The united American : a magazine of good citizenchip., April 01, 1926, Page 9, Image 9

April 1926
THE UNITED AMERICAN
Page Nine
The Commonwealth of Oregon
A Brief History of the Organization and Development of One of the Forty-eight United States of America,
Submitted in a Series of Comprehensive and Interesting Letters, Written Particularly for Those Who Have
Commenced Studying and Preparing Themselves to Pass the Examination for American Citizenship.
By A. C. Strange, Oregon State Director of Americanization Schools
IV.
THE MAKING OF LAWS IN OREGON
TN OREGON laws are made in two ways, either by
the people directly or by a legislature which is
a body of citizens chosen by the people for that pur­
pose. In this latter body, there are two houses, a
senate of thirty members and a house of represen­
tatives of sixty members. Senators hold their
offices for four years, the representatives for two
years. The former officers are divided into two
classes as nearly equal in number as it can be ar­
ranged, the purpose being to prevent a house made
up wholly of new, inexperienced, legislators. In the
house of representatives, however, it is entirely
possible that all members might be new to the duties
of the office.
Both senators and representatives are appor­
tioned among the counties, after each census, ac­
cording to the population of the counties. Thickly
settled parts of the state thus get the larger number
of legislators and find it possible to control in a
measure the legislation. To hold one of these of­
fices, a person must be an American citizen, must
be at least twenty-one years of age, and must have
lived in the county from which he was elected for at
least a year.
The legislature meets on the second Monday of
January every second year and remains in session
at least forty days. A quorum of either house is
two-thirds of its membership. However, a smaller
number may meet and compel the attendance of
absent members.
The doors are always open, except in those rare
cases when it is thought best by the members that
the proceedings be secret. All bills, except bills
raising revenue, which must originate in the house
of representatives, may be introduced in either
house. Any bill to become a law must be supported
by a majority of each house, and signed by the gov­
ernor. If the governor vetoes the bill, it then be­
comes a law only when it receives two thirds of the
vote in both houses. All bills become laws after
ninety days unless an emergency has been declared
in the proposed bill. In that event it will become a
law as soon as signed by the governor, or within
ten days. All bills must be brought into the house
and read three times, must be reported upon by a
competant committee and must be published and
and copies placed in the hands of every legislator,
before they can be acted on. Thus hasty action upon
any measure is prevented.
The second means of enacting laws in Oregon is
the initiative and referendum. The former permits
the people to propose laws independent of the legis­
lature. This is done by petition, containing the full
text of the proposed measure, which must be signed
by at least eight percent , of the legal voters, and
which calls for the submitting of the measure to the
people at an election held in not less than four
months from the time the petition is filed. By the
referendum, measures are submitted to the voters,
either by the legislature or by wording of the initia­
tive petition. Such measures are submitted to the
voters at the regular biennial elections and, if sup­
ported by a majority, become laws. The governor is
not given the power to veto such measures.
Since the initiative and referendum went into
effect in 1902, a total of two hundred and thirty-nine
measures have been voted on by the people of which
a few were county measures voted upon only by
the electors of the country. Of these ninety-five
have been favored by the people and have become
laws. One hundred and thirty-six of these have been
initiated by the voters through petition, the others
have been submitted by the legislature, or a refer­
endum has been called on some measure passed by
the legislature. So it is evident that the people of
Oregon have somewhat freely availed themselves of
their law making power and, an examination of the
laws thus enacted, shows that they are generally
wise in their judgment. Most laws passed have been
good; those rejected have usually been of doubtful
worth.
,
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James J. Crossley
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Republican for
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UNITED STATES SENATOR
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The nomination of JAMES J. CROSSLEY will mean
vigorous, genuine, effective and creditable represen-
tation of Oregon in the Senate of the United States.
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(Paid Advertisement by Crossley for Senator Club;)
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EARLE WELLINGTON
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Republican Candidate for
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State Representative
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Primaries, May 21, 1926
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Fewer Laws — Reduced Taxation by the elimination
of useless or wasteful expenditures
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IF ELECTED, I will endeavor to the best of my
ability to apply business methods to the work of the
legislature, and earnestly work for the best interest
of our State and Multnomah County.
EARLE WELLINGTON
(Pd. Adv.)
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