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Rep. Joe Dorman proposes bill to create more jobs in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK._ Representative Joe Dorman, of Rush Springs, says he has a plan to help hundreds of Oklahoma businesses grow, and create jobs.

Dorman says he wants to expand the 'Quality Jobs' incentive program to include hundreds of businesses in Oklahoma that do not currently qualify.

He says it is because they are re-manufacturing companies; companies that take something old, restore them and sell them again.

He has proposed a bill that would change all that.

This bill is an extension of the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Act.

Currently, there is an incentive program set up for businesses based on their specific net payroll gains. 

All of these businesses fit under the North American Industries Code…all except re-manufacturing companies.

Representative Dorman says the companies that are prime candidates to benefit from this bill are the small re-manufacturing businesses in small towns.

"The perfect example in Rush Springs, we have Wheels Express. It takes old wheels that would have otherwise been junked out, sent to the scrap heap, these wheels are sand-blasted, re-painted, new holes are bored in them and then they are shipped all over North America," said Dorman.

With all the recent talk at the capitol about cutting back on tax credits, Representative Dorman stressed that this incentive program is not a tax credit.

There is criteria that these re-manufacturing companies would have to meet in order to be included in the incentive program.

"What we're looking at is extending that to any businesses that would come into Oklahoma, or exist in Oklahoma, that fit the payroll requirements based on the amount of new payroll, as well as providing health insurance, and the other requirements under the Quality Jobs Act," said Dorman.

Here are a few more qualifications: these businesses would have to employ a certain number of people based on their specific payroll tax.

Employees must work an annual average of 30 or more hours a week and the company must have an annual gross payroll projected to equal or exceed $2.5 million in a three year span.

"Hopefully this is something that will not only prevent things from getting junked out and building our scrap heaps, but also find a way to provide more jobs for our Oklahomans," said Dorman.

Representative Dorman says that much of the importance of this bill comes from the idea of recycling.

He says that recycling not only eliminates waste but also helps to create more jobs, as most of these re-manufacturing companies would have to employ more people to qualify for the incentives program.

He is confident that many small towns would welcome the idea. 

In the Oklahoma quality jobs program, the amount of incentives provided to a company is directly related to the number of jobs that company creates.