I was thrilled to realize that there were quite a few members I didn’t recognize who signed up for and attended the Lobby Day / Evening event. As a result of your attendance, I have taken the liberty of adding you to the AAUW of OR Public Policy Update mailing list. There is no regular schedule for my publishing these Updates as it just depends on whether there is something to report. That said, it seems as if time goes by and then, wham, I have a number of items to include in more than one Update.

If you don’t wish to receive the Updates, just let me know. But Thank You again for your interest!

The report is good, but we haven’t made it to the finish line yet. Rumors keep surfacing about a Republican walkout, although it’s above my pay grade to be in on those discussions! At least in the Senate, all Republicans are voting “no” in Work Sessions for Democratic policy bills. [A Work Session takes place after a public hearing has been held, and it’s when legislators meet in public and decide whether to move a bill forward by giving it a “do pass” or neutral recommendation, alternatively or sending it onto another Committee.]

Before continuing, I want to take a moment to give a special shout-out to all our members who wrote testimony in favor of our priority bills. Trust me, it is as a result of this kind of work that we get noticed in the legislature and can actually find ourselves at the table. On a personal level, it totally energizes me. We are the AAUW of OR Public Policy Team !!!  Awesome !!

Corporate Board Diversity bill (House Bill 3110) – As of the time I am writing this Update, we appear to be moving forward. The bill is scheduled for a Work Session hearing in the House Rules Committee next Wednesday at 1:00. There are some proposed amendments to the bill as originally filed which include a change in the definition of “female,” a reduction of penalties for failure to comply with the law, and pushing out the effective date of the law in order to give corporations time to comply. Depending on the outcome of the hearing, I am hoping that the bill will be sent over to the House for a vote with a “do pass” recommendation. And then onward!

Age Discrimination Task Force Bill (House Bill 2938) – The House Business and Labor Committee conducted its Work Session regarding this bill and sent it onto the Ways and Means Committee with a “do pass” recommendation. This means is that the bill will join a number of other task force bills and at the very end of the Session we will find out whether this one will successfully emerge. Of course, in the meantime we will be doing all we can to loosen this bill from the logjam and ensure it rises to the top.

Civics (Senate Bill 513) – We had concerns about this bill when it was initially filed as it provided that students had to “demonstrate proficiency” in civics prior to graduation. Since then, the bill has been amended to require completion of at least one-half credit of civics out of the 24 total credits needed for graduation. This clarification has been helpful and we are now fully supportive of the legislation. The bill survived a Senate Education Work Session with a unanimous “do pass” recommendation and it is heading to the Senate floor for a vote. A good sign!!

I would say that unfortunately there is tension in the air at the Capitol, even if — and perhaps in part because — we can’t see and meet with each other on a face-to-face basis. It’s been challenging for advocates to connect with legislators and staff. No more dropping by the office of a legislator to see if I can have just a minute, or talk to the staff about what’s up, so to speak. Everyone is curious about who is going to receive how much funding from the American Rescue plan. About $6 billion is coming to Oregon, and I don’t envy legislators who have to balance the urgent needs that are pressing for attention versus the need to hold onto some funding to deal with problems that arise down the road.

Redistricting is an issue that is percolating and has become complicated due to COVID. As you might imagine, big political stakes are tied to the process. Drawing legislative districts is supposed to occur every 10 years and is based on national census data. The Oregon Constitution sets July 1 as the date by which district boundaries are supposed to be drawn by legislators and failing that, the task falls to Secretary of State, who has until August 15th. The problem, of course, is that census data won’t be available until July 30 or even later.  This timing suggests the potential for a Constitutional crisis, but House Speaker Kotek and Senate President Courtney have sought a reprieve to as late as December 30 from the Oregon Supreme Court. In terms of the next deadline — candidates must file to run in the May, 2022 primary by February 14th. The problem Is particularly fraught this year as Oregon’s population has grown to the extent that Oregon may receive an additional seat in the US House of Representatives. For more details on the redistricting process, see: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/lpro/Publications/Redistricting.pdf.

 Legislative cognoscenti point to Firearms legislation as potentially eliciting a legislative walkout, but as stated above, this is less than clear. AAUW of OR supports House Bill 2510, the safe storage bill, but has not taken a position on other firearms bills. Senate Bill 554, which bans firearms in state buildings and allows local jurisdiction to ban firearms in public buildings, passed the Senate. If you want to get an idea of the contentious nature of the voting process, however, take look at the number of procedural and other motions made and heard prior to its passage: https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2021R1/Measures/Overview/SB554 All the Democrats, save Senator Betsy Johnson, voted in favor. House Bill 2543 attempts to close the “Charleston Loophole” by prohibiting the transfer of firearms if the State Police are unable to determine whether the recipient is qualified to receive a firearm.

There are a number of Healthcare related measures. The broadest proposal is contained in Senate Joint Resolution 12 which proposes an Amendment to Oregon’s Constitution declaring all Oregonians should have access to “cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care.” The Resolution passed the Senate on March 18th and is currently pending in the House. While undeniably attractive, questions have been raised about how this proposition can actually be put Into practice. Work Sessions have been scheduled for a number of other health care related bills: Senate Bill 764 – pharmaceutical sales representatives have to be licensed; Senate Bill 844 – establishes a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in Department of Consumer and Business Services that will review prescription drug prices and set upper payment limits for drugs that are or are expected to create affordability challenges.

As to Housing, there are a number of bills that are making their way through the legislative process, but I thought you might be interested in Senate Bill 852. It phases in a process to disallow mortgage interest deductions for purposes of personal income taxes. Those taxpayers with a federal adjusted gross income over $200,000 per year would lose a portion of this deduction. Those earning more than $250,000 would lose the entire deduction. The funds generated from this proposal would go towards ending child homelessness, assisting family home purchases and other homelessness programs. A Work Session has been scheduled Thursday, April 8 at 1:00. A live stream of the hearing can be accessed at:

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Committees/SHDEV/Overview.

An interesting and much needed bill regarding the topic of Education is Senate Bill 782 which directs the Department of Education to establish and administer a voluntary pilot program that delivers mental health screenings to students in grade 9 – 12. Senator Deb Patterson who is also an AAUW of OR member is sponsoring the bill. Yay! A number of bills seek to ensure equity is recognized in our schools. House Bill 2697 bans the use or display of any symbols of hate. Students must be able to wear Native American items of cultural significance at public school events, including high school graduation (House Bill 2052; passed the House). House Bill 2590 sets up a Task Force on Student Success for Underrepresented Students in Higher Education. While not directly related to equity, a bill that AAUW of OR is behind is House Bill 2835. This bill requires community colleges and public universities to hire benefits navigators to assist students in obtaining federal, state and local benefits programs. Might not seem like a big bill, but it is sorely needed. Similar concept, but there’s also an effort to ensure that people who service student loans are licensed (Senate Bill 485).

The Environment too is certainly on the docket. Senate Bill 581 prohibits the sale of products that make deceptive or misleading claims about recyclability. House Bill 2495 increases protection of children from chemicals in children’s products. House Bill 2077 requires people who perform lead-based paint activities or renovation to inform the Oregon Health Authority. This bill was passed in the House, although there is some question about whether it will move forward. US Senator Merkley has proposed a similar bill in the US Congress. The federal bill is apparently not as extensive as HB 2077, but it would set a nationwide standard which would strengthen enforceability.

Voting. A number of bills are moving in this area. House Bill 2323 attempts to deal with false statements made in ballot, voter registration and similar materials.  A bill giving felons permission to vote while incarcerated is also still alive (Senate Bill 571).

To round out this Update, or more accurately – to return to our initial topic about legislator walkouts and Legislative Governance, some measures have been proposed which are directed to these problems  Senate Joint Resolution 4 seeks to reduce the needed quorum for each house to do business from two-thirds, as Oregon’s Constitution currently provides, to a majority. Senate Joint Resolution 3 proposes an Oregon Constitutional Amendment that provides that if a legislator does not attend 10 or more scheduled legislative floor sessions and is not excused, that legislator is deemed to be engaged in disorderly behavior and is disqualified from holding office as Senator or Representative for a term following their current term of office. Coming from another perspective, Senate Joint. Resolution 13 proposes to amend Oregon’s Constitution to abolish even-numbered legislative Sessions. Senate Joint Resolution 18 provides that every legislature measure must be introduced by a Senator or Representative, which would exclude the Governor.

So there you have it! Please keep your fingers crossed about passing our priority bills, and I may be calling on you to write up much-needed and much-appreciated testimony.

Stay healthy and enjoy!

Trish