The Liftoff: End-of-session surprises as legislature adjourns
PLUS: Which elected officials will make $142,000?; Kotek dealt an unexpected defeat by Senate Democrats; Greater Idaho on the podcast; Baker City's mayor compares LGBTQ+ pride to Nazism; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff!
The legislature worked all weekend and adjourned “sine die” yesterday, just in the nick of time to meet the constitutional deadline. Next week we will have for our paid subscribers a few winners and losers of the legislative session, plus some predictions. Stay tuned!
A note of appreciation: This has been a wild legislative session, and we have enjoyed bringing you the biggest headlines from Salem each week. We could not do this work without your support, so thank you! Consider upgrading your subscription today:
1. The legislature adjourns!
Bills flew off the House and Senate floor all weekend as legislators sprinted to the finish line to officially “sine die”. At one point, a state technology outage briefly paused their work Wednesday morning (the outage affected state agencies, too).
And, then things crawled to a halt Saturday because of a standoff over one of Governor Kotek’s priority housing bills, HB 3414. Kotek was dealt a major (and rare) legislative defeat by her own party when the bill died in the Senate Sunday afternoon with not enough Democrats supporting it.
From OPB: “HB 3414 would allow cities to unilaterally expand the urban growth boundaries that dictate where development can and cannot occur in order to build more housing. The change, added in a late amendment that was adopted earlier this week, would sidestep the normal process for expanding urban growth boundaries.”
In an extremely rare occurrence, two other bills died on the Senate floor without enough votes to move forward: HB 3013 — regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and HB 3242 — establishing a private right of action for the insured, including for medical malpractice.
But, even with those defeats, a ton of bills are now headed to Governor Kotek’s desk. Here’s recap of some of the biggest bills passed this week:
Abortion and gender-affirming care: This is the bill that Senate Republicans walked out over. An amended version of HB 2002 passed the House Wednesday, with nearly a dozen Republicans opting to stay away from the Capitol to protest the measure.
Ghost gun ban: This is the one gun safety measure that made it this legislative session. The bill bans 3-D printed firearms without serial numbers that are assembled at home and can be easily purchased online.
Housing: Lawmakers approved $650 million in state-backed bond debt to build affordable homes for renters and first-time homebuyers. They also approved $200 million in emergency housing/homelessness prevention funding, and a bill to hold cities accountable to meet homebuilding targets.
I-5 bridge replacement: A last-minute amendment to HB 5005, which establishes how much money Oregon issues in general obligation bonds, will allocate $250 million in general obligation bonds for the I-5 bridge project in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, for a total of $1 billion by the end of the decade, according to The Portland Mercury.
Impeaching statewide elected officials: According to the Capital Chronicle, the legislature passed a bill that will “ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment in 2024 to give the state House the power to impeach statewide elected officials and the Senate the power to hold a trial and remove them from office.”
Pumping your own gas: The Senate voted to end Oregon’s ban on self-serve gas that’s been in place since 1951. HB 2426 would require gas stations to have at least half of their open pumps for people who want assistance, but other pumps could be open for self-service.
Public defenders: The Legislature passed two bills (SB 5532 & SB 337) that will provide more than $90 million to restructure Oregon’s public defense system and create incentives for existing public defenders to stay. But as The Oregonian reports, “in an odd display of leadership that has befuddled public defenders – lawmakers haven’t explained how the money will translate into actual raises for individual lawyers.”
Interesting tidbit from Willamette Week’s Nigel Jaquiss: Buried deep in a proposed 124-page amendment to an end-of-session appropriations bill, SB 5506, is $300,000 for “an independent audit of land purchases by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission from fiscal years 2019 through 2023.” At issue is the OLCC’s 2022 purchase of very expensive land in Canby for a new warehouse and headquarters.
The Good, the Bad, and the Awful: Since 1977, Willamette Week has rated Portland-area legislators based on survey responses from lobbyists and staffers. This year’s results were particularly controversial because of some eyebrow-raising comments featured in the story. Here’s a tweet from WW reporter Sophie Peel, featuring just a few of the excerpts:
“This is the day I cringe reading my own paper.
‘His [traumatic brain injury] history unfortunately shows’
‘a vengeful weasel’
‘Has the charisma and charm of a used mattress salesman’
‘Nice guy, but five-minute meetings feel like a whole hour’”
2. Lawsuits, pay raises and other Portland metro news!
Multnomah County on Thursday sued 17 of the largest fossil fuel and coal-producing corporations over the 2021 Heat Dome, which killed 69 people. The lawsuit seeks $50 million in actual damages, $1.5 billion in future damages, plus a $50 billion abatement fund, to study, plan, and upgrade the public health care services and infrastructure. “Multnomah County chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the lawsuit is about accountability and fairness, something she said residents of the county deserve,” reports OPB. The County’s full press release is here.
Portland City Council will consider this week new penalties to stop public drug use. The proposal, introduced by Mayor Ted Wheeler, would prohibit the consumption of controlled substances on public property, similar to the city law banning public alcohol consumption. People who violate this policy could face up to six months in jail or a $500 fine. OPB’s City Hall reporter Alex Zielinski has the details.
The Beaverton School Board unanimously approved last week extending armed police officers in its schools and will pay for a portion the cost of the program over the next few years. The Oregonian’s Julia Silverman has more details on the plan.
Portland City Council members could see big raises if a proposal from a five-person salary commission moves forward. The plan would boost the mayor’s base salary by 17%, and increase City Council members’ annual pay by 11%, reports OPB. From Willamette Week: “The newly proposed salaries are $175,463 a year for the mayor, $168,758 annually for the city auditor, and $142,404 for each of the 12 city councilors.”
3. Explaining the ”Greater Idaho” movement with Matt McCaw
Matt McCaw is the spokesman for Greater Idaho, a grassroots organization seeking to allow Idaho to absorb a number of rural Oregon counties. The organization was started a number of years ago in response to the urban-rural divide and what Matt explains are irreconcilable differences politically and culturally between different parts of the state. Greater Idaho has gained significant international and national media attraction including write ups in the New York Times, CNN, and other major publications.
Matt walks us through exactly what the Greater Idaho movement is, why folks like him are pushing for this proposal, and his political reasoning for the cause—some of which are certain to surprise listeners. He also walks us through the course of action it would take to redraw state borders, resolutions different counties have passed supporting the measure, and common questions he gets.
4. Sponsored Message from Harrang Long P.C.: Harrang Long’s Government Ethics Practice
This message is from our sponsor, Harrang Long P.C.
Oregon law imposes several ethical obligations on state and local public officials, including prohibitions on the use of public office for private gain, procedures for addressing potential and actual conflicts of interest, and regulation of post-service employment. State law also regulates and requires reporting by lobbyists. Harrang Long P.C.’s lawyers work with public officials and lobbyists who need advice on how to comply with government ethics rules, and we represent clients before the Oregon Government Ethics Commission when they are accused of violating those rules.
Our deep experience with government ethics helps us evaluate issues efficiently and offer practical advice in what can often be contentious and politically charged circumstances. To learn more about Harrang Long’s government ethics practice, click here.
5. The Way: Women in leadership and false equivalences
We have a couple of great pieces for you this week from our Oregon Way contributors.
For starters, Kathleen Stuart has ideas on how to to increase the number of women in public office. Next up, we have a piece from Gary Conkling on types of false equivalences to the newest Trump indict and how it feeds disinformation.
Have thoughts on the pieces? Sound off in the comments!
6. Other news from around the state
A mass sweep of 200 homeless campers living near Bend that could cost Deschutes County $300,000, and would be Central Oregon’s largest sweep. Context from The Bend Bulletin: “Juniper Ridge is colloquially called dirt world, because it is characterized by dry, dusty conditions, winding dirt roads and sheer isolation from the city…Some estimate homeless people have been living there for more than a decade.”
Baker City mayor Matt Diaz recently defended his use of meme comparing Pride to Nazism. From OPB’s eastern Oregon reporter Antonio Sierra, “Diaz recently posted a meme on Facebook with an image of four Pride flags positioned to look like a swastika. The meme’s caption read, “When you join four pride flags you become ultra pride.”
The Baker City Herald reports some residents are asking Diaz to resign.
The political director of Oregon Right to Life and a former Springfield school board candidate have created a PAC to unseat the legislature’s only Republican who supports abortion rights, Rep. Charlie Conrad. Conrad is a first-term representative and former police officer from rural Lane County, reports the Capital Chronicle.
A big win for the Southern Oregon Coast, via OPB: “Efforts to make the Port of Coos Bay a major shipping facility got help from the Oregon Legislature this week. Lawmakers in both chambers approved the allocation of $40 million toward supporting what’s called the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port (PCIP) Project. The money is to help fund the dredging and expansion of the existing waterway to accommodate large container ships, and transport goods via rail to other parts of the region, including Eugene.”
7. News Round-up: Bynum is officially running for Congress and more!
Worth a listen: NPR profiled election workers, including Oregon‘s own Coos County former clerk, who have been threatened with violence or harassed. “Even though Trump won 59% of the vote in this county in 2020…election workers say two years later people were still yelling in their faces about voter fraud.”
Rep. Janelle Bynum officially announced she is running to unseat Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer. As WW points out: “Bynum has some history with Chavez-DeRemer, having defeated her in 2016 to win her Oregon House seat and then again in 2018.”
From Willamette Week: “Max Williams, a former senior lawmaker, onetime director of the Oregon Department of Corrections and, most recently, ex-CEO of the Oregon Community Foundation, wants to fix Measure 110, the 2020 ballot measure that decriminalized many hard drugs and allocated cannabis tax money for addiction treatment.”
From the Oregonian: “Providence Portland nurses walk out in city’s first nursing strike in 22 years”
Friday news bomb from Willamette Week: “Wild Clackamas County Car Chase Involving La Mota Owner Aaron Mitchell Ends With Nanny Indicted”
Tips? Feedback? Ideas? Corrections? We want to hear from you! Email benjaminwbowman@gmail.com or kristinaedmunson@gmail.com.
Consider becoming a paid subscriber today. Your support helps us grow and offer more opportunities to this community. It’s just $10 a month!
Interested in advertising with us? Get in touch! Our readership has grown significantly and we reach a wide variety of Oregonians!
About the Authors
Ben Bowman is the state representative for Oregon House District 25 (Tigard, Metzger, and South Beaverton) and a member of the Tigard-Tualatin School Board. In his day job, he works as an administrator for a public school district. Previously, he worked as a legislative aide for former Reps. Margaret Doherty and Val Hoyle. He also co-hosts The Oregon Bridge podcast. In the newsletter and podcast, he speaks only for himself.
Alex Titus is a small business owner and consultant to businesses, nonprofits, and associations. Previously, he served as an Advisor in the Trump Administration and as a Policy Advisor to President Trump’s Super PAC. His writing has appeared in National Review, Fox News, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, and other publications.
Kristina Edmunson has been everything from press assistant for Governor Kulongoski, media advance associate for Vice President Biden, and communications director for Attorney General Rosenblum. Born and raised in Eugene, she has been involved in some of the biggest policy and legal decisions in Oregon over the last decade. Today, she runs her own communications practice. She speaks only for herself in her contributions to The Liftoff.