Editor’s note: Following is the latest update from AAUW of Oregon Public Policy Chair Trish Garner:
Hi Everyone –
At the time of writing this Update, I’m not entirely sure how the official first day of the 2021 Legislative Session is going to go. That said, the legislators have been installed and many bills have been filed (see below). A lot of work is taking place behind the scenes. Imagine that — there are behind-the-scenes activities in a political/legislative body!! Here are today’s PP topics:
- Virtual Lobby Day
- Please Take a Look at the AAUW of OR website
- What’s Made it Into the Legislative Hopper So Far
- Next in Anti Racism series
- Virtual Lobby Day
For obvious reasons we won’t be able to have an in-person Lobby Day, complete with legislator visits, but we couldn’t let this legislative Session go by without some membership-wide contact with the current legislative process. We are therefore planning a Virtual Lobby Day which will likely take place in March. The exact date is TBA. We’re planning on spending about a half an hour on the best ways to communicate with legislators and then taking a deeper dive into the down-to-earth mechanics of how a bill proceeds through the legislative process — or doesn’t. A panel of legislators will discuss how they anticipate their legislative priorities will survive this process.
Is there a topic you would like to see that we address at our Virtual Lobby Day? Please let me know and I’ll submit it to the State Public Policy Committee for their review. In item #3 I have listed and made some comments on the bills that have already been filed. Perhaps those will inspire you!
- Please Take a Look at the AAUW of OR website
In case you haven’t had a chance to check out the AAUW of OR website recently, I suggest you do so [https://aauw-or.aauw.net]. You will see a statement regarding the recent events in Washington, DC and a condemnation of racism. For a change I’ll resist making any editorial comment and let the words speak for themselves.
I also suggest you take a look at our presence on social media for other info about AAUW of OR. Many thanks to Marguerite Damewood who has been keeping our website informative and looking good. Until contracting with Allen Hall PR to take over postings, Georgia Applegate has been in charge of items on AAUW of OR’s Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest platforms. We appreciate it, Georgia! While I’m at it, I want to take a moment to thank the members of our Technology Committee: Georgia Applegate (Chair), Betty Diamond, Gail Engblom, Ilga Ross, Kelli Mathews, Nancy Brown, Marguerite Damewood, Randa Blanding, Sharron Noone and Suzanne Wicklin. Check these social media sources out — it’s not only for the 20-somethings crowd!
- What’s Made it Into the Legislative Hopper So Far
There have been about 2,500 bills introduced for consideration in the 2021 Legislative Session, but there are surely more to come. AAUW of OR’s primary bills for the 2021 Legislative Session include (1) requiring publicly traded corporations whose principal offices are in Oregon to have a minimum number of women and people from underrepresented communities on their boards of directors, and (2) an age discrimination task force bill (House Bill 2638). The corporate diversity bill will likely be filed later in January. We are working with AARP of OR regarding the second bill.
There are some interesting features to the bills that have already been filed. Here are some tidbits:
(a) There are a number of bills addressing equity – from schools, to courts and policing. Some examples include the prohibition of the use or display of any symbols of hate on school property or in educational programs, and the requirement that academic standards must include sufficient instruction regarding the histories, contributions and perspectives of African American individuals.
(b) The environment is a focus of attention, although instead of one comprehensive package [which may still be in the pipeline and not yet published] there are bills that define “recycled paper checkout bags,” prohibit polystyrene food containers, chemicals in children’s products and making false claims about recyclability.
(c) In the healthcare area one of the more important and certainly controversial bills is the one that removes the ability of parents to decline required immunizations if based on a reason other than a child’s medical diagnosis. On the other side of the coin, there’s a bill that establishes decisions related to immunizations are “personal,”
(d) Although perhaps I should include this issue in the healthcare category, it deserves special attention. Limits on abortion are contained in 7 bills which are sponsored by 4 different legislators. The conventional saying around the Capitol is that a abortion bill won’t even get a hearing, but I would not count on that conventional wisdom for this Session. If for no other reason, they may be more prominent in an effort to leverage other, similar issues. I and your State Public Policy Committee will be closely following these bills.
(e) There are a number of bills that relate to firearms —even one prohibiting law enforcement agencies from receiving certain military surplus equipment from the federal government. There are also bills regarding securing firearms in safe places, punishes sale of “undetectable” firearms, allowing states to regulate the use of firearms in lieu of federal regulations and background check requirements.
(f) There are a number of bills relating to police accountability —so far there are 18, including one placeholder. A “placeholder” bill is just that. It relates to a topic but is essentially blank and awaits insertion of specific legislative language. Some of the areas covered by these bills include limitations on the use of tear gas and kinetic impact projectiles, use of physical and/or excessive force, the application and operation of the arbitration process, the creation of a database regarding the use of physical force by peace officers and a requirement that officers complete post-secondary education. More to come here.
(e) Elections and voting legislation have also made it to the docket. There is a campaign contribution limit bill, but at the moment the dollar limitations are blank — to be continued! There are also bills allowing for ranked voting, allowing persons convicted of felonies to register and vote while incarcerated, establishing a small donor elections fund, and requiring registration cards to include an option to identify by race, ethnicity and preferred language. A proposed amendment the Oregon Constitution has also been filed which provides for same-day voter registration.
(f) Efforts to prevent another walkout are also apparent. There’s a bill seeks to preclude per diem or expense reimbursement if a legislator is absent and unexcused, and it also imposes a $500 per day fine for each unexcused absence. An absence which is unexcused for over 10 days will be deemed to be engaging in disorderly conduct.
I’m sure I’m missing something important here, but as you can see, it promises to be an interesting Session. Please let me know if you wish more detailed information about any of these, or other legislative proposals or events. I’ll do my best to answer!
- Next in Anti-Racism series
As many of you know, AAUW of OR has undertaken to field a series of programs regarding “Together on the Path to Anti-Racism”. Thank you so much Pat, chief organizer, and Nancy, tech guru extraordinaire— we couldn’t have done it without you!!! Not all of the sessions have been easy, but they have all provided important food for thought, so to speak. Like – many of us have or continue to use the term “Caucasian” (Footnote below), but we should probably eliminate that word from our discourse. The term arose from the German anatomist Johann Blumembach who visited the Caucasus Mountains, located between the Caspian and Black Seas, in the 18th century. He labeled the people living there “Caucasians” and proposed that they were created in God’s image as an ideal form of humanity. He then went on to name four other “races,” each of which were considered “physically and morally ‘degenerate’ forms of ‘God’s original creation.’” He categorized Africans, excluding light-skinned North Africans, as “Ethiopians” or “black.” He divided non-Caucasian Asians into two separate races: the “Mongolian” or “yellow” race of Japan and China, and the “Malayan” or “brown” race, which included Aboriginal Australians and Pacific Islanders. And he called Native Americans the “red” race. Subsequent genetic and other research have demonstrated the inaccuracy of these divisions. So, not only is “Caucasian” offensive, but it’s wrong. Always more to learn about the topic of racism and our relationship to it.
January 28, 2021, 7 PM: Next up is a presentation by Fay Stetz-Waters, Director of the OR Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. She will be speaking about what the Oregon DOJ’s office is doing about bias and hate in Oregon.
February 24, 2021, 7 PM: Reyna Lopez Osuna will tell us about her work as the Executive Director of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (“PCUN”). PCUN attempts to give voice to persons who are unfairly marginalized, including Oregon farmworkers and working Latinx families. My apologies! I thought I had sufficiently proofread the AAUW of OR State PP Update, but no !!
You should have already received info about these presentations, but if you have any questions or wish to register, please contact me or Nancy Brown (mailto:aauw.or.events@gmail.com(.
Conclusion:
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you, your family and friends are doing well.
Warm Regards,
Trish
Trish Garner
State Public Policy Chair, AAUW of OR
American Association of University Women of Oregon
(she / her / ella)
503-407-2341
garner37@mac.com
FOOTNOTE: Yolanda Moses, Why do we Keep Using the Word Caucasian? Sapiens, 1 Feb 20, citing Carol Mukhopadhyay’s article, “Getting Rid of the Word ‘Caucasian.” Here’s a link: https://www.sapiens.org/column/race/caucasian-terminology-origin/