House Republican Leaders Choose to Leave the Peoples' Work Undone

During last year’s campaign season, candidates for the Oregon House promised action on a broad range of issues that Oregonians care deeply about, including the high cost of healthcare, fighting the war against methamphetamine, creating jobs and strengthening the economy, accountability in government, and funding education.

After the 73rd session of the Oregon Legislature got under way in January, many well-meaning members of both parties rolled up their sleeves and started working on bills that addressed these concerns. In good faith, they introduced legislation that tackled the work they knew the voters and citizens of Oregon consider important.

Unfortunately, in the rush to end this session of the legislature, Speaker Karen Minnis and Majority Leader Wayne Scott have adjourned the House until next Sunday, while the bulk of the people’s work remains unfinished. I’m disappointed and angry that the Republican leadership apparently feels no sense of urgency over keeping the promises that Republicans and Democrats alike have made to the people of Oregon.

Significant work remains to address every major challenge in the lives of working Oregonians, including the runaway rise in the cost of prescription drugs and health coverage; the staggering impact of the meth epidemic; and a solid financial foundation that provides the opportunity to aspire to excellence. And all over Oregon, people are demanding that the legislature keep its promise to promote economic growth and stimulate the formation of new jobs.

In every one of these significant policy areas, major bills are awaiting action in the House of Representatives. But the Speaker’s response to these real issues affecting the quality of life of all Oregonians is to say we have “little to do” and to send the House on a four-day paid vacation.

To make our point about the Unfinished Agenda as clearly as possible, we have identified 12 important proposals that have passed the Senate with bi-partisan support, but that are languishing unaddressed in the Oregon House of Representatives.

We call it the “Undone Dozen.”

These are measures the people of Oregon care about. These are significant bills that would help make life healthier, more prosperous and safer for every citizen in this state or that would improve the efficiency of state government. They are bills we could be working on right now, while the Senate moves toward the end of its own session.

Health care

In the area of health care, the Speaker and the Majority Leader have left three vital initiatives hanging in limbo:

• Senate Bill 1 would require insurance companies to cover mental health problems in the same way they cover other medical conditions. The Senate passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support on March 21, by a vote of 23-6. Today, it waits in the House State and Federal Affairs Committee.

• Senate Bill 329 is one of the most important proposals we’ve seen to help reduce the cost of health care. It would expand the state’s drug purchasing pool to allow private businesses and individuals to save money on prescription drugs. On May 20, it passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 19-11. Today, it waits in the House Budget Committee.

• Senate Bills 756 and 849 enhance women’s access to emergency contraceptives, and require insurance companies to cover the cost of prescription contraceptives. These are important bills that affect women’s health, but the Republican leadership has chosen to let them die. The two bills passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support (22-7 and 20-7)—the first in March, the second in May, but today they wait in the House Judiciary Committee.

Education

On the issue of education, which is on the minds of countless parents and students these days, two bills could have a positive effect on school budgets:

• Senate Bill 766 would eliminate unreasonably rich severance packages for superintendents of school districts, as well as retirement benefits better than those of other school employees—the so-called “golden parachutes.” The bill would save money for schools, and allow stronger investment in the classroom. The Senate passed it on April 20 with strong bipartisan support (19-8), but today the bill waits in the House Education Committee, while the House goes on a paid four-day vacation.

• Senate Bill 841 and Senate Joint Resolution 2 address the Education Stability Fund, commonly known as the “Rainy Day” fund. The first would require transfer of the entire General Fund ending balance (up to a limit of two percent of all General Fund expenditures) to the Education Stability Fund. The second would refer a constitutional amendment to the voters, enabling them to increase the Education Stability from five percent to 10 percent of General Fund revenues. These are serious, effective proposals that could provide a real cushion for school funding. They both passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support on May 31 and June 1, but today they wait in the House Budget Committee and the House State and Federal Affairs Committee.

• Senate Bill 467 would enable the Department of Education to reimburse school districts and others who provide summer food services to the children of low-income families. The price tag would be $150,000 per biennium. The Senate passed the bill with strong bipartisan support (25-3) on June 6, but today the bill waits in the House Budget Committee.

The Meth Crises

Nearly every House member vowed to bolster Oregon’s fight against methamphetamine.

• Today, two strong bills—HB 2485 and SB 907, the “Meth Package”—still await action in the Budget Committee.

Economic development and jobs

Similarly, nearly every House member promised voters a strong effort to foster economic development and promote the growth of jobs.

• Senate Bill 71, or “Connect Oregon,” is a bill that would allocate $100 million in Lottery-backed bonds for air, rail, seaport and transit improvements throughout the state—an excellent opportunity to stimulate business development and create thousands of new jobs. In the rush to adjourn the House, the Republican leadership has wasted a golden opportunity to strengthen Oregon’s economy. The bill passed the Senate unanimously on June 22, but today it’s dying in the House State and Federal Affairs Committee.

Abusive tax shelters and giveaways

The taxpayers of Oregon are tired of hosing away precious tax dollars on hundreds of shelters, credits, deductions and allowances that overburden our state’s tax code.

• Senate Bill 480 strengthens penalties for certain abusive tax shelters, and provides periods of amnesty to encourage immediate compliance. Republicans and Democrats alike loved this bill in the Senate, where it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support (23-3) on March 23. Today it waits in the House Budget Committee.

Consumer protection

The Senate has passed two important measures that provide major benefits or protection to consumers.

• Senate Bill 545, the “Payday Loan” bill, would restrict lenders to 15 percent of the loan value as interest on a two-week loan, which is still the equivalent of 391 percent interest when figured on an annual basis. Some lenders charge as much as 600 percent interest. The measure also would limit loan amounts to $1,000 or 25 percent of a borrowers' gross monthly income, whichever is less. This badly needed bill passed the Senate on May 31 with bipartisan support (17-13), but today it waits in the House State and Federal Affairs Committee.

• Senate Bill 408 would simply require investor-owned utilities to pay the taxes for which they bill their customers, instead of simply keeping the money after reducing their tax liability with credits and loopholes. The Senate passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support (26-4) on June 8, but today it waits in the House State and Federal Affairs Committee.

Double-majority reform

Senate Joint Resolution 14 responds to a very real problem in Oregon. Because of the infamous “double-majority” requirement, voters in local property tax elections can cast a “no” vote by simply not voting at all. This measure would enable the voters to amend the constitution by eliminating the requirement for a turnout by a majority of voters in property tax elections. But it would restrict such elections to the November general election in even-numbered years and the May election in any year. The Senate passed this bill with strong bipartisan support (20-8) on April 12, but today it languishes in the House Revenue Committee.

Conclusion

I want to emphasize that the proposals I’ve described—the “Undone Dozen”—are not wildly partisan attempts to embarrass one party or the other in the House. They all have bipartisan support. They are good public policy, because they respond to real problems.

It’s just plain wrong to let these good pieces of legislation wither and die in committee just because a tight group of the majority leadership would rather not deal with them. The people sent us here to do their business, and we owe them a decent effort. The House Democrats are here today, ready to work on these bills, ready to do the business of the people. We wish the majority party were here, too.