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Senator Julie Daniels of Bartlesville has been recognized by the Research Institute for Economic Development for her support of Oklahoma businesses, economic growth and job creation.

The Bartlesville Republican had a 100-percent voting record on the ten economic development and business bills tracked by RIED during the 2020 legislative session. This is the second time Sen. Daniels has received this honor. The last time she had a perfect score was in 2017. The senator's cumulative average since her freshman year in 2017 stands at 94-percent. More on 2020 RIED Report can be found here.

If we don't have a strong economy, and strong businesses and employers in Oklahoma, Sen. Daniels said we will have fewer jobs. She said it is important that people improve the quality of their own lives in order to do the taxes they pay while improving the quality of life of those who rely on government services.

We're all tied back to a vibrant economy. Sen. Daniels said passing policy that improves business expansion in Oklahoma is always critically important. She said she had the honor of writing and presenting two COVID-19 liability immunity bills.

The most important one was Senate Bill 1946, or the business liability immunity bill. Sen. Daniels said the pro-business bill provides civil liability protection for business safely reopening while acting in accordance with government guidance or those operating as a government-directed essential business during the state of emergency.

For example, Sen. Daniels attended the Trump Rally that was held in the BOK Center in Tulsa last Saturday. Sen. Daniels said they talked about a waiver at the event that they would have people sign so they wouldn't sue the Trump campaign if they contracted COVID-19. But people were wondering about the BOK Center. Sen. Daniels said the arena provided hand sanitizer and checked temperature during the rally, which meant they they were protected from liability at that point thanks to the bill she wrote and authored that was passed this legislative session.

The other pro-business bill was Senate Bill 1947, which provides lawsuit protections to those who manufacture or donate materials needed in response to the coronavirus. Other bills included in the RIED report were Senate Bills 801, 1204, 1362, 1688, 1748, 1875 and House Bills 3619 and 4018.

Senator Daniels, who sits on the Natural Resources Committee, said another bill that passed that she voted on revolved around oil and gas, produced water, recycling and reuse. She asked whether or not the water produced by the injection of the wells, and the water that is already in the ground that comes up, is a waste product or does it have value? If it has value, the question then became, "Who owns this?" 

Sen. Daniels said there was plenty of discussion to be had revolving these questions and they passed a bill that put some definitions and boundaries in place to determine who owns the water and what its value actually is in the market. She said it was an issue that they needed to address as they change the way oil and gas is produced.

Growing business benefits us all. Sen. Daniels said it grows Oklahoma's population and keeps our communities strong. She said getting policy that hampers business is a no-go for her. She said not all proposals that are designed to benefit business are necessarily good, but the very critical place to look for business killing laws is in business regulation and licensing reform.

A phone call Sen. Daniels took this week focused on a man in Bartlesville that works with people's digital security systems in the community. Since laws in Oklahoma are still focused on hardwire security, Sen. Daniels said the gentleman is required to go get a license and 4,000 hours of training to do something that has nothing to do with the service he is offering.

That begs the question: "Why should we stop that man from doing business, growing his business and hiring employees?" Sen. Daniels said all the man wants to do is work. She said the government telling you that you can't work has been one of the critical points of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At what point do you have to start balancing the interest and say people have to work? Sen. Daniels said people have a right to provide for themselves and for their families. She said she is very interested in more occupational licensing reform to expand the market in Oklahoma. She added that if we regulate less in Oklahoma, we will attract more people to our state to do business.

Moving forward, Sen. Daniels said they need more free market ideas in the legislature. She said they also need more people coming in from the private sector to be actively engaged in advocating for policy, and pushing good policy proposals. That means stopping the proposals that are bad for business.

We have to be vigilant in protecting private enterprise," Daniels said. "Without private enterprise, there is no tax revenue to run government. We have to sustain it and grow it."