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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 2019)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2019 Legislature adjourns after marathon weekend Paid leave among the highlights By MARK MILLER, CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE and AUBREY WIEBER Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The state Legislature, delayed by a walkout by Senate Repub- licans, sprinted to fi nish its work, voting on the last bill just before 5 p.m. Sunday. The day consisted of more recesses in the Senate than time spent voting on bills, as lawmakers gave one last push to cut deals. Two bills — one that would provide for more affordable housing and another that would refer a tobacco tax hike to voters — failed before coming back to life and passing. The day was not without drama as concerns over state Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dal- las, persisted. Boquist more than a week ago made state- ments alluding to violence against police, and an out- side investigator hired by the Legislature found his pres- ence in the workplace could be seen as threatening. Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Cor- vallis, on Sunday said she wouldn’t be on the fl oor with Boquist, who refused to leave. Gelser was absent for some key votes, but in the end the bills were brought back. Throughout the morn- ing, several senators and the staff of Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, talked behind closed doors about disciplining Boquist. In the end, it was determined the Senate Special Commit- tee on Conduct would hold a hearing July 8 to review reports of safety concerns regarding Boquist. The turmoil was fi tting considering an unprece- dented fi nal two weeks of the legislative session, which included a nine-day walkout where Senate Republicans fl ed the state to Idaho and other states. Here are key bills headed to Gov. Kate Brown for sig- nature and to the law books: BUY YOUR LEAVE: Workers will lose a frac- tion of their paychecks under House Bill 2005. But in exchange, they’ll have access to one of the West- ern Hemisphere’s most robust paid leave programs. A worker could take as much as 12 weeks off per year — plus two more for a preg- nancy, childbirth or medi- cal conditions — with up to full pay. It’s not an unre- stricted benefi t. Workers will have to apply for leave and demonstrate they are taking time off work to deal with a family medical emergency, a health issue, the birth or adoption of a child, or abuse or harassment. Employers have to chip in as well, but at a lower rate than employees. Com- bined, they will pay up to 1% of wages into a state-run insurance program modeled off workers’ compensation. Multiple business lobbies and labor unions supported HB 2005, which was devel- oped through a bipartisan process led by House Major- ity Leader Jennifer William- son, D-Portland. It will make Oregon the eighth state with paid family leave. GREEN LIGHT FOR CARDS: House Bill 2015 will allow Oregonians who can’t prove legal residence in the U.S. to get driver’s licenses, nearly fi ve years after Oregonians rejected a similar law. Advocates argued that the bill could make the state’s roads safer. Licensed drivers are required to get insurance. At least one state with a sim- ilar law – Connecticut — has seen dips in the number of hit-and-run crashes since implementation. The bill applies to any- one who may not have vital records proving their legal residence. POWER TO THE PEOPLE: It’ll be up to state voters whether the Oregon Constitution clearly allows limits on campaign contri- butions. Senate Joint Res- Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau State Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, on the Senate fl oor. olution 18 refers a consti- tutional amendment to the ballot that would allow the Legislature, local govern- ments and voter initiatives to cap the amount that some- one can give to a candidate for offi ce, as well as require political campaigns to dis- close their donors. The voter referral was a priority for campaign fi nance reform advocates. It had the strong support of the governor, who pledged last year to push for limits in Oregon’s famously lax cam- paign fi nance system. The state is one of 11 that doesn’t limit how much an individ- ual can give to a political candidate. MISSING MIDDLE: More than 50 Oregon cit- ies, including virtually the entire Portland area, will no longer be able to limit neigh- borhoods to single-fam- ily homes. House Bill 2001 does away with what some housing advocates call “exclusionary zoning,” requiring cities with a popu- lation over 10,000 to allow a duplex wherever they would allow a single-family house. Cities with more than 25,000 residents and suburbs of Portland would also have to allow townhomes, tri- plexes, quadplexes and cot- tage clusters. Highly controversial when it was introduced in January, HB 2001 was amended several times and picked up support from Republicans in the House. It makes Oregon the fi rst state to do away with sin- gle-family-exclusive zoning, except in its smallest cities. The bill was a top priority of House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland. SMOKED OUT: Vot- ers will also decide whether Oregon will increase its tax on cigarettes and cigars and expand the tobacco tax to cover vaping products. House Bill 2270 was stuck in neutral for months this spring before a compromise referred the concept to vot- ers next November instead of being put into effect directly by the Legislature. Public health advocates say more tax money is needed to fund the Oregon Health Plan and raising the tax will deter young people from taking up the nicotine habit, while crit- ics say it’s wringing more money out of poor Orego- nians, who make up a dis- proportionate share of the state’s smokers. DIRTY DIESEL: #Tim- berUnity protesters who thronged the Capitol on Thursday called for the Leg- islature to reject the cap-and- trade bill and also another piece of legislation some truckers oppose: House Bill 2007, which sets an emis- sions standard for diesel trucks based in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. Trucks using dirty old diesel engines instead of newer models won’t be able to get a title in those three counties after 2024. MOBILE HOME SECURITY: Mobile homes comprise nearly one-tenth of all housing units in Ore- gon. But many of the state’s mobile homes are aging, a number of mobile home parks have closed or are in danger of closing, and many mobile home residents sim- ply don’t have the money to dispose of a home that is breaking down or to buy a new one. That’s where House Bill 2896 comes in. Mobile home residents will be eli- gible for grants to get out of an old home and into a new one. Money is also set aside to preserve mobile home parks, including by helping tenants band together to buy them cooperatively. SIGN OF THE TIMES: Under Senate Bill 998, the so-called “Idaho stop” law, bicyclists will be able to roll through stop signs at intersections without hav- ing to come to a complete stop. They’ll be able to treat stop signs as yield signs. It will still be illegal for them to go through without stop- ping if traffi c or pedestri- ans are in their way. Cycling advocates have been calling on Oregon to adopt Idaho’s traffi c law for years to make biking through residential neighborhoods less of a has- sle, but this is the fi rst time such a plan has actually passed both chambers of the Legislature. LET’S BE FRANKED: Did you know members of Congress don’t have to pay postage on their offi - cial mail? Soon, Orego- nians will enjoy this priv- ilege of “franking,” as it’s called. Senate Bill 861, which affects elections start- ing next year, makes it so ballot return envelopes don’t require a postage stamp. It removes a cost, however small, that election reform advocates say is a barrier to poor and homebound Orego- nians voting. SB 861 was a top priority for the late Den- nis Richardson, Oregon’s secretary of state. COLLECT, CALL: It’s unusual to see a Republican pushing for a tax increase, but that’s what Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, did this leg- islative session. The fresh- man persuaded colleagues to support a 50-cent monthly increase in the emergency communications tax on Ore- gonians with phone service. Supporters say it’s a nec- essary hike to upgrade 9 1 1 centers so they can have the capacity needed in an emer- gency. The increase will be phased in 25 cents at a time in 2020 and 2021. HIGHER BAR FOR DEATH: Oregon hasn’t executed an inmate since 1997, but the death pen- alty remains on the books in the state. Senate Bill 1013 splits the two legal classifi - cations of murder in Oregon into three: aggravated mur- der, fi rst-degree murder and second-degree murder. The death penalty could only be applied someone con- victed of aggravated mur- der, and the burden would be on prosecutors to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that death is the appropriate punishment. EGGS-CELLENT: Ore- gon has already created some rules and a sched- ule by which Oregon hens are supposed to have a cer- tain amount of room to lay eggs. Senate Bill 1019 takes that a step further by requiring the state’s Agri- culture Department to make rules to require that hens be “cage free” by 2024. The bill exempts from state inspec- tion operations with fewer than 3,000 egg-laying hens. FLOAT ON: The Port- land metro area has among the most houseboats and fl oating homes on the con- tinent. Floating homes pro- vide affordable housing in communities like Scap- poose and Jantzen Beach, moored at marinas where owners rent slips. It’s a sim- ilar setup to mobile home parks, but Oregon law treats them differently. Senate Bill 586 adds tenant protec- tions for fl oating home resi- dents and amends the law so that mobile home park reg- ulations apply to residential marinas. IN CASE OF EMER- GENCY: After a train of oil tank cars derailed and exploded in a 2013 disaster in Quebec, killing 47 peo- ple, environmentalists and community activists got very worried about the unit trains carrying crude oil through Oregon. That agita- tion increased dramatically when a train derailment near Mosier in 2016 spilled oil into the Columbia River and caused a fi re that threatened the town. House Bill 2209 requires railroads that oper- ate “high-hazard routes,” including any traversed by a unit train with 20 or more tankers of oil, to develop contingency plans in case of a derailment and spill. The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group, Pamplin Media Group and Salem Reporter. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Fourth of July Fun for the Whole Family in Astoria and Warrenton! The Astoria- Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce presents the 4th of July fireworks! Show begins at dusk with fireworks shot from a barge near downtown Astoria. Grab a Photo provided by Frank Allen. chair or blanket and a flashlight, then join us along 6:30p.m.: Free Concert “Spirit of Adventure” the riverwalk to North Coast Symphonic Band at Liberty Theatre with enjoy the show. WEDNESDAY, JULY 3RD service flags from American Legion Clatsop Post #12 Special thanks to WCT Marine, Hyak Tongue Point, CFMS, Mo’s Astoria and your Chamber Ambassadors for making this celebration possible. THURSDAY, JULY 4TH 11a.m. to 3p.m.: Warrenton’s Old-Fashioned Fourth Barbecue, Car & Motorcycle Show, Kids Activities 3p.m.: Warrenton 4th of July Parade Route follows South Main Avenue from the Post Office to SW 9th Street Dusk: Fireworks above the Columbia River The fireworks will be shot from a barge in the river near Columbia River Maritime Museum FIND MORE HOLIDAY INFO AND EVENTS ON OUR COMMUNITY CALENDAR AT WWW.OLDOREGON.COM