The proposed schedule for the Oregon Legislative Session is to begin February 1.

It begins what is called a Short session and has a 35 day limit.

It was passed by voters to deal with issues from the Regular session that could or best not wait until the next Regular session, such as budget fixes and technical issues. Voters are now questioning what this session will look like after two special sessions called last year seemed unnecessary.

There are 256 bills introduced of which health issues are the most popular, and that wasn’t on the Governor’s list of priorities.

The timeline proposed is to have a scheduled work session in the chamber of origin no later than February 7 and to have bills out of that chamber by February 14.

The second chamber must schedule a work session by February 18 and consider those bills by February 24.

However, that is not the end-all. This timeline does not apply to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, other joint committees except for the Joint Committee on Transportation, Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue, House Committee on Revenue, Senate Committee on Rules, House Committee on Rules, Senate Committee on Conduct and House Committee on Conduct. That involves more than one-fifth of the bills, and it only takes one to destroy our liberties.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

For instance, Election bills are exempt from the timeline. HB 4133, a bill sponsored by Democrat Representative Julie Fahey (D-Eugene) and Senator Akasha Lawrence Spence (D-Portland), allows a person with a Social Security number to register to vote with their signature, and it allows an approved third-party organization to submit registration cards electronically on behalf of individuals. No proof of residency, it’s an alternative to an Oregon driver license or permit, or a state identification card. Oregon’s biggest issue in fraudulent voting is ineligible voters.

This will legalize ineligible voters where, over time, Oregonians will have no say.

Governor Brown wants the legislature to deal with affordable housing, education, public safety, advancing the Private Forest Accord, allocating $100 million package in investments for child care services, a $200 million package to bolster the state’s workforce and $38 million to invest in small businesses, and increase funding to regional economic development organizations.

Those are some major issues to resolve in 35 days when some have been on the table for years.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-01-28 06:47:56

Last Update: 2022-01-28 08:08:12