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August 13, 2009
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Vol 19, Issue
24
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Legislative
Report
Sine
Die edition
 League of Women Voters of Oregon
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 Session Under a Dark
Cloud
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 The ominous clouds of economic decline started
with the February 2008 Special Legislative Session when a critical rebalancing of the 2007-09 budget led to
cuts in state services and programs and use of some reserves. As
the recession deepened across the country, Oregon's unemployment
figures grew along with the accompanying revenue loss from individuals
and corporations. The 2009 Legislative Session starting this past
January had to deal with a $3 billion revenue shortfall in order to
continue current levels of services.
This revenue shortage influenced the mood throughout the entire
session. The bottom line is that $2 billion was taken from a
broad range of programs and services in education, human services, and
public safety, and deeply affected decisions regarding natural resource
issues and many other areas.
However, progress was made in a number of areas that didn't call
for funding. Some of these were issues that had been discussed
for many sessions but had received no final action. The Legislature
seemed relieved to be making progress in a few areas because they were
stymied by falling revenue everywhere else.
The Sine Die Legislative Report reviews legislative action in
areas that the League followed during this fascinating and
unpredictable session. Read on to hear about legislative
successes and failures in our issue areas of Governance,
Natural Resources, Public
Access, and Social Policy.
Kappy Eaton, Governance Coordinator
Paula Hird and Rebecca Smith, Editors
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Help, Support and Read . . .
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Governance
by Kappy Eaton, Coordinator
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 Governance issues
revolving around budgets were of primary concern this session due to the lack
of funding for just about everything. Read about struggles with
the General Fund.
The 2009 Legislative Session continued to address the
important issues of initiative reform, ethics reform, and election law
revisions begun in 2007, after 15 years of neglect. There was,
for the League and other government/citizen groups, an epic increase
in the number of governance bills passed and signed by the Governor.
Campaign finance reform was not on the radar screen for this
session. One bill and a partner constitutional amendment to regulate
contribution limits was proposed, heard and received extensive personal
lobbying of legislators (HB 3009, HJR 26) but did not move out
of committee.
In this issue, read about landmark legislation in the
following governance areas:
Thank you to Alice Bartelt, Norman Turrill, Barbara
Fredericks, and Marge Easley who helped with governance issues.
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General Fund
Budget Barely Balances
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Elections
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 Landmark
legislation was enacted affecting Oregon elections:
- Voters
can register to vote electronically, starting in 2010 (HB 2386). The League
was invited to the signing of this bill, and the Governor thanked
us for our work during the session and asked me to sit next to him
during the signing.
- Overseas
voters can return ballots by fax, starting in 2010 (HB 2511)
- County
election offices may start scanning ballots, but not counting
votes, seven days prior to election day (HB 3451)
- Voters
may participate in more than one primary nomination election; up
to three parties can be listed for a single Primary candidate (SB 326)
- Clarification
of property lines defining legislative candidate's residence (HB 2667)
- Voters
Pamphlet fees were increased to cover up to 50% of its cost;
Initiative arguments will be $1000; candidate statements will be
$600 (SB 776)
However, some important
legislation did not pass.
Back to Governance
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Ethics
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After
significant reform to Oregon's ethics laws in 2007 and comprehensive
changes to the Administrative Rules, some adjustments were needed in
2009. These turned out to be time-consuming and more controversial that
expected. A one page bill to limit the number of public officials
required to file Economic Interest Statements (EIS) morphed into more
than 25 to cover additional issues.
Most local community commissions and boards and some special districts
will not be required to file EIS, and current lobbying limits were
retained (SB 30).
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Initiatives
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 Initiative reform issues were discussed by the Task Force
on Revenue Restructuring and carried in bill form to the Legislature. Though thoroughly reviewed in both Senate and House Rules
committees, little came out, even with strong legislators as sponsors. There was some progress however.
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Natural
Resources
by Peggy Lynch, Coordinator
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 It was a busy
session in spite of the lack of funds. Natural resource issues
were many and varied.
Read the summaries of the following natural resource
issues we followed during this legislative session:
In every area we cover, we are always pleased to have help
from dedicated volunteers and to work with other like-minded
organizations. I would like to thank those who
helped with natural resource issues.
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Land Use: Big Look Task Force
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 After supporting SB 82 in 2005 with great
hope for a broad public conversation about our statewide land use
planning program with local implementation, the League was
disappointed with HB 2229 as originally filed.
We provided testimony and worked with others to assure we both
protected our forest and farmland and supported livable communities
throughout Oregon. In the end, we were neutral on the final bill
which provides a process for corrective remapping of rural lands by
counties if they also update natural resource protections; addresses
issues with regional problem solving; adds four guiding principles
having no force of law; encourages other actions, but, without
monies available, these ideas are unlikely to go forward the next
couple of years.
Other
Land Use Issues
A number of other land use
issues were addressed during the session, including Measure 49,
destination resorts, Metolius Basin, use of farmland, and development
rights.so, see what's ahead for 2009-11.
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Water
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 Water issues were a priority for the League this
session. Notably, a number of bills were combined into HB 3369, the Water Resources
Investment Act. This bill creates a number of funding systems for
water resource projects while also setting criteria to protect the
public's interest in Oregon's water. Monies were specifically set
aside for the Umatilla Basin's work on aquifer recovery and storage
while protecting instream flows for fish. More on this bill...
The Water Resources Department's budget took a huge hit during the first
round of budget cut considerations due to the fact that much of its
funding is from the General Fund. A number of bills were filed to
set fees to help fund this important agency.
The League was proud to champion SB 739 that requires the
seller of real property to test any well that supplies groundwater for
domestic use for arsenic or other contaminates as necessary and notify
the buyer and the Department of Human Services.
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Climate Change/Energy
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 League members attended many committee meetings and
testified on a number of bills to implement our positions on the
important issue of addressing global climate change. We
still have work to do since many of the bills created task forces or
set reduced standards from those that would get us to the goal of
reducing greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere.
Unfortunately, SB 80, the centerpiece of
the climate package to reduce emissions in different sectors,
was amended so significantly, at the request of the state's largest
polluters, that the bill died.
However, there were victories. A number of goals to reduce carbon
emissions in the transportation sector were implemented.
Greenhouse gas emissions performance standards for power plants were
adopted. Renewable energy and efficiency projects received
support. Read more about these issues and
other important climate change and energy legislation.
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Mining, Removal/Fill and Aggregate
Issues
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The League continues to follow aggregate issues and works to find a
balance between the demand for aggregate and the need to protect our
natural resources. The League's role this session was, among other
things, to monitor bills addressing these issues to make sure high
value farmland wasn't compromised and aggregate studies remained
unbiased. Read more about these issues.
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Product Stewardship and Recycling
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 One of the biggest disappointments of the session was the
lack of expansion of Oregon's Bottle Bill. Look for this issue to come
up again next session. The one product stewardship bill that did
pass is HB 3037 that creates a paint
stewardship pilot program with the goal of reducing paint waste,
promoting paint reuse and developing a system of collecting,
transporting and processing it in an environmentally sound
fashion. More bills were heard but failed.
Editor's note: Congratulations to award winner
Lori Hayhurst, Purchasing and Supply Services Supervisor at the
Capitol, for saving $228,000 and . . .
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Natural Resource Agency Budgets
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Natural Resource Agencies are but 2% of the General
Fund/lottery state budget, but they are asked to protect our air,
water, and land. The League maintained
its participation in the Ways and Means process to advocate for public
funding for these important jobs: Department of Environmental
Quality (SB 5521), Land Conservation
and Development (SB 5531), Water Resources (SB 5551) and Oregon Parks
and Recreation (HB 5033).
Much of the funding for Parks and other agencies was backfilled by
raising fees for services. The League is very concerned about this
trend since these agencies serve an important public function, often to
protect the health and safety of Oregonians. In order to survive
the economic crunch, we recommended that large agencies use economies
of scale. Read more about these budget
issues.
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Marine Reserves and Other Agency
Issues
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 The Ocean Policy Advisory Committee's recommendations
concerning six near ocean sites were implemented, with the
establishment of a pilot marine reserve at Otter Rock and a pilot
marine reserve and a marine protected area at Redfish Rocks. This
bill also approved further evaluation of potential marine reserves. Link here for more details.
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Social Policy
by Karen Nibler, Coordinator
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 In a difficult economic situation such as we are
experiencing, social policy issues are often those that affect people
most directly. This session, many bills were considered to help
Oregon's most vulnerable people deal with the current crisis and beyond.
Click below for summaries of the social policy issues we
followed during this legislative session:
Thank you to Debbie Aiona and Tracy Johnson who helped me
follow social policy issues this session. Jane Baumgarten of AARP also provided
valuable information.
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Human Services
Face Increased Demands
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 The Governor signed the Department of Human Services
Budget bill (SB 5529) on July 16 and it
was effective immediately. The final recommendations were made in
the Human Services Ways and Means subcommittee at a June 23 work
session with some add backs. The earlier decisions in Division
budgets were listed in Legislative Report #22.
Key areas within Human Services are facing their share of challenges:
Food Assistance caseloads have
increased 29% plus higher benefit levels have led to a huge increase in
federal funds.
Child welfare demands are
expected to increase only by a small amount. Recent bills address
foster care and adoption.
Seniors and People with
Disabilities budget has been balanced with federal stimulus
funds. Oregon Project Independence will be reviewed to determine
if it can be operated more efficiently.
Health services are directed to integrate physical and addiction and
mental health services. Wraparound Services for children and
families will be a new initiative among State agencies. These and many more changes to
Mental Health Services are mandated by bills and budget notes.
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Oregon Health Care Significantly Expanded
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 The comprehensive health care plan, HB 2009 C, was signed by the
Governor on June 26. After 84 changes, the final product was
ultimately agreed upon by the House and Senate.
A new Oregon Health Policy Board will be appointed to oversee the
Oregon Health Authority implementation, led by Bruce Goldberg,
Department of Human Services director, and present a plan to the
Legislature by December 31, 2010, to provide and fund access for all by
2015.
The plan includes evidence based clinical standards, quality care
standards, cost containment and workforce development. Read more about the plan and the
bill's path through the legislative process.
The Oregon Health Plan (OHP) now includes Healthy Kids,
which will expand access to affordable health care for every child in
Oregon. The program is financed by a 1% assessment on insurance
premiums. OHP also has expanded coverage for low-income adults,
covered by hospital assessments. Both programs were part of HB 2116 C, which the
Governor signed at Doernbecher Children's Hospital on August 4.
Read about these and many other
health care bills that were passed and or incorporated into the
comprehensive enrolled HB 2009.
Back to Social Policy
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Children Services: Prevention
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The Oregon Commission on Children and Families (OCCF), as well as
county CCFs, Healthy Start, and Runaway and Homeless Youth programs are
all dealing with serious cuts. Court Appointed Special
Advocates, Relief Nurseries, and Federal Family Preservation funds will
continue. More funding for youth programs has been cut. Read the details.
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State Policy on Homelessness
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 Homelessness means
the lack of a decent, safe, stable and permanent place to live that is
fit for human habitation. A state policy on homelessness, SB 200, was signed
into law by the Governor on June 18. The law calls for a
comprehensive support system that includes community-based treatment,
outreach services, early intervention, housing and service management.
The
wide-ranging effort will be administered through the Oregon Housing and
Community Services (OHCS) Department and DHS. OHCS also provides
state services for food, energy, housing and weatherization provides
subsidies for affordable housing. Funding for OHCS is supported through
the newly adopted Document Recording Fee and the OHCS budget, HB 5019, which was signed
into law July 7. LWVOR is a member of the Housing Alliance, which
supports expanding housing and revenue sources for housing programs.
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Public Safety Squeezed
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 Two factors were dominant in the Public Safety Committee
this session. Every session, bills propose new crimes or expand
existing crimes that create further demands on the resources of the
Criminal Justice System. The passage of Measure 57 was the biggest
impact on the budget this session. The loss of state revenue
due to the recession was the other factor creating a squeeze on the
budgets. The resolution of this dilemma was dramatically delayed
until the last hours of the committee and last days of the session.
Measure 57 passed in 2008 and increased terms of imprisonment for
persons convicted of specified drug and property crimes under certain
circumstances. Read about the progress and
impacts of Measure 57 implementation this session.
The results of Measure 57 and economic challenges led to significant
changes in Public Safety budgets, which will directly impact many
Oregonians. Read about the twisting path
these department budgets had to follow.
Back to Social Policy
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Budget Issues
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HB 5053 A, a companion
budget bill, assigned the savings in HB 3508 [see Measure 57] to restore
critical services in the criminal justice system budgets. The bill did
not get a vote when HB 3508 failed on June 18, and it went back to the
Public Safety Committee. HB 2290, with sentencing
reductions to save money for criminal justice services, passed the
House 59-1, but it did not come out of the Public Safety subcommittee
for a Senate vote. Instead, HB 5055 was sent to the
House floor with large reductions in the Department of Corrections
(DOC) and Oregon State Police budgets and large increases for the
Oregon Youth Authority and DOC Community Corrections. Read more about specific
changes.
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Oregon Judiciary Budget Saved by Last Minute Efforts
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 Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) budget (HB 5020) passed out of Ways
and Means on June 23 and was signed by the Governor on July 16. It
included an expected 15% reduction of $52 million, but efforts by the
Governor and legislators were able to add back some funds with
other bills and a veto. In the end, the OJD will likely retain 173
judicial positions and salary levels for the judges but lose support
staff positions.
Read about what will be saved
and how it was accomplished.
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Juvenile Justice Budgets Rebound from 30% Cuts
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 The Oregon Youth
Authority (OYA) was threatened with 30% reductions at the beginning of
the session because its budget is made up mainly of General Funds.
Although a significant improvement, the final budget bill (HB 5051), which was heard in
Public Safety Ways and Means on June 22, was still 2% less than the
2007-09 approved budget, which had already sustained significant
reductions. Read about these reductions and
who will be affected.
Back to Social Policy
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Adult
Corrections Operations Hammered
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 The Department of
Corrections (DOC), the Oregon State Police, and Criminal Fines and
Assessment budgets were among the last to pass out of Ways and
Means. The Governor signed his approval of these budgets on July
28.
DOC budget (HB 5005) requests continue
to increase in order to manage a growing population. DOC operates 14
prisons with a population of 15,710 as of April 2009, and the
Department funds 36 County Community Corrections agencies supervising
39,216 probation and parolees. Corrections facility operations
have been restricted for the next two years. No construction and
no new units opened. They will be double bunking in day rooms
and releasing earlier for earned time. Community parole will have
more parolees to supervise, hence the increased budget for them.
Read about the budget shortfall
and further effects of Measure 57.
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Gun Control Meets Federal Law
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 The Legislature passed and the Governor signed HB 2853, which allows Oregon
State Police to receive minimum information from the Judicial
Department and Psychiatric Security Review Board to identify persons
determined to be mentally ill, mentally retarded, or lack fitness,
found guilty of a crime but insane, or committed in a civil process as
a danger to self or others. More about the bill.
Back to Social Policy
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Public Access
by
Paula Krane, Coordinator
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Public Access Improved from Past
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 Success was ours. We have been pushing for better
public access to the legislative process for the last several sessions,
so legislators and administrators this session knew what we would be
asking for. With the session's change in leadership and with many
remembering the problems of the past, we were able to start the session
with fewer access issues. The leadership started by incorporating
into the rules many of the things we have been pushing for in past
sessions.
Read about the successes and
challenges we faced at the Legislature, including special challenges in
Ways and Means and the crunch time during closing days.
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What's Ahead for the Legislature
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 A Special Session has been scheduled for February 2010 when legislators
will look at the revenue forecast for February and make adjustments as
necessary in the budget seven months into the biennium. Revenue
forecasts will be made in September and December. If the
September projection is for a continued decline triggering the need to
rebalance the budget, there might be a fall 2009 Special Session,
although reserves probably would be used by the Emergency Board until
February.
There is speculation that Rainy Day/Kicker legislation will be
introduced in February along with proposals for increases in the
beer and cigarette taxes for specific purposes not considered during
the regular session.
The House and Senate will be adopting some new rules for the February
session effecting the number of bills members may introduce and hearing
notification schedules.
In the meantime, interim committees meet Sept. 29-Oct. 1, Nov. 17-19
and Jan. 12-14 (view the schedule).
This process is meant to consolidate the amount of time staff is
required to be at the Capitol which will save money and to provide both
legislators and the public with advance notice of interim committee
meetings (read the press release).
The LWVOR Action Committee continues as your eyes and ears to the
Legislature. We are committed to keeping the process open to all
Oregonians and to helping you stay informed about these important
issues. Sign up for the Legislature's
e-mail updates if you would like to receive agendas for these
important interim meetings. Committee assignments for House
and Senate members are also available.If you would like to receive
agendas for these important interim meetings Remember that these
interim committees may hear testimony related to bills to be introduced
during the Special Session. They are as important to monitor as
regular session committee meetings.
Kappy Eaton, Governance Coordinator
Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator
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Support our work
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The League
of Women Voters of Oregon depends on the support of individuals like
you to fund our activities in the Legislature, the publication of the Legislative
Report, and to help offset the hundreds of dollars of expenses our
volunteers incur in their dedicated work tracking bills and delivering
testimony. Over 99% of our work is carried out by volunteers, so
we put every dollar to good use. To donate to the League of Women Voters
of Oregon, please mail a donation to:
League of Women Voters of Oregon
1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200
Salem, OR 97302
Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org or
503-581-5722.
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