The 2007 Legislature, from A to Z
Published: January 07. 2007 4:00AM PST
If history is any guide, lawmakers will collectively introduce more than 3,000 different pieces of legislation in the 2007 session - and less than one-third will actually make it into the law books.
As the Legislature decides during the next six months which proposals fly and fail, these are some of the storylines both for Central Oregon and for the state.
[A]
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
A proposal to jump-start renewable energy development stumbled in 2005. This session, with Demo-crats in control of both chambers, the chances for an alternative energy stimulus package look rosy, and could help spark wind, solar, ethanol and geothermal projects in Central and Eastern Oregon.
[B]
BOTTLE BILL
Oregon's once-landmark recycling program could be revisited in an effort to keep containers out of landfills.
Advocates say it's time to update the law by increasing deposits from the current 5 cents and also to expand the universe of containers that are covered to include glass and plastic wine, juice and water bottles. Lawmakers also may seek to change a provision that lets distributors pocket the money from unreturned containers.
[C]
CASCADES CAMPUS
Central Oregon education and civic leaders feel slighted because the governor's proposed budget falls short of early expectations for the Oregon State University entity in Bend and also does not designate any dollars to erect any new buildings. Will the Legislature steer more money to the state's only branch campus?
[D
DEMOCRATS
For the first time in 16 years, both chambers of the Legislature and governor's office are in the control of a single party, although Democrats hold the slimmest of majorities in the House with a 31-29 advantage. Will the majority party be able to hold ranks and advance a policy package that includes ethics reforms, civil unions, higher spending for schools and a state rainy day fund?
[E]
EQUAL RIGHTS
With Democrats in charge, chances appear better for bills that would extend marriage-like rights to same-sex couples via civil unions and ban discrimination against gays and transsexuals. State Sen. Ben Westlund, D-Tumalo, co-sponsored the failed 2005 attempt, which was torpedoed in the Republican-led House, and figures to help lead the effort again this year.
[F]
FOREST LEGACY
State Rep. Chuck Burley, R-Bend, a forester who sponsored a forest protection measure in 2005, hopes to convince fellow lawmakers to allow the use of federal grants to maintain working forests and prevent them from being converted into developments.
[G]
GROWING SCHOOLS
State Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, will renew his effort to rewrite the state's school funding formula to better recognize the needs of fast-growing districts. His proposal in 2005 that would have reduced subsidies for declining enrollment districts fizzled. Also, to help pay for school construction, lawmakers will consider education-related impact fees - also known as "systems development charges" - on new homes.
[H]
HEALTH CARE
Rising medical costs are the top concern of businesses and the number of uninsured Oregonians has passed 650,000. And when uninsured people show up in emergency rooms, those costs are shifted to people with insurance. That is helping to spur several reform proposals that would make costs more transparent, combine public employees into larger groups to reduce costs, and to extend universal health care to children or even to all Oregonians. A cigarette tax hike will be part of the debate. Westlund and Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, will lead a committee focusing on health care issues.
[I]
INTERSTATE FREIGHT
Gov. Ted Kulongoski is asking lawmakers to dedicate another $100 million in lottery-backed bonds to a program called Connect Oregon, which tries to spur economic development in rural places by improving nonhighway conduits for commerce such as railroads, airports and water ports. The City of Prineville Railway is one of the beneficiaries divvying up the first $100 million. However, with Democrats in charge, the dollars could be divided differently. Central and Eastern Oregon got a disproportionate share of the first Connect Oregon funds based on the region's population, capturing 30 percent.
[J]
JAILS
Oregon's prison population is rising - and the budget keeps climbing for Oregon's corrections system. That could spark a review of the state's tough sentencing Measure 11, passed in 1994, which sets mandatory sentences for violent offenders. Also, lawmakers will likely add to the state's list of crimes, led by a proposal to increase penalties for people who sexually solicit children over the Internet. The new prison in Madras is due to open this year.
[K]
KICKER
Oregon's unique tax rebate law - which could send $1.2 billion or more in refunds in 2007 - could be revamped so that the corporate share of the money would go instead into a rainy day fund as a hedge against future recessions. Oregon's lack of a robust reserve fund led to deeper budget cuts in the early 2000s recession. The kicker represents tax collections that exceed economists' projections.
[L]
LOBBYISTS AND ETHICS
Revelations that select lawmakers were treated to all-expense-paid trips by lobbyists - and then didn't report them - has helped spark calls for tougher limits on gifts. Also, Democrats are pledging to restore funding and perhaps give more autonomy to the state's Government Standards and Practices Commission, which saw its budget and staff cut over the past decade.
[M]
MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING
Deschutes County's mental health program could benefit from a proposal to equalize the state funds that are sent to counties to cope with indigent mental health needs. Statewide, counties receive an average of $8.16 per capita for mental health programs, but Deschutes County gets $2.70 per capita.
[N]
NONPARTISAN
The growing number of independent voters and people who are turned off by partisan politics could spur election reforms such as an open primary ballot. The assembly also could revive a proposal from 2005 to turn the Legislature into a nonpartisan body, and will be asked to overturn a 2005 law that makes it harder for independent candidates to qualify for the ballot. That law was cited as a key reason why Westlund abandoned his independent bid for governor last summer.
[O]
OREGON STATE POLICE
Nowhere on Oregon highways is there 24-hour, seven-day-a-week coverage by the state police, a result of budget reductions over the past two decades. Kulongoski wants to create a dedicated source of funds for the state police with a new tax on auto insurance that would raise $25 million, but legislators have signaled little enthusiasm for that idea.
[P]
PENSIONS AND BENEFITS
Kulongoski has proposed a $1 billion increase in the budget for public schools, but more than half of that sum would pay for higher salaries and benefits for existing workers. That will spark calls to make additional cost-cutting reforms to public employee benefits, but those efforts could run headlong into opposition from labor unions, the biggest financers of the governor's re-election campaign.
[Q]
QUOTA
Lawmakers and educators will debate a Kulongoski proposal, dubbed the "Education Enterprise," that would dedicate 61 percent of the budget to schools and colleges. However, the notion of taking away the state's budget flexibility - and at a time when the senior population is growing - could erode support.
[R]
RURAL SPRAWL
An avalanche of claims under the Measure 37 property rights law have sparked concerns that the law is broader than voters were initially led to believe and could ultimately undercut the state's farm and forestry industries. One proposal would put a moratorium on new claims; another would revise the law so that claimants could add another house to a farm parcel - but not turn it into a subdivision. Republicans will try to block such moves, however.
[S]
STATE HOSPITAL
The dilapidated mental institution in Salem has spawned a federal review and a proposal to replace the facility with four smaller units including two on the state's east side, potentially one in Central Oregon. Lawmakers have not identified any funds or properties for those new facilities, however.
[T]
TAXES
Several tax increases will be considered including an increase in corporate minimum taxes, now $10 a year, and higher taxes on cigarettes, beer and wine. However, the robust growth of the general fund will spark questions about whether any tax increases are prudent - and some lawmakers have signaled they will pursue a reduction in capital gains tax rates. Democratic control of the assembly may also open the door to a proposal by Westlund and three other senators to overhaul the state's fiscal structure, which would create a sales tax while lowering income, capital gains and property taxes.
[U]
UNIVERSITY CONSTRUCTION
Kulongoski has proposed more state borrowing to finance a wave of construction across the state and particularly on college campuses. His budget blueprint calls for spending $3.2 billion on capital projects, up from $1.2 billion in the current cycle. Of that sum, $401 million would be spent for work at the state's seven universities - but no work is proposed at the OSU-Cascades Campus in Bend.
[V]
VOLUNTEERS
Burley wants to create a license so that doctors who retire to Oregon from elsewhere can volunteer in low-income clinics.
[W]
WATER
Lawmakers will reconsider a proposal that fizzled in the 2005 session that would have banned so-called "toxic mixing zones" in rivers where pollution can exceed legal levels. Columbia Basin farmers want to secure the use of more water from the Columbia River. Oregon gets a smaller share of the water in the river than do Idaho and Washington.
[X]
XENO
Concerns about illegal immigration, the public costs associated with undocumented migrants and the rise of identity theft will fuel a renewed effort to stop the state from issuing any formal identification to foreigners as recommended by the federal Real ID Act.
[Y]
Youth EDUCATION
Lawmakers will debate the best approach to early childhood education, and could adopt full-day kindergarten and expand Head Start programs for disadvantaged youth. Kulongoski has proposed that higher corporate taxes help pay for Head Start.
[Z]
ZERO
The number of Oregon children who would be uninsured if lawmakers adopt a proposal by Kulongoski to hike cigarette taxes by 82 cents a pack to pay for health care. The state says there are 117,000 Oregon children from age zero to 19 with no health coverage.
James Sinks can be reached at 503-566-2839 or at jsinks@bendbulletin.com.
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