Throughout our history there have been legislative issues that have deeply divided the Oregon assembly. Should our Democratic Republic survive, there will be many more. Democracy survives only by engagement, not withdrawal.
Now an 11-year veteran of the Oregon Senate, Sen. Elizabeth Steiner keeps her own firm grip on the legislative process as co-chair of the powerful Ways & Means Committee. And she gets plenty of hands extended from all the new friends her position attracts.
Democrats and Republicans alike continue to counter each other’s tactics to grind the legislative process down to a crawl. From a robotic voice to read bills to the Flesch Kincaid Reading Test to calculating how many days they can stay away from Senate proceedings to deny a quorum, the ultimate game plan of either party is unknown. Crystal clear, however, is that the sand in the hourglass on this constitutionally restricted session is sifting quickly.
In less than three weeks, the state economists will chop their formulas, dice their dot charts, flow analysis, and multiple-colored lines of deviation, turn the blender on high, and, voila! They will pour a financial cocktail for legislators to taste just how much revenue will come into state coffers for the next two years.
The Oregon Board of Forestry is on the verge of finalizing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) with the federal government that has fostered distrust and dismay in rural communities again. The HCP provides new governance for state forest lands that will dramatically reduce timber harvests below already low levels.
Oregon’s Legislature has hit the two-month warning mark, and the fans are getting restless. First downs are critical to keeping the chains moving on the remaining bills moving toward the goal line. But Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Clackamas) is not panicking. She trusts her training and her preparation. Forty miles to the South in Eugene, her son Ellis has taken a page from her playbook. He is a freshman running back for the University of Oregon football team.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is set to begin tolling bridges in the South Metro area next year and then install additional per-mile tolls all along I-5 and I-205. That adds up to about 40 or more tolls motorists will face when they utilize the not-so-freeways in the Portland area.
Students today face a more complex world, especially in navigating the tar pits of personal finance, asset management, and risk aversion. Oregon has not required a semester of personal finance in a quarter of a century in public high schools. Financial literacy has been in a decades-long courtship with the Oregon Legislature, only to see the nuptials continuously disrupted on the altar by Sine Die. This session, fueled by legislative leadership, teachers, school board members, and committed advocates, we may finally witness the tying of the knot.
In the ancient Roman calendar — a mix of math and politics all on its own — the Ides represent the middle of the month. It marked the day that all debts must be paid. At the Oregon Capitol, the Ides falls on March 17 this year. On this day, hundreds of bills filled with the hopes and dreams of legislators and lobbyists alike will be interned together in the legislative boneyard if they haven’t been scheduled for a committee vote.
At 73 years old, Kevin Mannix is an unlikely rookie in the 82nd Oregon Legislative Assembly. But as Pappy Van Winkle is to bourbon, Mannix is a scarcity among legislators across the country. Both were aged 23 years. The last time he patrolled the legislative chamber Bill Clinton was president, and flip phones were all the rage. Why come off the shelf now?
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