I surely hope that everyone is enjoying the summer as much as possible.  As you might anticipate, we have been busy in Public Policy land on a number of fronts!  Here are some of the items that might interest you.

Another short legislative session has been scheduled beginning on August 10th.  Needless to say, other than budgetary issues, I’m not sure what else will be taken up. It’s actually a rather closely held secret as to whether any policy measures might be tossed into in the legislative hopper and/or whether the session will last beyond one day.

 One of the issues we have been closely following is police accountability reform.  The Joint Committee on Transparent Policing and Use of Force Reform has held a number of hearings (10 since July 8th).  AAUW of OR has  listened to all of them and filed written testimony regarding a number of proposed bills.   The topics that have been addressed include:  use of tear gas, chokeholds, statewide disciplinary standards, the arbitration process that deals with serious police misconduct, the public’s ability to identify officers, an officer’s duty to report other officer misconduct, reporting and publication of disciplinary actions, rules regarding use of deadly force and setting up a Task Force to review these matters.  You may remember that some of these issues were addressed in the July Special Session, but many of those bills have been amended or expanded and new proposals have been added. The work has been truly impressive and remarkably well informed.  Again, I have no idea whether any of the 10 legislative concepts discussed in the Committee will be considered in the August special session.

We have also signed onto the Healthcare for All coalition (https://www.hcao.org).  We hope that in the regular 2021 Session we will move a universal healthcare program forward.  We’re in the initial planning stage and there are lots of details to be worked out, but we support the concept that everyone should be able to receive quality healthcare.

The Oregon Women’s Historical Society is collaborating with a number of groups — including some of our branches — in the Chalk The Vote project.  It honors a number of truly significant events in our history including the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment (removed sex from the group denied voting rights) and the 15th Amendment (removed voting rights bans on race, color or prior servitude) by chalking the text of these and other Amendments on our sidewalks and public places.  Sounds like fun to me — and you can do it while social distancing!

Here is a link to get all the information you need for this project, including the text of the Amendments:  http://www.oregonwomenshistory.org/uncategorized/chalk-the-vote/.  In case you want a great example of a Chalk Project, here you go:  https://vimeo.com/153245047.

A couple of our Branches already have plans to join in celebrating the day.  The Seaside branch is gathering on August 26th at 9:00 am chalking sidewalks — and also encouraging people to get out the vote in November.  It’s a BYOC — Bring Your Own Chalk — event!

The Lake Oswego Branch is committed to participating in the celebration and has organized an area-wide campaign with local League of Women Voters members and the Lake Oswego High School Women’s Studies class.  Way to Go Lake Oswego Branch!!!   They will also be holding a city-wide event on August 26th which includes auctioning off a gorgeous quilt created by their members commemorating the centennial.  You can see the quilt at https://www.loaauw.org.  And yes, I have purchased raffle tickets — please cross your fingers for me!

It’s not too early to think about what you and your branch can do to support people’s ability to have their vote count.  It may be that person-to-person voting drives won’t be possible, but there may very well be other avenues you might want to use to make sure people know how to register and vote.

In this election in particular, there may be a problem in getting our ballots in and counted.  As you may know, our mail may not be delivered as quickly or efficiently as it has been in the past.  Thanks to Sherry Schroeder (Medford) for reminding me that each of us should be checking with our county elections clerks about whether there are any guidelines or options we should be learning about in order to facilitate the voting process.  For example, you may want to make sure you know where ballot drop boxes are located.  A next step is to communicate this information to your membership.  It would also be a great idea to get the information out to your entire community.

 The Ashland AAUW public policy committee is preparing an educational report for our local and statewide membership and interested Oregon legislators to encourage familiarity with a national movement to address women’s inequity on corporate boards.  Needless to say, it won’t take a lot of convincing to have AAUW of OR Public Policy take this on!  Their research has shown that both California and Washington have either proposed or passed legislation requiring a quota for women on publicly held corporate boards headquartered in their states. Additionally, numerous other states have either passed or are in the process of legislating bills to address women’s inequity on corporate boards in their respective states.

So – KUDO’s to the Ashland Branch, and of course, stay tuned!!

7. The Oregon Economy in a COVID-19 World – An Event Sponsored by AARP, August 11, 

AARP will be fielding an e-event about the Disproportionate negative impact of COVID-19 on the elderly and communities of color.  Speakers include John Tapogna, President of ECONorthwest, and Rukaiyah Adams, Chief Investment Officer from Meyer Memorial Trust. They will talk about how to navigate the new economic realities in a COVID-19 world, and provide some strategies for moving forward. AARP Oregon State Director Ruby Haughton-Pitts will moderate.

Thanks again and Take Care!!