End of the Special Session

AIR DATE: Friday, February 26th 2010
POSTED BY: DAVID MILLER
Photo credit: functoruser / Creative Commons

The Legislature's "special session" has come to a close after a pretty eventful month.

On Think Out Loud alone we talked about the BPA ban (which was voted down), the religious clothing ban (which was overturned), a bill to limit employers' credit checks (which passed), and a bill to ban plastic bags (which never came up for a vote). We also spent an hour on annual sessions, on which legislators reached a compromise moments before Sine Die. And then there was kicker reform, the governor's top priority for the session. It was a non-starter.

But all of that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Legislature sent plenty of other business to the governor's desk, including bills that:

What caught your attention in this session? What do you wish the Legislature paid more — or less — attention to? What did this session portend for the upcoming governor's race? And what does it mean for future budget shortfalls?

GUESTS:

Tagged as: budget · legislature · special session

Photo credit: functoruser / Creative Commons

These topics are old, bored and spent.

The Producer needs to be brought to the carpet.

jacob —

The most frustrating aspect of the Oregon Legislature's special session was their total failure to address the budget shortfalls that could be alleviated by ending or modifying the kicker.  The budget is a serious concern for all Oregonians and not dealing with the ridiculous kicker is a supreme failure by the state legislature.

I'm also still irritated with the way the legislature raided the cultural trust funds.   

fwill —

Historians one hundred years from now may elevate HB 3628 and its companion SJR 50 to far more significance than the current media have given them. These bills request the Superintendent of Public Instruction to increase Mandarin programs in Oregon's public schools and authorizes her to contract with the Chinese agency Hanban to bring Chinese teachers to Oregon schools. Sponsors of the bill hope to have 15 additional Chinese teachers in Oregon within a year. These bills are the first bills by Oregon's legislature to increase Mandarin programs in Oregon. Given the current rise of China and its projected further rise (what future historians will surely write about), these small bills will increase in importance as events play out.

Dave Porter —

"On Think Out Loud alone we talked about the BPA ban (which was voted down)"

That was revealing wasn't it? As much as Conservative Republicans blabber and yak about "respect for life", they voted against protecting the lives of babies from BPA. They show themselves to be the ultimate hypocrites.

The real slogan of Conservative Republicans is obviously:

"What's bad for babies is good for business!"

Tom D Ford —

MY name is Gerritt Rosenthal and I am a candidate for Scott Bruuns seat (HD 37).

I followed the session...the good, the bad and the not so pretty

the good:

support for jobs creation statewide - "economic gardening"

removal of ban on religious dress

extension of unemployment benefits

report that OWRD is actively moving forwrd on water resources planning for climate change, and

two sessions (finally)

the bad:

failure to take up Kicker

failure to ban BPA (bisphenol A)

failure to take up river bank usage and abusage

the not so pretty

two sessions- we need it as evidenced by the fact that over 90 bills were passed in one month, most of them bipartisan...but the lack of agreement and last minute squabbling was embarassing

Gerritt Rosenthal

HD 37

Tualatin

503-638-9318

GerrittRosenthal —

I’m a self employed freelancer living in Portland.  My income dropped over 50% last year due to the recession.  I just finished my ‘09 tax return and I’ll be paying 50% more on my “TM” and “SP” forms.  What happened to all the money that Measures 66 and 67 was supposed to raise?

PDX Dave

pdxdave —

When reform the kicker was taken of the table, my interest in this legislative session -- and these legislators -- went out the window. Whatever this session my have accomplished will soon be forgotten as the Oregon economy slips further into the abyss everyone sees coming but our "leaders" are unprepared to discuss.

sweenstone —

Could someone on your program please address why the legislature spent time dealing with the issues of gun permits for felons? I'd like to know. Thank you.

Patrick —

I wish the Legislature spent more time on the bill limiting employer's - employee credit checks.  I felt like this bill was railroaded through without any input from Oregon businesses.  Additionally, the exceptions in the bill for law enforcement and the banking industry seem to cancel out the primary argument for the bill in the first place.  If credit information does not predict employee performance then why make an exception for anyone?

As a small business owner who planed to hire two new employees this year, I was blown away to find out that a very important resource for hiring has been made illegal by the state.  Our business is partially based out of our home so our employees will have access to both of our most prized life accomplishments, our family and our business.  Before hiring anyone, I want to have 100% confidence that I understand everything about that persons background, reliability, credit worthiness, etc.  Just because I am not lending money to these employees does not meant that I'm not granting them access to my most valuable possessions.  

danawa —

OK, so let me get this straight...

The value of a credit check for determining anything related to job performance or possible criminal activity has never been substantiated, but, rather, has been shown at least once in a 2003 study to be non-existent.

The credit bureaus are completely opaque; considered criminal by at least one state, Florida, which spearheaded law suits that ultimately resulted in Experian admitting it violated FTC rules; they have no vested interest in keeping accurate data; have a history of refusing to correct errors; and have a vested interest in selling these products to people like you.

The methods for calculating credit scores are completely unknown, but are obviously subject to forces outside of the potential employee's control.

...and you still think it is an "important resource" for hiring?

By the way, I agree, there should have been no exemptions.

slakr007 —

Does somebody actually have an ounce of sympathy for Mark Nelson, the guy who tried to deceive voters into thinking they had voted? How can he have any credibility or integrity after such a brazen attack on voter participation? Crass, cynical, and a perfect argument for the end of paid lobbying, period.

xanthoptica —

Not only did the leg punt on dealing with Oregon's crazy law that requires us to spend, not save, unanticipated revenues, making it next to impossible to have an adequate rainy day fund for the inevitable downturns in the business cycle, but they also failed to address two easy, related issues. They didn't even hold a hearing on SB 1027, which would have returned Oregon to the practice of giving households a credit, instead of a costly check, when sending back unanticipated revenues. And they could have taken the symbolic, but nevertheless important step of increasing the size of the rainy day fund given that we just hit a 100 year flood that the 2007 legislature never anticipated. While the fund wouldn't actually grow, they would have sent an important message that we need to save more for the next downturn.

csheketoff —

In my opinion, a short session means that the loudest least complex voices on any issue get heard first and most, which means that money wins.

katied —

Instead of tax credits why isn't the state using lottery money to fund economic development as it was originally intended? It was not supposed to be a slush fund for the State's general fund.

flancaster —

“Impose tougher regulations on lenders’’ This is what we always seek for to have a law that will supervise the pay day loan business. Payday loans are moderately regulated at present, they are likely to continue to remain under review, particularly in the current climate of tight credit availability throughout all areas of the financial markets All over the country legislatures are attempting to significantly control the payday loan market. Colorado is now joining them as well by their new HB 1351 policy. Look, I grasp where legislature is coming from, but payday advances in many cases are a final resort for individuals who can't get cash elsewhere. Trust me; individuals don't enjoy having to go borrow money that they must repay with interest. Banks don't give the alternative to loan money to individuals with bad credit and sometimes these payday advance organizations are the only means someone has to come by some emergency cash..

Jhonny —

Comments are now closed.



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