A Look at Legislative Action
by Steven Bailey, N.D.
We have frequently printed the word democracy Yet I cannot too often repeat
that it is a word the real gist of which etill sleeps, quite unawaken d. notwithstanding
the resonance and the many angry tempests out of which its syllables have come,
from pen or tongue It is a great word, whose history. I suppose, remains unwritten,
because that history has yet to be enacted It is. in some sort, younger brother of
another great and often used word. NATURE, whose history also waits unwritten
Walt Whitman
» •
It is perhaps ironic that this is the legislative session that passed HB 2001,
a South African divestature bill. I say this because, while divestature has
been an issue for many sessions, this has certainly not been the legislative
body that epitomizes empathy to self-aetermination, employment and
human rights issues as related to apartheid. This body has, to a great ex
tent, acted in a manner that leans much more heavily towards the interests
of business and insurance companies as opposed to those of the workers,
labor and social services.
The 1987 Oregon Legislative session has been conducted at an incredible
pace while struggling with the most co-equal makeup (Republican to
Democrats) in recent history. This parity has resulted in a body that has
acted much more conservatively than Governor Goldschmidt probably
wishes. It has also resulted in a body that has underscored the power of the
lobby, the politics of compromise and ultimately the politics of politics.
This article will attempt to appraise particular actions as well as general
tendencies of our legislators in the areas of health care, workers comp/
labor issues. My next article will combine a number of Oregon's public
interest groups' evaluations into an over-all evaluation of our 1987 legis
lators.
Before I begin on content of legislation, a short overview: Legislation in
the above mentioned areas is reviewed and acted on by either the House or
Senate Committees on Labor or Human Resources. On the Senate side,
these committees are chaired by Senator Larry Hill and Senator Bill McCoy
respectively. Their House counterparts are Representative Bob Shiprack
and Rick Kotulski. Each committee hs a one-democrat majority, and bills
must be passed out of committee by a majority vote.
W orkers Com p Issues: Reform and improvement of workers comp
statutes is defined quite differently from one house to the other. House
Bill (HB) 2103, which came out of Representative Shiprack's labor com
mittee after three tries, placed substantial responsibility on the injured
worker, including legal fees, and was seen by labor, legal groups and
workers to be a very poor bill. This bill was essentially a dream list of the
insurance companies, the Oregon Medical Association and big business.
This is not too surprising considering Shiprack's and Kotulski s strong
friendships to these groups. What resulted was a bill that ended up far re
moved from the changes suggested by Governor Goldschmidt.
HB 2103 was finally passed by the whole House but has pretty much died
on the Senate side. The Senate counterpart is called HB 2900 and purports
a much more balanced set of changes. This bill still will help eliminate
abuse within workers comp, but leaves in checks and balances essential
to a fair and equitable disability program. At a time when we need to im
prove Oregon's attractiveness to new industry, it is reassuring to see the
stance that Senator Hill's committee has taken. The final concurrance on
these issues has yet to take place, but hopefully will take the form of
HB 2900
HR C om m ittees: The Senate Human Resources Committee conducted
their business in a manner that I consider to have been fair, objective and
productive. While I agree with Fresh Weekly's evaluation of Senator
Roberts as having an excellent session, I must differ with their appraisal
of Senator McCoy. I found Senator McCoy to be one of the least impres
sionable legislators as related to self-interest lobbies and found his chairing
of Human Resources to be excellent at a time when Salem's self-interests
j;
strongly influenced policy.
On the House side, the Human Resources Committee again reflected the
presence of Chair Rick Kotulski and member Bob Shiprack. While this
committee at times appeared to be meeting at the desire of the Oregon
Medical Association an^l insurance industry, we must acknowledge the
excellent representation given by member Margaret Carter and Mary Alice
' V*
Ford.
Human Resources Topics: While this encompasses a wide range of
issues, the action of the House can be paralleled to its action on HB 2650
and SB 292. I cite these bills as I followed them very closely throughout
».»- *
the session.
SB 292: This was a bill that was introduced by one of the "alternative
¡:J
medical" associations. While the OMA and the Oregon Osteopathic Asso
ciation testified against this bill, as they do against nearly all bills introduced
by other members of the healing arts, the Senate passed the bill by a vote
of 23-4. It was assigned to Representative Kotulski s committee where he
said he would hear it after higher priorities were taken care of . . . As the
session neared completion, he decided he wouldn't give it a hearing be
cause it was "too controversial". While a majority of his committee favored
giving this bill a hearing, chair Kotulski let it die.
The House actions on HB 2650 further exemplify the influence of the
big dollar lobby. This was a bill that brought Oregon's insurance codes into
agreement with the majority of states regarding non-discrimination in
choice and re-imbursement of health care provider. While this bill parallel
ed a plank of the democratic party and had numerous public interest
groups' support (and even had Kotulski as a signed sponsor), Representa
tive Kotulski led the Republican-based floor opposition to this bill.
While very few people spoke against this bill during its hearings, as it
approached the floor, there came a coalition of lobbyists fighting its pas
sage. These lobbyists represented many insurance carriers (especially com
panies like Blue Cross which is owned by M .D.'s and has a very real mom
tary incentive in maintaining discrimination that favors M .D.'s and D.O. s),
the O.M.A., the Portland Chamber of Commerce, Associated Oregon In
dustries, the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association, and the Oregon Edu
cation Association. Their combined work really revealed the "politics of
politics" which I mentioned earlier. By this, I mean the trading of votes on
unrelated matters. For example, one representative might be convinced to
vote no in exchange for another representative's specific vote on another
issue As a result, by the time of the floor vote, what had once been as
sured passage became a 32-28 defeat. The string of broken promises sits
heavily in the hearts of those who worked so hard on this important bill.
The appointments by Speaker Katz of Shiprack and Kotulski to their re-
Reunion
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Author’s Note: At time of publication, the workers comp bill is finding further snags.
Minority report from Senate Republicans is being attempted, and the entire session
is in limbo until reconciliation takes place.
___________________________ ___
Jefferson High Reunion
Jefferson High School's class of 1957 will hold their 30th year reunion
August 14th and 15th at the Columbia River Red Lion Inn. All class mem
bers are asked to contact Jack Stacey, 235-8741, for further information
and to update the Class of 1957 mailing list.
B A R G A IN T R E E H O C K S H O P
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STEVEN BAILEY, N.D.
N aturopathic F amily P hysician
ÑÁñgíáñd
(50.1) 2 8 9 9914
H19N KILUNGSWORTH. PORTLAND, OR 97217
As primary health care providers we offer a full range of naturopathic
health care service The naturopathic physician provides preventative,
wholistic and natural family health care for a wide range of acute and
chronic conditions and minor traumatic injuries.
The following is a list of services available through the clinic. Feel
free to call and discuss your questions about the naturopathic
approach to health and how it applies to you and your family.
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session.
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dance for alums and their spouses.
Sunday afternoon is family day at
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For more information about re
union activities, or if you can help
locate missing and out-of-state gra
duates, call Gary Purpura, 775-2461
8 0 0 N Killingsw orth
Price Includes Installation
5 5 1 0 N . IN T E R S T A T E - P O R T L A N D , O R .
■ w
The Cleveland High School class
of 1967 has scheduled its 20-year
reunion for the weekend of August
7. A Friday evening get-together at
the Rafters restaurant is slated for
alumni only. Saturday evening the
activity moves to the Columbia
River Red Lion, with a buffet and
spective chairs has indeed been a compromise solution that has resulted in
a very frustrating session. Let us hope that in the upcoming elections we
remember the true nature of our elected officials. Only by actively involving
ourselves in the upcoming election can we return to a more objective and
productive legislature. My future article and overall evaluation of our legi
slators may better help you appraise the candidates in the next election.
I, for one, hope that we find some fresh, objective energy in Salem next
FOOD STAMPS
WELCOME
ORIGINAL
DUPLICATION
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Photo by Richard J. Brown
Rick Kotulski-Chair of the Human Resources Committee.
1105 N.E. Broadway
(across from Safeway Lloyd Center)
Tel. 282 1664
STANDARD LABORATORY
AND DIAGNOSTIC TESTING
HAIR MINERAL ANALYSIS
PHYSIOTHERAPY.
MANIPULATION AND
MASSAGE
EXERCISE THERAPY
CLEANSING PROGRAMS
AND EASTING
COUNSELING
BOTANICAL MEDICINE
HOMEOPATHY
■ HYDROTHERAPY
COMPLETE PHYSICAL EXAMS
CONSULTATIONS FOR
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS
GYNECOLOGIC EXAMS AND
WOMEN S HEALTH CARE
NUTRITIONAL AND DIETARY
ASSESSMENT
ALLERGY TESTING AND
CLINICAL ECOLOGY
GERIATRICS
CHILDREN'S MEDICINE
SCHOOL AND JOB PHYSICALS
PRENATAL AND
POSTNATAL CARE