A8
STATE
East Oregonian
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Proposed rule change to referendum process draws alarm
Rule change could
make referendums
more accessible
By JAKE THOMAS
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Changes to
Oregon state administra-
tive rules typically go unno-
ticed, but they are now the
unusual setting for a new
political confl ict.
Our Oregon, a union-
backed political group, is
alarmed over a proposed
change to the state’s elec-
tion rules it says would give
special interests excessive
infl uence.
Steve Elzinga, a Salem
attorney, said he proposed
the rule change to prevent
manipulation of a mecha-
nism that allows citizens to
try to stop new laws passed
by legislators.
“It is highly ironic that a
special interest group like
Our Oregon is calling foul,”
said Elzinga.
Our
Oregon
didn’t
respond to a request for
an interview. But in an
email alert last week, the
group called the proposal
“an unconstitutional and
unworkable rule change
that threatens the integrity
of our ballot.”
The opposing sides argue
that they’re defending the
ability of voters to directly
access the state’s political
system. With Democrats
fi rmly in control of the Leg-
islature, a citizen-driven
referendum remains a tool
for Republicans to prevent
new laws they object to
from taking root.
The voters most recently
used that direct power in
2014, using a referendum to
repeal a new law allowing
residents to acquire driv-
er’s licenses without pro-
viding proof they’re in the
country legally.
In 2018, a group of
Republican
lawmakers
unsuccessfully used a ref-
EO Media Group fi le photo
Bob Temple, of Salem, signs a sheet on the steps of the Oregon Capitol in 2013 to collect a citizen referendum packet oppos-
ing a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to receive driver cards. Citizens could have more time to gather signatures for
referendums under a proposed rule change.
erendum to challenge the
funding structure for an
expansion of health care for
low-income
Oregonians.
After lawmakers passed a
landmark education fund-
ing bill last year, they passed
additional bills that critics
maintain were intended to
stymie attempts to put the
matter to a referendum.
The secretary of state’s
offi ce held a hearing on the
rule change on Monday.
A spokeswoman said in
an email that Secretary of
State Bev Clarno, a Repub-
lican, hasn’t reviewed the
rule but could decide next
month.
In Oregon, if citizens
don’t like a new law passed
by the Legislature they can
put it to a statewide vote
using the state’s referen-
dum process. Unless a new
law is written to take effect
right away, citizens have
90 days after the Legisla-
ture adjourns to petition
for a referendum on any
part of the new law. If the
petition has the signatures
of enough registered vot-
ers, the new law is placed
on the ballot for voters to
Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020
HAMLEY’S SLICKFORK SALOON
approve or reject. The num-
ber of signatures required
to trigger a referendum is
based on turnout in previ-
ous elections and is cur-
rently 74,680.
Last September, Elz-
inga asked the Secretary of
State’s Offi ce to change its
rule so citizens could react
quicker to pending laws.
The change would permit
collecting signatures for a
referendum as soon as the
targeted legislation passes
both the House and the Sen-
ate. Under the current rules,
signatures can’t be gathered
until the governor signs leg-
islation into law.
Governors have 30 busi-
ness days after the Legisla-
ture adjourns to sign bills
into law. Elzinga argued
that a governor concerned
a bill might be subject to
a referendum could delay
signing it, chewing up some
of the 90 days set aside for
petition work.
The more compressed
timeline makes it less likely
enough signatures could be
gathered to force a public
vote.
“It’s about ensuring the
integrity of the process
and that grassroots peti-
tioners have the right to
vote,” he said.
In an email to support-
ers, Our Oregon said the
rule change would create a
legislative “logjam.”
“In short, this rule
change would allow special
interests to begin collecting
signatures to repeal a bill
before it even becomes law,”
the organization wrote.
“This makes no sense, and
it would only increase the
outsized power of indus-
try lobbyists to interfere in
our legislative process —
at the expense of everyday
Oregonians.”
Elzinga
previously
worked as governmental
and legal affairs director
for Republican Secretary of
State Dennis Richardson,
who died last year. Elzinga
left the offi ce afterward. He
denied working on behalf of
special interests and said he
wanted to carry on an initia-
tive started by Richardson.
The rule change is also
supported by Dan Meek, a
longtime elections reform
advocate, and Sal Per-
alta, a McMinnville city
councilman.
While proponents of
the rule change say that
it’s needed to prevent gov-
ernors from manipulating
the referendum process,
they couldn’t cite examples
where that happened.
In 2017, state Reps. Mike
Nearman and Bill Post,
both Republicans, unsuc-
cessfully attempted to sub-
ject a gun control bill to a
referendum. But neither of
them attributed the referen-
dum’s failure to a delay by
the governor.
Nearman said a bigger
issue is lawmakers putting
“emergency”
provisions
into bills so they go into
effect immediately and are
safeguarded from referen-
dum. He said he is work-
ing on a ballot initiative for
2022 to address that issue.
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