Governor Kate Brown's first State of the State speech
Oregon Governor Kate Brown delivered her first State of the State speech on April 17th before the City Club of Portland. So far, she has signed 33 bills.
(Dave Killen/The Oregonian)
SALEM -- Welcome to our rundown -- updated weekly -- of the bills Gov. Kate Brown signed into law or let become law. We'll also keep tabs on which notable bills if any are sitting on or headed to the governor's desk. Under the Oregon Constitution, bills delivered to the governor must be vetoed within five business days or they become law automatically.
APRIL 13-17
Merger notices: House Bill 2330, signed on April 14, is a small procedural change allowing businesses to give written merger and conversion plans to shareholders instead of submitting the plans to the Secretary of State's Office.
Municipal audits: House Bill 2174, signed April 16, requires the Secretary of State's Office to commission a report every two years showing the findings of municipal audits across the state.
DAS authority: House Bill 2476, signed April 16, grants the Department of Administrative Services authority to create uniform policies across multiple state agencies and boards.
Property taxes: House Bill 2485, signed April 16, clarifies that refunds on property taxes received through an appeal must be returned to the person who actually filed the appeal.
House Bill 2488, signed April 16, changes penalties for understating income taxes by adjusting them for inflation.
Housing inspections: House Bill 2610, signed April 16, gives local governments authority to inspect housing for farm workers.
APRIL 6-10
Education budget: The $7.255 billion K-12 funding plan no one seemed to like much, especially Republicans, hardly had to wait long to win the governor's approval. Brown, as expected, signed House Bill 5017 on April 9, just two days after it reached her desk.
HB 5017 -- which increases overall funding and pays for all-day kindergarten statewide, but still might leave some schools facing cuts -- cleared both the House and the Senate without a single Republican vote. Republicans even briefly stormed off the Senate floor during a rancorous floor session April 6 that also included references to Jesus Christ. They were protesting Democrats' response to their $7.56 billion alternative plan funded through cuts in public safety and human services.
The schools budget went forward earlier than usual. Democratic leaders have repeatedly stressed that it's meant as a floor for school districts to use when planning their budgets and that it might increase if the May revenue forecast allows it.
Public records: House Bill 3037, signed April 9, adds to the ranks of ironclad public records exemptions that no amount of "clear and convincing" public interest can change. From now on, most public employees' home addresses, phone numbers, cell phones, personal email addresses, driver's license numbers, employee ID cards, and emergency contact information can never be released as part of a records request. That exemption also has been extended to workers in day cares and adult foster homes.
Natural gas: Two years ago, the Public Utility Commission won permission to let gas utilities participate in voluntary pollution reduction programs. Senate Bill 456, signed April 6 and effective as of April 7, makes clear that the PUC has the right to alter the mechanics of those programs as it sees fit.
Errata: Once a session, the Legislature passes a bill that "revises statutes to maintain accuracy. Corrects punctuation and grammatical errors. Conforms language to legislative style. Removes obsolete references, standardizes terminology, and replaces references to abolished state agencies. Makes other nonsubstantive corrections."Senate Bill 342, signed April 9, is this session's version of that bill. One lawmaker still somehow voted no: Rep. John Davis, R-Wilsonville.
MARCH 30-APRIL 3
Tom McCall Day: From now on, courtesy of Senate Bill 333, every March 22 will mark the birthday of former Gov. Tom McCall -- who led the state from 1967 through 1975 and remains an enduring and beloved icon for his work passing Oregon's then-revolutionary "bottle bill" and helping safeguard public access to Oregon's coastline. No, you won't get a day off work. But schoolkids throughout the state will likely be treated to a special day of learning. SB 333 was signed March 30.
Taxes for data centers: Senate Bill 611, signed April 2, has spent weeks as a subject of global intrigue. Hoping to attract tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Apple to rural Oregon, the state will change its wonky rules for assessing property taxes on telecommunications infrastructure by exempting data centers coveted by local governments for their heavy utility fees. The bill also caps taxes that can be levied on cable TV companies, including Comcast.
But of note, there's one lingering problem in the wake of SB 611, which endured several rounds of revisions as it worked its way through the Legislature. In a bid to also exempt Google Fiber, the legislators wound up botching amended language -- with Google arguing, instead, that the newest bill had made things worse. A companion tax measure, House Bill 2485, is being massaged to address those concerns.
Painkillers for eye procedures: Thanks to Senate Bill 152, signed March 30, optometrists in Oregon will be able to resume scheduling hydrocodone for pain relief. Optometrists lost that ability last fall after the feds moved the drug into a more restrictive category that put it out of reach for eye doctors.
Business development: Senate Bill 482, another broadly bipartisan measure, creates a new consortium meant to promote manufacturing in Oregon and Southwest Washington: the Pacific Northwest Manufacturing Partnership. Brown signed it April 1. No kidding.
Housekeeping: House Bill 2175, signed March 30, eases some paperwork requirements for state agencies who take more than a business day to deposit funds with the state's treasurer.
Budget reconciliation: Senate Bill 5543, signed March 30, adjusts financial numbers from the 2011-13 budget cycle to achieve a balanced budget. Senate Bill 605, also signed March 30, is a companion measure to SB 5543 and includes tweaks that affect the handling of Oregon Lottery and liquor funds.
MARCH 23-27
Billions for Medicaid: Brown signed the overwhelmingly bipartisan House Bill 2395 on March 23, extending a $1.9 billion tax on hospitals for the next four years to make sure Oregon receives an additional $5.4 billion in federal matching money over that same span. Two years ago, Republicans had sought to use the extension as a bargaining chip in the debate over public employee pension reforms. But this time, only three, between the House and the Senate, voted no.
Dental hygiene: Under Senate Bill 302, signed March 23, statute has been clarified to allow what had been a longstanding dentistry practice: Dental hygienists are now allowed to prescribe drugs and substances including fluoride and anti-microbials.
MARCH 16-20
The "motor voter" bill: An ebullient Brown called it a "unique and humbling opportunity" when she signed House Bill 2177 on March 16 -- creating a first-in-the-nation system that automatically registers Oregon voters (with an opt-out window) by drawing data from their driver's license records.
Brown was beaming because she'd been championing the bill -- pushed by groups like the Bus Project and the League of Women Voters -- since 2013, when she was secretary of state. That's the job she still had when the bill came forward again this session, expected to pass courtesy of expanded Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. (Read Jeff Mapes' comprehensive Q&A for more details.)
Public records: Senate Bill 386, signed March 18, indefinitely continues a public records exemption that shields personal information for most animal research workers at Oregon Health and Science University.
Restitution: House Bill 2226, signed by the governor March 18, makes clear that the estate of a deceased crime victim -- in an elder abuse case, for example -- is equally entitled to seek restitution.
Legal system tweaks: House Bill 2335, signed March 18, edits the definition of "enter and remain unlawfully" in statutes dealing with burglary to match the interpretation of that statute applied in recent in appellate decisions. House Bill 2380, also signed March 18, allows judgments to be appealed and revised in circuit court if both parties in a legal dispute agree. And, in an incredibly technical change sought by the Oregon State Police, House Bill 2433, signed March 18, says electronic citations can be sized and formatted differently than their paper counterparts.
Code cleanup: House Bill 2372, signed March 18, strikes an errant reference to the old Board on Public Safety Standards and Training in favor of its successor agency, the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. (Yawn. But now more accurate!)
MARCH 9-13
Low-carbon fuel standards: Brown surprised almost no one this week when she made clear she'd sign the young legislative session's most politically divisive bill:Senate Bill 324, which extends Oregon's clean fuels program. The legislation was a top priority of Democratic leadership, who tried and failed to pass something similar in the last legislative session. In fact, environmental advocates spent dearly last year to help Democrats expand their majorities in the House and Senate in hopes of seeing the bill through.
But the program extended by the bill also has ties to former Gov. John Kitzhaber's legacy. Republican leaders had seized on those ties, as well as fear about higher gas prices, to demand a veto. And if they didn't get their way, they said, they'd refuse to negotiate over another Democratic priority: transportation funding.
They didn't get their way. Brown not only signed the bill but also strongly defended it as vital for Oregon's future in light of climate change. So Republicans have begun insisting those talks are "off the table" and that nothing can put them back on again.
Legal system tweaks: House Bill 2327 and House Bill 2328 both offer some modest tweaks to statutes dealing with jurisprudence. HB 2327 makes clear who can help the clients of an attorney who dies, quits practicing law, faces suspension or disbarment, or winds up sent to prison. HB 2328 changes the word "corporation" in statute to "party that is not a natural person."
Vehicle insurance payouts: Senate Bill 411 makes it easier for injured policyholders to receive and spend personal injury benefits.
MARCH 2-6
Class-action damage awards: Brown signed House Bill 2700 on March 4, directing unclaimed damage awards from class-action lawsuits to the Oregon State Bar's legal-aid fund. Before, sued companies could keep any unclaimed money. The money will provide free legal counsel for Oregonians who need help in housing, family law, public benefits and other noncriminal cases.
Cover Oregon: Brown signed Senate Bill 1 on March 6 to dissolve the state's troubled, would-be health insurance exchange. Cover Oregon's operations will be handed to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. The agency and the health insurance marketplace it tried to create had already been abandoned amid technical failures, with Oregonians looking to obtain insurance using the federal exchange at HealthCare.gov instead.
-- Denis C. Theriault and Ian K. Kullgren
503-221-8430; @TheriaultPDX