Oregon's special legislative session - the good, the bad, and the irrelevant

The gavel came down on Oregon's special session at 9:40 pm on Friday, marking the end of a month long experiment that may lead to annual legislative sessions as early as 2009.

The special session was convened largely to demonstrate the ability of the legislature to address fiscal changes and legislative emergencies that can crop up during the 18 month interval between regular legislative sessions. As a trial for annual sessions, the results were a mixed bag.

Bi-partisan movement was made toward addressing some real legislative emergencies, such as heading off Kevin Mannix's $200 million "tough on crime" initiative that, if passed, could increase Oregon's prison population by 44%. But the session was also marked by partisan posturing and bills that were intended to boost the campaigns of Republican legislators who are scrambling to find issues that will appeal to Oregon voters, as well as some Democratic legislators who are seeking statewide office.

The ability of the legislature to address many issues was hampered by a report from state economist, Tom Potiowsky, that suggested that Oregon may face a $200 million budget shortfall in coming years due to lagging home sales and the high cost of energy that are moving the state towards what could be a prolonged recession.

What follows is a rundown of the good, the bad, and the irrelevant among some of the bills that were considered.

The good

SB1087 - The legislature referred a bill that increases penalties for repeat offense burglars, identity thieves, and drug dealers. It funds treatment programs for first time drug offenders and mandates prison sentences for drug trafficking. The referral, whch will cost $70 million, is intended to help stave off a ballot initiative put forward by Kevin Mannix, that would increase Oregon's prison population by up to 44 percent, costing in excess of $20 million.

The bill is endorsed by most law enforcement agencies, and is part of a slate of packages intended to stiffen criminal penalties in Oregon, including SB 1095, which sets a minimum bail amount of $500,000 for persons charged with manufacturing or possessing large quantities of methamphetamines.

SB5556 - This bill created a 17 million reserve fund for the Department of Human Services to help forestall cuts to programs. The reserve was necessitated due to the prospect of declining revenue. An additional $6.7 million was set aside for renovations and other improvements to the state hospital, and $500,000 was set aside to ensure 24/7 state patrol coverage on Oregon highways.

The bad

SB1080, a bill that dramatically increases the licensing requirements needed to obtain a driver's license in Oregon. The bill is intended to prevent undocumented workers living in Oregon from obtaining a driver's license. Opponents argue that this will result in tens of thousands of additional uninsured motorists on Oregon roads.

HB3610 would have instructed the Department of Energy and other state agencies to report recommendations regarding greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals to Oregon's newly-formed Global Warming Commission. The bill, which had no fiscal impact on the DOE, was killed by House leadership, which could not muster enough votes within the Democratic caucus to move the bill over the opposition of the natural resources industry.

HB3615, Mitch Greenlick's bill that would have allowed voters to decide whether Health Care is a fundamental right in Oregon was killed by Senate President Peter Courtney, who referred the bill to Ways and Means.

SB1083, Vicki Walker's bill to reform Oregon's initiative process by moving signature processing into the Secretary of State's office was sent to die in Ways and Means. The bill would have required the Oregon Supreme Court to respond to ballot title challenges within a month. Currently prospective initiative petitions can wait for 7 months or more before being acted on by the court.

The irrelevant

HB3603 would have required greater disclosure of fees and limits on pre-payment penalties in the sub-prime lending market. The bill, which offered incremental progress toward consumer protections, but was a generally weak response, given the severity of the lending crisis, was strongly favored by House Speaker Jeff Merkley. Merkley was forced to water down the bill dramatically to win support in the house, but was unable to win the support of Senate President, Peter Courtney.

SB1071 started out as an ambitious bill to increase voter registration, but wound up doing little more than color coding out of state donors differently than in-state voters on the state's campaign disclosure database. Since it was passed with an emergency clause, the provision will take effect in time for the 2008 election.