in regards to North American policy and how state legislators feel in regards to our national agenda. It will be an interesting debate with other colleagues from the US and Canada and our German colleagues. I will give a full update when I return in a future column.
I had my interim study with Rep. Kris Steele Thursday at the State Capitol. We are current reintegration policies in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and possible changes to reduce our recidivism rates. Kris was selected to be the Republican nominee for Speaker of the House and I look forward to working with him on many key issues as a senior member of the Democratic Caucus in the House, especially on these areas where we agree.
Congratulations goes to Mayor Dwight Cope of Medicine Park on winning the George Nigh Award for the Governor's Arts Awards. This is a huge honor and Dwight has done a fantastic job on improving the arts in Southwest Oklahoma. Congratulations also goes out to Fort Cobb-Broxton and Fletcher for playing each other in the State Softball Tournament. Fort Cobb-Broxton won 1 - 0 in a fantastic game and I was glad to be on hand to watch two of the teams in my district play so well. Congratulations to all the other teams who qualified for state.
I had the chance to visit the Government, Current Events and History classes at Elgin High School on Monday. The questions posed by the students were very good and I hope I was able to educate them on the legislative process and the importance of registering to vote. I always enjoy these visits to the local schools and will try to visit the rest of the district before the semester is over.
I also attended the Rush Springs Health Fair and it was a huge success in it's third year. Many vendors were on hand and several agencies presented good information to individuals in attendance. I had the chance to meet several new contacts to help in regards to issues, so this was a very good event and I'm glad Grady Memorial Hospital has continued this effort with the local clinic.
On a final note, I recorded a blog with www.lawtontowncrier.com on issues facing the area this past week.. Should you like to listen in on this, simply go to their website.
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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. Email: joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559 , Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is www.joedorman.com on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.
- Business and Politics
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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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Agriculture, energy sectors drive Oklahoma’s economy
