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Follow
Key Bills
The
League's bill matrix,
which lists key bills that we are following this session, is updated
weekly. The matrix includes legislative action taken, League action
taken, and links to our testimony.
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LWVOR Action Committee
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Chair:
Norman Turrill
Vice Chair:
Marge Easley
Citizen Access Coordinator:
Paula Krane
Governance Coordinator: Kappy Eaton
Natural Resources Coordinator:
Liz Frenkel
Social Policy Coordinator:
Karen Nibler
Legislative Coordinator:
Brena Lopez
Portfolio members and committee representatives:
Bob Adams
Debbie Aiona
Jane Baumgarten
Diana Bodtker
Anna Braun
Barbara Browning
Sarah Chaplen
Anita Francis
Barbara Fredericks
Norma Jean Germond
Gail Holmes
Peggy Lynch
Ellen Maddex
Janet Markee
Erin Miller
Margaret Noel
Barbara Ross
Nancy Stevens
Pam Vavra
Intern:
Terra Ashford
Legislative Report Editor:
Rebecca Smith
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Looking Ahead
The
legislative interim, although short this year, will involve a
number of committee meetings. During the interim, legislators serve on
committees and task forces that study issues likely to be faced during
the next legislative session. Dates have not yet been set, but committee
staff anticipate schedules to be released perhaps even as early as this
month. Committee schedules will be available on line at
http://www.leg.state.
or.us/comm/.
Email notification is expected to be available as well. Sign up for
email notification of committee meetings on the Legislature's home page
by clicking on where it says "Esubscribe" on the right side and
follow the prompts.
The scheduled remodeling of the Capitol wings is not
expected to affect committee meeting locations, according to committee
staff.
This year, the interim will be short because legislators
have scheduled a special session for 2008. This session will
last less than a month, so agendas will be limited to the most pressing
fiscal and policy issues. Topics expected to be discussed are land use
(depending on what the voters decide on the M37 fix), paid family leave,
limits of government liability, drug-free workplaces, an emergency
wireless network, and aid for timber dependent counties after Congress
granted only a one-year extension of federal payments. Other potential
topics are adjustments to the new ethics laws passed in SB 10 and HB 2595,
campaign finance reform, and redistricting reform.
Important dates
Nov. 15, 2007: Deadline for Senate requests for bill drafting
Jan. 18, 2008: Deadline for pre-session filing of Senate measures
Feb. 4: Session opens
Feb. 29: Session adjourns
The House has not yet set specific dates, but will probably do so through
its interim committees.
Rebecca Smith, Editor
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July
5, 2007
Welcome to issue
20 of the Legislative Report. This is our last issue until
August. In mid-August, after the Governor has signed or
vetoed the final bills, we will send the Sine Die report.
Please watch for this report in your in box.
Link here to our
printer-friendly version.
Sincerely,
Norman Turrill, Action Chair
Marge Easley, President
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Thanks for Responding to Alerts!
The Action Team appreciates the time you took to respond to the 5
Minute Activist alerts. During this session, it was clear that
you made your voices heard with your own legislators and those who were
the decision makers on many efforts. It was especially evident
during our work on amending Measure 37. Thank you!
It was apparent that you read the Legislative Report during the
session and pursued your own particular interests as we reported on
them. There was increased funding for our state parks, both acquisition
and maintenance, as well as more money for local parks partners.
Oregon State Water Resources Department received more money to study
our water sources. We look forward to the results of the newly
adopted League study on Water Resources of Oregon, which
will help guide the League's future efforts on this critical
issue.
The League studies on the judiciary and on homeless youth helped in
elevating both issues at the Legislature. Members of the Judicial
Department received a well-deserved salary increase. Affordable
housing (which our study showed was critical to the
success of keeping kids at home) became a priority of legislative
leadership. Although we were unsuccessful this term in getting a
document recording fee to help support housing, there was increased
funding placed in the Housing Trust Fund.
Know that your voice counts as you attend local town halls and
share your concerns, as you contact your legislators at the Capitol and
as you support Action by responding to 5 Minute Activist alerts and
information in the Legislative Report.
Peggy Lynch, Action Committee Member
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Construction
Projects, Budget Adjustments, and the Big Look
All during this
session, various groups have asked for a variety of construction
projects, but the Ways and Means Co-chairs wanted to be sure that
the state's bonding limit wasn't exceeded. They gathered all the
requests, considered their merits, listened to fellow legislators,
acknowledged the increase in lottery revenues, which are often used to
back state bonds, and came out with HB 5005 and 5006. Link to these bills
to learn which projects are being funded.
Also at the end of session were two "Christmas tree" bills
which allocated monies for a variety of projects: SB 994 and SB 5549. This year there
was also an ending bill related to education projects: HB 3141. Although the bulk
of monies were allocated during the regular Ways and Means process
where individual agency budgets were heard, these bills include
important adjustments to the state's budget. We encourage you to
read them.
The League continues to be concerned that this process
sometimes mixes policy decisions with budgeting, but, on the whole, we
were pleased with the content of these bills. Many of the
additions, such as more money to fund groundwater studies, were part of
the League's testimony earlier in the session.
Among the funding adjustments was a reduction in funding for the Big Look Task Force.
From the League's point of view, the task force, whose mission was to
review Oregon's land use system and discuss changes with Oregonians,
seemed to be going in the wrong direction. The League supported
this mission (SB 82, 2005) and has had
monitors at almost every task force meeting. However, the task
force chose not to factually review our current system and had started
developing a public outreach program seemingly more designed for land
use "wonks" than for the average Oregonian.
Toward the end of session, the League wrote a letter to
those who had appointed the task force members - the Governor and
legislative leadership - suggesting that the Big Look Task Force's
efforts 1) would be clouded by the public discussion on amending
Measure 37 to be held this summer and fall and 2) seemed to be going in
the wrong direction. We suggested that the task force be put on
hold until 2009. Although that action was not taken, we were
pleased that the Co-chairs chose to reduce funding for the Big Look and
are hopeful that the task force will get back on track related to the
original purposes as listed under SB 82.
The League will continue to monitor and work with the task
force to assure that all Oregonians better understand the importance of
our statewide land use system to our everyday lives and offer
opportunities for Oregonians to suggest changes to strengthen our
system.
Peggy Lynch, Action Committee Member
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 Governor Signs Most OJD Bills
Each session, like all state departments, the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD)
prepared bills for pre-session filing. This early filing allows the
departments to express up front what is important to them, and also
means these bills are heard early on in the session. Because of
the League's recent study on the Oregon Judiciary (see report), we have been closely
monitoring the bills submitted by the Oregon Judicial
Department.
This year OJD filed SB 267A, relating to local
courts as courts of record. The bill stipulates that county
justice courts and municipal courts must file a petition with the
Supreme Court to request an order of approval of operation as a court
of record. The county or city will provide a court reporter or an
audio recording device. Requests must be made by March 1,
2008. For more details, link to the bill.
SB 269 requires the State Trial
Court Administrator (TCA) to specify forms to be used in domestic
relations actions, such as temporary restraining orders or changes in
custody or parenting time with a child. These forms should assist
pro se clients to fill out these forms without the assistance of
an attorney.
SB 270 requires that the court
hire a qualified interpreter or person operating an assistive
communication device for a juror with a hearing or speech
disability. The interpreter shall be present during jury
deliberations but may not participate except to facilitate
communication between the juror with the disability and other jurors.
SB 271B gives a judge the
authority to waive or defer all or part of the fees and court costs in
a civil action, or a judge may delegate the authority to the TCA for
the court. The Chief Justice may provide standards and practices
for waiver or deferral under this act. For more details, link to
the bill.
SB 292A, initiated by the Senate
Judiciary Committee, specifies that any party in a circuit court
proceeding may arrange for reporting by stenographic means and the
reporting may be used as the official record of the proceedings for an appeal.
For all other purposes, the record shall be the reporting technique
used by the court.
HB 2322A is a housekeeping bill
for the OJD concerning search warrants, appeals of criminal judgments,
and rules for the practice of law by judges. Section 4 stipulates
that a judicial officer appointed or elected to a full-time position may
not act as an attorney in an action or proceeding. Exceptions are
if the judicial officer is a party to the action or has a direct
interest in the action. A county court or justice court judge may
act as an attorney in a court other than the court in which he or she
presides, but may not be in practice with an attorney who appears in
the court in which he or she presides. A judge pro tempore
may not preside in an action if an attorney in his practice appears in
a proceeding.
HB 2357A was initiated by the
Oregon State Bar and relates to the use of electronic documents,
electronic images of documents and use of electronic transmission for
process of documents. The State Court Administrator may establish
procedures for destruction of records after making a photographic film
or electronic image of each document. The documents must be retained
for the required period.
SB 273A allows the State Court
Administrator to authorize access to electronic files with the
provision to preserve the confidentiality of the records.
SB 268 concerns appellate court
judicial review of Worker's Compensation Board orders. It allows
the Court of Appeals to dismiss petitions for review if a settlement
disposes of all issues, or limit the review to issues not disposed of
by settlement.
HB 2368 provides that after
filing a notice of appeal, the trial court retains jurisdiction for the
purpose of deciding motions for judgment, a new trial, or relief from
judgment.
HB 2318 relates to mediation in
tax court and stipulates that if the mediation does not result in an
agreed settlement within 60 days after the end of the mediation
session, the appeal shall be assigned to a magistrate for
hearing.
HB 2343 relates to the process
for juvenile court judgment appeals by court-appointed counsel.
Karen Nibler, Social Policy Chair
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