OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – A state senator was celebrated at the State Capitol this week for her tireless work championing business growth during the 2024 legislative session.
The State Chamber of Oklahoma presented Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, its Business All-Star Award for her perfect score in the 2024 Research Institute for Economic Development (RIED) Report, which is released each year by the State Chamber Research Foundation.
State Chamber officials have been traversing the state in recent weeks, visiting Chamber members and presenting Business All-Star Awards to legislators who achieved a perfect 2024 RIED Report score. The award was presented to Seifried at the State Capitol, where she consistently voted in support of legislation that helps Oklahoma businesses.
Seifried said she is dedicated to voting pro-growth, especially in her district.
“Being pro-growth is really important in my district,” Seifried said. “I’ve got part of Mid-America Industrial Park and Claremore Industrial Park in my district. I have several career techs as well. There’s a lot of activity going on. So, it’s really important to me to keep providing them the resources and business climate they need and so that my constituents can have great jobs.”
Seifried has been a positive force for business in the legislature, according to Adam Maxey, State Chamber vice president of Government Affairs.
“Sen. Seifried has been a champion for the business community in her time at the legislature,” Maxey said. “She has been instrumental in passing initiatives to help invest in and grow our workforce to help meet the needs businesses face in our economy.”
SCRF – a division of The State Chamber of Oklahoma – issued the 2024 RIED Report in early August, giving the Oklahoma Legislature as a whole a score of just over 75 percent for its voting record on pro-growth legislation during this past legislative session.
RIED also profiles each state legislator’s individual voting record on bills that impact business, industry, job creation and economic growth issues that matter most to the private sector. Each legislator is graded on his or her vote on each bill.
“The 2024 report shows that overall, Oklahoma has moved in an appropriate direction legislatively. The report details all of the pro- and anti-growth measures that we track, and where each legislator stands,” said Ben Lepak, SCRF Executive Director “I think there were a lot of missed opportunities this session. There are ways that the legislature could position our state to better compete with other states, with more and better targeted legislation.”
This year’s report rated legislators based on their votes for 13 bills. Coleman was one of seven legislators who voted 100 percent “pro-growth” on those 13 bills, while 38 legislators voted over 90 percent pro-growth.
“This session was an important one for the state’s economy. We identified some leaders in both the Senate and the House, some true pro-growth champions, that can lead our state to greater heights,” said State Chamber President and CEO Chad Warmington. “We look forward to having their support as we head into 2025 and continue to push for reforms that will help grow our state’s economy.”
RIED is an SCRF program that promotes economic growth through the evaluation of business, job and economic growth issues considered by the legislature.
The report scores legislators on their votes on economic bills at the end of each legislative session. Absences are not counted against the final score.
