{"id":256,"date":"2020-03-13T20:25:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T20:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/?p=256"},"modified":"2020-06-29T23:50:34","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T23:50:34","slug":"2020-legislative-session-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/2020\/03\/13\/2020-legislative-session-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"2020 Legislative Session Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>COVID-19\nResponse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Sunday, March 8th, Governor Brown declared a State of Emergency in Oregon due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since the declaration, the Legislature&#8217;s Emergency Board has allocated $5 million towards the crisis and a special joint legislative committee on Coronavirus Response <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlegislature.gov\/kotek\/Documents\/Joint%20Coronavirus%20Committee%20Announcement.pdf\">has been assembled by legislative leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Wednesday, March 11th, Oregon State University announced guidelines to protect students and employees from COVID-19 community spread. To facilitate the ongoing sharing of information about the virus, Oregon State University has added <a href=\"https:\/\/leadership.oregonstate.edu\/coronavirus\">a link<\/a> on the OSU homepage to a new page that provides detailed and up-to-date COVID-19 information; links to OSU, local, state and federal resources; updates on the latest federal travel restrictions; and previous university communications about the virus and other information. The web site includes a memo released this week about plans for remote final exams and remote teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p> <strong>2020<\/strong> <strong>Legislative Session<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2020\nLegislative Session ended abruptly last Thursday, in what many are calling a failed\nsession. Only three bills out of the hundreds filed made it through both\nchambers and onto the Governor\u2019s desk. At the middle of the controversy was SB\n1530, which established a Cap &amp; Trade program in Oregon among other\npolicies to address climate change. Some say the Republicans ignored their constitutional\nresponsibility and deserted statewide needs by walking out of the Capitol\nbuilding to deny Senate and House quorums; others say the Democrats knowingly\npushed a policy at the peril of everything else. Both sides have constituents\ncalling them heroes. The question remains around what can be done to heal the\ndivide and return to a functioning legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the midst of the chaos, several of OSU\u2019s legislative priorities were left on the table. It is too early to know if any of these will be addressed in a special session. Last week, legislative leadership shared that they would like to hold a special session within 30 day of adjournment to address budget bills that passed out of the Ways &amp; Means committee, but did not receive a floor vote. However, at this time, no plans or announcements of a special session have been released.  The State\u2019s response to COVID-19 could be an additional driver in the decision to call a special session.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the\nRepublicans\u2019 absence denied a quorum for each chamber\u2019s floor sessions,\nlegislative committees continued to work and pass bills during the walkout.\nDuring this time, the OSU Government Relations team, along with partners from\nthe Beaver Caucus, continued to work on OSU priority bills, including key\ncapital investments and research appropriations in what is known as the\n\u201cChristmas Tree\u201d budget bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While none of OSU\u2019s legislative priorities reached the finish line due to the unique and disappointing circumstances of the short session, &nbsp;they maintain key positioning for a special session or reconsideration in the 2021 session. Here are where issues of interest to OSU ended up at the end of the short session:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Capital Construction\nProjects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Arts &amp; Education Complex ($34.5 million bonded) included in HB 5202; passed Ways &amp; Means.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>OSU-Cascades Student Success Center ($12.9 million general fund) included in HB 5204; passed Ways &amp; Means. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This action\nonly funded two of OSU\u2019s three proposed projects, but due to competition for\nlimited bonding capacity, we are supportive of these results. OSU will resubmit\nCordley Hall Phase II for consideration in the 2021 session.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ocean Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>$700,000 to OSU for ocean acidification and hypoxia research; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>$170,000 to OSU for Molluscan Broodstock research; and <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>$500,000 to UO for the construction of a marine research vessel, which OSU supported. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All included in HB 5204; passed Ways &amp; Means. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Prohibition\nof Lottery Offering College Sports Betting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>After much committee\ndiscussion and interest, HB 4047 died in House Revenue Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Student\nAthletes\u2019 Name, Image &amp; Likeness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SB 1501 would\nhad given student athletes the ability to receive compensation for off-season\ncoaching and training work, and for the use of their name, image and likeness.\nPassed the Senate and House Rules, but did not have a floor vote in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Campus\nHunger and Housing Insecurity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In HB 4055, would have had the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) partner with higher education institutions to conduct a study of food and housing insecurity rates and trends on college campuses and make recommendations to address problems. This bill did not make it out of committee before adjournment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hemp &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OSU was\npursuing legislation to support Oregon\u2019s hemp industry and research at OSU\u2019s\nGlobal Hemp Innovation Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>HB 4057, which brought Oregon\u2019s hemp program in line with federal regulations, passed Ways &amp; Means, but did not have a floor vote in the House.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>HB 4051, established a Hemp Commission. Passed the House and Senate General Government Committee, but did not have a floor vote in the Senate.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Better outcomes for a new generation of\nOregon university students (HB 4160)<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This bill would\nhave established a task force on student success for underrepresented students\nin higher education. This bill did not make it out of committee before\nadjournment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The History\nof Oregon\u2019s 35 Day Short Session<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until\nrecent history, the Oregon Legislature met biennially on odd-numbered years.\nThere were no limitations on the number of days a session could run. After a\ncouple test runs at annual sessions, a legislative resolution amended the\nstate&#8217;s constitution and changed the schedule of regular sessions. This was referred\nto voters in the November 2010 general election.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oregon_elections,_2010#Measure_71\">Ballot Measure 71<\/a>, which passed statewide by a margin of more than 2 to 1, limited\nthe length of legislative sessions beginning in odd-numbered years to 160\ncalendar days, and sessions beginning in even-numbered years to 35 calendar\ndays. The change took effect during the 2011 long session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While\nvoters may have believed the additional short session would assist with\nmanaging the state budget and addressing emergency or house-keeping measures, there\nis no limitation on what can be addressed during the 35 days. Legislative\nleadership has attempted to manage the volume of bills by placing limitations\non the number of bills each member or committee can introduce through their\nchamber rules, but there is no restrictions on the scope of the policy\nintroduced.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is a Special Session?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If an emergency arises\nduring the interim period when the legislature is not in session, the Governor,\nor a majority of both houses of the legislature, may call a special session.\nOnce a session is convened, the Constitution does not limit the type or amount\nof legislation the Legislature may consider. However, most special sessions are\ncarefully planned and orchestrated by the Governor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oregon has a <a href=\"https:\/\/sos.oregon.gov\/blue-book\/Pages\/state\/legislative\/special-sessions.aspx\">long\nhistory of using special sessions<\/a> to\naddress urgent or emerging issues. Most notably, in 2002, there were five\nspecial sessions to address budget shortfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2020\nElection Update<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tuesday,\nMarch 10 marked the filing deadline for candidates to run in the May 2020 Oregon\nprimary election. Following a tense and divisive legislative session, many\nseated legislators decided to forgo reelection. Twelve House members and four\nSenate members did not file. Even with Democrats holding super majorities in\nboth chambers, only three of these incumbents are Republicans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each\ncycle, filing day brings what is known as a \u201cTuesday surprise.\u201d This is when a\ncandidate &nbsp;makes a surprise decision to\nfile, not file, or withdraw, on the day of the deadline.. This year included a\nfew. Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger (R-Grants Pass) announced\nMonday that he will not seek reelection. Art Robinson, who had filed for a\nsixth time against Congressman Peter DeFazio, dropped the congressional race on\nTuesday to run for Baertschiger\u2019s seat alongside former Josephine County\nCommissioner Simon Hare and two other Republican candidates. Representative\nTiffiny Mitchell (D-Astoria) released a statement on filing day that she was\nmoving to Washington and withdrew her candidacy after surviving a recall\nattempt earlier this year. Former legislator, Derrick Kitts (R-Sherwood), filed\nagainst incumbent Representative Courtney Neron (D-Sherwood) who narrowly won\nthe House District 26 seat in a 2018 race against incumbent Richard Vial (R).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>COVID-19 Response On Sunday, March 8th, Governor Brown declared a State of Emergency in Oregon due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since the declaration, the Legislature&#8217;s Emergency Board has allocated $5 million towards the crisis and a special joint legislative committee on Coronavirus Response has been assembled by legislative leadership. On Wednesday, March&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/2020\/03\/13\/2020-legislative-session-recap\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8748,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8748"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}