June 2023 - Pac/West Lobby Group

A Fond Farewell to My Friends at the Capitol

June 29, 2023/by Anne Johnson

Anne Johnson.

When I ventured into the world of politics in 2001 to work on a House campaign and then became a legislative staffer, I never dreamed I would still be working in this industry in 2023. Sometimes I believe that life chooses us, and in that same vein, it gives us subtle reminders of when it’s time to move on.

When the sessions start to feel longer, and the steps to the Capitol begin to look steeper, you recognize that the “good ol’ days” have come and gone. I realized recently that I am no longer the 30-year-old with a drive to change the world but rather a daughter, a sister, and a mother who is simply thankful that the world did not change her.

I hope you learned something from me. I certainly learned a lot from you. Clients, coworkers, lobbyists, agency heads, legislators, and Capitol staff have all felt like family. For the camaraderie and the patience, the long debates, and lifelong friendships, I thank you.

As I head into retirement, I want to thank you for our time together. I was honored to work alongside and get to know so many of you. It was a privilege to serve as a lobbyist, and I can only hope that I served well.

Namaste,

Anne

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Session Ends with Bumpy, Bruising Landing

June 26, 2023/by Ryan Tribbett

It was a turbulent flight that ended with a rough landing, but the 2023 Oregon Legislative Session safely set down on Sunday as both chambers adjourned on the last possible day.

It was a noteworthy first flight for new leaders in both chambers and the governor’s office. There was early optimism about breaking the spiral that had led to Republican walkouts in the previous two full sessions. Parties found aligned priorities on housing in particular and quickly passed a major bill package that seemed to signal a new era of cooperation.

Ryan Tribbett.

But turbulence hit quickly, particularly in the Senate, as party leadership engaged in an ever-growing grudge match. Republican Leader Sen. Tim Knopp (R-Bend) immediately and publicly voiced his displeasure with the selection of Sen. Rob Wagner (D-Portland) as Senate President. Sen. Wagner responded by taking away the customary committee appointment process from Republicans. Republicans countered by requiring full bill readings as a stall tactic. Democrats scheduled weekend floor sessions to make up for the extra bill reading time.

It reached a breaking point as the Senate Republican caucus not only declined to provide quorum on the weekend sessions but walked out entirely for 43 days, citing issues with complex bill summaries, abortion and firearm bills, and a host of other disagreements with Democratic priorities. The war of words between parties continued through the historic stall and attempted intervention from Gov. Tina Kotek failed to find a resolution.

Republicans ultimately returned with ten days left until constitutional sine die, enough time to pass the hundreds of bills that stacked up in their absence, including the state budget.

The ramifications of the Republican walkout are still unclear. The ten senators who racked up more than ten unexcused absences face losing their ability to run for their seats in the next election due to Ballot Measure 113, passed by voters in November. A legal challenge is underway and will be an ongoing reminder of the acrimony of the 2023 Oregon legislative session, regardless of the outcome.

At the close of the session, each of the five main players in the session (House and Senate parties and Gov. Kotek) sent press releases recapping their successes:

The Pac/West Lobby Group team is busy reviewing the bills passed in the final flurry before sine die. Stay tuned for more recaps on the session from our team.

No More Fuming at the Fuel Pump for Randy Miller

June 22, 2023/by Rick Metsger

People who know former Senator Randy Miller will confirm that he has a legacy of commitment to a self-serving project. No, not for personal gain or glory, fame or fortune; though it did leave many people fuming over, well, fumes. The charismatic Republican senator from West Linn is passionate about many things, especially if they relate to his golf game. But during his time in the Oregon Senate 20 years ago, Miller was obsessed with legislating away his greatest pet peeve — the prohibition on self-service gas.

“Why, oh, why,” Miller would repeatedly proclaim on the Senate floor, “does this body feel they cannot trust their fellow Oregonians with pumping their own gas?”

Miller didn’t just take a run at eliminating the prohibition. He wanted it to be his signature achievement. Time and again, session after session, when it was ‘Miller Time’ in the Senate, it was Randy trying to convince his recalcitrant colleagues to free his hands so he could grasp that nozzle and feel the exhilaration of filling his sports car’s petrol portal all by himself.

He came close once. In one session, he garnered 14 votes — so close, yet so far. It went downhill from there. He would bring other bills to the floor. He would amend still other bills. He would advance motions to pull bills out of committee to the floor and other bills to serve as vehicles to create minority reports. Time after time, he was rejected.

This was not a partisan issue. Miller’s Republicans controlled the Senate. Finally, the affable warrior ran out of gas. His last effort yielded only six yes votes on the Senate floor, probably still a record for the fewest affirmative votes on any measure that made it that far.

But the result had a silver lining. He was still alive. Miller would admit on the floor, “If this passes, my mother says she will kill me.”

Oregon has, in a quirky way, been proud of two things few other states can claim. We don’t have a sales tax, and we don’t pump our own gas. We may have naked bike rides, towns named Boring and Idiotville, and eat bacon on our donuts, but God as our witness, we don’t allow people to pump their own gas.

Our own Whitley Sullivan even once made a T-shirt for her soon-to-be husband proclaiming the unique characteristics of Oregon’s prohibition.

But that’s all over now. On Wednesday, the Senate moved the final passage of HB 2426 by one vote to free all Oregonians from the grip of the gas station attendant. Now all of us can grab that nozzle and bathe in the exhilarating, stimulating smell of the gasoline cologne all over our bodies.

Oregon will no longer ‘fly with her own wings’ but join the flock of petrol pumpers. Oregon may have lost its unique identity, but Randy Miller has finally been vindicated.

House Nears Sine Die with Senate Still in Limbo

June 12, 2023/by Ryan Tribbett

There were rumblings of movement on the ongoing Senate Republican Caucus walkout last week, but there is still no clear path to a finish line of the 2023 Legislative Session before sine die. Party leadership continues to refuse to budge on House Bill 2002, which enshrines protections for abortion and gender-affirming care.

While Democrats in the Senate continue to look for ways to coerce or demand Republicans’ return to the floor, their colleagues in the House have nearly completed their work and may call their own sine die before June 25. The Rules Committee has finished its agenda, and the Ways & Means committees have nearly completed their work. All 73 budget bills have passed out of the full committee, and nearly half of those have also passed the House.

As we begin to look at what the next two weeks may hold, it’s worth noting that the hundreds of bills awaiting Senate action don’t necessarily have to be passed by midnight on June 25. If there is a quorum to begin work in the Senate, that day’s session will last until the Senate president gavels it out—even if it rolls into the next day.

Want to hear more from the Pac/West Lobby Group team? Sign up to receive newsletters with commentary on Oregon political issues from Rick Metsger, Ryan Tribbett, and others on the team directly to your inbox here.

Solving Housing Crisis Requires Fixing Root Problem

June 8, 2023/by Whitley Sullivan

When I was in college, I woke up after a post-test nap to discover that my kitchen ceiling was raining.

An untimely freeze had created a giant Sheetrock bubble and was leaking water out of every one of my light fixtures. Disoriented by the flashing, short-circuiting lights of my kitchen, I had a decision to make: Do I find a bunch of buckets to catch the water, or do I find the main water shut-off?

Whitley Sullivan.

The answer should be obvious. When dealing with a crisis, you expend your energy on a root-cause solution. Finding buckets, bowls, and pots would have been a waste of my energy and resources because time is your biggest obstacle during a crisis.

My landlord was also clear-headed about the solution and not only stopped the underlying source of the leak but then made the necessary repairs to ensure it didn’t happen again.

Facing a housing crisis, the Oregon Legislature is spending a lot of time choosing “bucket solutions”—making plans that address symptoms rather than root causes while wasting precious resources like time and tax dollars to do it. Some of these short-term solutions have been increasing regulations around rent increases (SB 611), extending eviction-process timelines (HB 2001), and limiting rental increases after housing is withdrawn from affordable (HB 3042). All aim to prevent housing instability and homelessness—the most damning consequence of our housing crisis. But these bucket solutions won’t solve our housing crisis. Preventing the destructive leaks of unstable housing and homelessness requires having enough units available so that every Oregonian has a choice of where they want to live.

This is the exact environment that Governor Tina Kotek is trying to create. On her first day in office, Kotek established the Oregon Housing Production Advisory Council, which is tasked with identifying recommendations that will help produce 36,000 units annually in Oregon. Kotek is essentially shutting off the valve and replacing the burst pipe of Oregon’s housing crisis—getting to the root of the problem so that future Oregonians don’t face the same problem we’re seeing today.

But Kotek’s strategy takes time, and unlike the burst pipes analogy, the Legislature’s “bucket solutions” don’t just result in extra water on the floor. Instead, these are real Oregonians facing homelessness because of action or inaction. And just as the policies moving through the Legislature may have positive outcomes for some, they also have negative consequences for others.

If our goal is to produce more housing, we need developers willing to invest in our state. Opponents of increased rental regulations argue that these barriers prevent new developments in Oregon, and states that have pursued similar policies have had to scale back regulations to make room for new developments. Ultimately, the only solution that solves any housing crisis is ensuring that there are enough houses to choose from.

So, as we move forward during this legislative session, the Legislature must consider whether to spend its time, energy, and taxpayer dollars on temporary solutions, or to work together to fix the failing infrastructure. Handing out buckets and pans won’t solve the problem.

Newsroom

A Fond Farewell to My Friends at the Capitol

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Session Ends with Bumpy, Bruising Landing

No More Fuming at the Fuel Pump for Randy Miller

House Nears Sine Die with Senate Still in Limbo

Solving Housing Crisis Requires Fixing Root Problem

Western Oregon Office

Eastern Oregon Office