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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2022)
OREGON A8 — THE OBSERVER THuRSday, FEBRuaRy 17, 2022 Republicans face uphill battle in session Oregon GOP legislators serving large portions of Oregon have tough time advancing their agenda Knopp By JULIA SHUMWAY and ALEX BAUMHARDT Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Two weeks into Oregon’s legislative session, Dem- ocrats are moving forward with plans to pay overtime to farm- workers, create job training pro- grams targeted at people of color and protect school officials from being fired for following govern- ment mandates. If Republicans instead con- trolled the Legislature, the past two weeks would instead have been dominated by talk of tax cuts, clipping Gov. Kate Brown’s power and giving parents more control over which school their children attend and what they learn. Republicans have made the case that they represent large swaths of Oregon, and the inability to advance some leg- islation means people in those areas can be left out of legislative action. They remain a minority in the Legislature — and in voter registrations. Despite that, Repub- licans each session introduce leg- islation representing often rural and more conservative interests. They hold 23 seats in the 60-person House and 11 in the 30-person Senate. They chair no committees but do serve as vice chairs of most. “I think you’d see school choice options,” said Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend and leader of the Senate GOP caucus. “I think you’d see our interest in making sure that schools stay open. I think you would see support for law enforcement as opposed to the soft-on-crime agenda that Gov- ernor Brown and the Democrats are pursuing.” Most proposals that make it out of the Legislature are bipartisan, noncontroversial and relatively boring. So far this year, the House and Senate have voted to confirm amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle, File A sign for the House Republican caucus room at the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, gives instructions in this file photo. that the state follows the same definition of “taxable income” as the federal government and extend a deadline for a report on the effect local government fees have on housing costs. Shorter legislative sessions in even-numbered years also mean less debates over policy, because legislators have just 35 days in Salem. Many proposals that legislators and lobbyists spent months or years working died Monday because they hadn’t been advancing at a pace to meet legis- lative deadlines. That includes nearly all of the nine bills Senate Republicans listed as their top legislative prior- ities, though Knopp said he isn’t worried. Republicans can still have their concerns addressed in the budget process, which isn’t subject to Monday’s deadline. “Most of our agenda is the budget items that are important to our constituents and our com- munities,” Knopp said. “And so whether that’s law enforce- ment dollars or that’s dollars to thin (forests), that can all be done through the ways and means pro- cess, so, we’re not concerned at this point.” And, he added, there are still ways to bring other proposals to the full Senate. Republicans can use procedural moves to force senators to vote on bringing their legislation up for debate. It rarely works, but it can bring attention to a proposal and create a campaign talking point. GOP still has recourse Senate Republicans are seeking $60 million for Oregon State Police to investigate illegal mar- ijuana farms and $50 million to pay for forest thinning. Knopp said he’s hopeful after Republicans succeeded in securing millions for drought relief and marijauna enforcement during a one-day spe- cial session in December, but he expects negotiations over the $1.5 billion the Legislature has to spend to continue for another two weeks. If all else fails, he said, Repub- licans still have recourse — they can walk out, as they have at var- ious points in each of the past three years, and bring the legislative ses- sion to a temporary or permanent halt. “I’ve been very clear with the Democrat majority that our goal is to make sure that all Oregon voices are heard, and respected and included,” Knopp said. “And if they’re not, I feel no constitu- tional obligations to stand around and allow Democrats to pass their liberal progressive agenda that our constituents don’t want.” House Republican leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, has said her caucus will focus on bud- getary issues and fixing existing laws, but has remained vague on what legislation party represen- tatives hope to pass. She did not answer multiple calls or emails from the Capital Chronicle. House GOP spokesperson Andrew Fromm referred to a brief statement Breese-Iverson issued on Owens Findley Feb. 1, in which she wrote that her caucus would focus on “restoring education standards, holding state government accountable and enabling our law enforcement to do its job. “We will push to remove road- blocks to health care access and preserve Oregon’s natural envi- ronment while protecting the way of life of communities relying on these resources,” it continued. “We will give Oregonians the freedom to recover financially from gov- ernment-mandated shutdowns by fighting the state’s regulatory bur- dens and mandates.” Her office didn’t answer whether legislation was introduced to accomplish those goals. Top-down approach So far, House Republicans have maintained a united front against a plan to require farms to pay employees time-and-a-half after more than 40 hours of work in a week. Each day, at least one House Republican has spoken on the floor of the House about their belief that House Bill 4002 would create too great a financial burden on farmers and drive some out of business. House Republicans have also insisted on reading many pieces of legislation aloud in their entirety, creating lengthy delays as a com- puter reads to a mostly empty chamber. Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, is a farmer and represents a heavily agricultural area that includes Baker, Grant, Harney and Malheur counties. Along with opposing the agricultural overtime proposal, he’s pushing a $1 million increase for a state fund that reimburses farmers and ranchers for livestock lost to wolves. His House Bill 4127 received a public hearing, and the money could be added to the state budget. Owens, who also serves on the Crane School Board, said he’s scrutinizing education measures, including one that would direct the state Educa- tion Department to mandate and pro- vide training for new Breese- school board mem- Iverson bers. He said school board members need to under- stand public meetings laws and their responsibilities, but the state shouldn’t prescribe specific training. “The bill as written is not palat- able for myself or for my commu- nities,” Owens said. “Once again, it looks like a top-down approach, in order to mandate what type of educational requirements are needed. I support school boards getting mandatory training, but allow them to have a choice in how that training is going to occur.” Short on timeSen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, initially pro- posed a broader exemption that would also apply to diapers, baby formula and feminine hygiene products. He narrowed the focus to only prescription drugs after learning that it would take a lot of work to identify every eli- gible item, but he said he hopes to return in 2023 with more exemp- tions for personal care products. Findley said Democrats in the House and the Senate were skep- tical of the impact his proposal could have on funding for educa- tion, but he remains hopeful that they’ll adopt his proposal. Tax measures aren’t subject to the same deadline as other bills, and Find- ley’s was among the few Repub- lican bills that received a hearing. It’s harder to pass legislation from the minority party, he said, but he’s managed to do so each year. Findley said he doesn’t waste time thinking about what he would do if Republicans controlled the Legislature, but instead looks for good ideas and people who will work with him. “It’s a waste of time to just sit around and daydream,” he said. “I don’t do that. 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