The imbalance of the Oregon legislature is very clear in the lack of separation of powers among the executive branch. This problem is never more clear when there is a conflict of interest involved.

This imbalance is the Problem in Senate Bill 96, which proposes a significant salary increase for judges, with the Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Meagan A. Flynn as the chief sponsor. This bill lacks legislative sponsorship and seeks to raise judges' salaries by over $100,000 per year immediately upon passage via the Emergency Clause. The fiscal impact is estimated to be $33.3 million General Fund in the 2025-27 and 2027-29 biennium for the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD). These funds would come from the Oregon General Fund, to which all taxpayers contribute. SB 96 has passed out of the Senate committee and is currently in the Ways and Means Committee.

This is just one of many bills drafted and submitted without legislative branch involvement. Two hundred-sixty-six legislative bills have been introduced in the current legislative session that doesn't have a legislator as sponsor.

The Solution is Senate Bill 1006. According to the Constitution, the Legislative branch is responsible for creating bills and overseeing the state budget, including the general fund. Since 1953, Oregon has allowed the Executive and Judiciary branches to draft and make laws.

Senator Kim Thatcher introduced SB 1006 to restore the proper balance of the three branches of government and ensure that only the Legislative branch can draft and introduce bills. This bill has garnered bipartisan support and aims to align Oregon with the best practices of 40 other states that prohibit non-legislative entities from drafting and introducing bills.

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

Quote from Senator Thatcher “The Oregon Constitution is clear: the Legislature is the only branch of government responsible for making laws. The executive and judicial branches play critical roles in enforcing and interpreting laws but writing them is not their job. Yet, for too long, they have been enabled to bypass the system, introducing legislation without any direct accountability to the people. This practice undermines the role of the Legislature and, ultimately, the voice of the people. SB 1006 is about restoring the proper balance of power and ensuring that Oregonians’ elected lawmakers determine the laws that govern our state.”

SB 1006 received a public hearing in March. The next step is to email your legislators, particularly those on the Senate Rules Committee, to request a work session for SB 1006 and move the bill forward for a floor vote. This action would demonstrate citizens' involvement and concern for their government and governance.

SB 1006 can be tracked with email options at Oregon Citizens Lobby Alerts.


--Silver Eagle

Post Date: 2025-04-16 11:04:35

Last Update: 2025-04-16 14:55:06