BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Shortly after the gavel dropped Thursday on February’s special session, leaders for the state’s two legislative bodies spoke on the progress, or lack thereof, which was made in February.

Senate Minority Leader, Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, spoke about the partisan politics which he says played into the policies passed.

“The majority party has spent the last 24 days using the legislature as their personal political cattle prod, hoping that Oregonians won’t notice the posturing and vengeful, partisan retribution against political enemies,” said Ferrioli.

Contrarily, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, made an effort to shed light on the body’s accomplishments during the short session.

“We showed that in Oregon when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. We didn’t sit on our hands. We accomplished what we came here to do,” he said. “We brought the state budget back into balance after a revenue forecast that was down and tackled important policy issues.”

Speaker of the House, Dave Hunt, D-Clackamas County, echoed that sentiment saying, “From extending unemployment benefits and funding day care for low income families to adding more dollars for college aid, we’ve helped families today when they need it most.”

Roseburg Republican Bruce Hanna, House Minority Leader, made clear his frustrations on the legislature’s attempts to improve job creation in the state.

“There was a lot of talk about creating jobs, but the only jobs that were created this session were 200 new government positions that’ll be difficult for us to sustain in the future,” stated Hanna.

“It’s unfortunate that rather than curbing spending, legislative leaders drained reserves, increased state debt and then called for a federal bailout for the next budget.”

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- The legislature ended their 25 day special session Thursday, passing a controversial constitutional amendment calling for annual legislative sessions.

The bill, SJR 41, created heavy controversy in the past few days which were filled with clear divides not only among parties but also among the two legislative bodies. House leaders were arguing for longer sessions while Senate leaders were pushing for the original time frame of 45 and 135 day sessions.

“After a lot of different tries, we finally came to an agreement that continues to have the length of time that I believe is necessary to get the work done on the budget in the odd numbered years,” said Rep. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay in his introduction of the legislation.

To address the perceived shorter length of 35 day sessions, Roblan stated, “We as a body are going to have to come together and make rules that limit the kinds of things that we work on and release.”

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, expressed his disappointment in not being able to move the Senate’s original bill.

“I will apologize to you today for where we’re at. Because I keep telling myself, how could I have done this better? What move could I have made to sustain what we experienced just a few days ago on this floor? I will always wonder about that.”

The final draft of the legislation came with a conference committee amendment proposing a 35 day session during even numbered years and a 160 day session during odd numbered years. This version passed both houses with slim margins costing Democrat and Republican votes on both sides of the issue.

“If we actually care about the institution, we should not run something out to the voters that all of us, with a straight face, cannot say is good,” said Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, who had been a co-sponsor of the original bill but voted against the final version.

Following the passage of the amendment by the legislature, it must also be voted on by the state’s citizens in order to be enacted. If passed by the voters, Oregon will join 45 other states in holding annual sessions.

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- The Senate narrowly passed a bill presented by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, to study lowering

greenhouse gas emissions in vehicles under 10,000 pounds throughout the state’s metropolitan areas.

The legislation, SB 1059, directs the Department of Transportation and the Department of Land Conservation and Development to study and develop plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The vote drew support from 17 members of the body, all Democrats, and drew dissent from all Senate Republicans and one Democrat who voted against the form the bill took.

Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, urged support for the legislation, saying, “It’s basically a study and a good look at what our future might or might not be and getting prepared for that future. And it will lead to, I believe, much better transportation and land use planning. For those reasons alone, I will ask for your support of this bill.”

Multiple requirements are created under the bill for state agencies to provide informational materials regarding the adoption of greenhouse gas reduction programs and their effectiveness and to calculate emissions and reductions from cars to meet 2035 goals.

Coming out of its Senate committee, the bill had a price tag of over $2 million from the state agencies; but after going through the legislatures’ Joint Ways and Means committee, it was toned down to $1.3 million, a 55.9% change from last year’s budget projections.

Sen. Chris Telfer, R-Bend, opposed the bill because of her fears of the future costs it would place on her constituents. “In 1990, which is referred to in this as possibly establishing the benchmark for emissions, Bend has grown 400% since that time,” said Telfer. “So I’m not sure how we’re going to roll back to 1990 in Central Oregon.”

She went on to say, “About 60% of the emissions in the city of Bend are created by people who do not live in the city of Bend. They’re either tourists, people shopping in Bend, people visiting Bend, people working in Bend. So I’m concerned with the cost to the city of Bend, when this eventually does unfold, that they’re going to have to deal with it.”

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- A bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in vehicles under 10,000 pounds moved from the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Thursday, following the release of a fiscal report finding the bill would cost between $2.1 and $2.3 million to implement.

The bill, introduced by Senate President Peter Courtney, would create a process for adoption and implementation of plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with recommendations from the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of State Lands and Development in the following session.

While changes to the original bill seemed to settle the nerves of its critics, a fiscal report released Thursday showed that the cost for implementing the plan would be upwards of $2 million, including the costs for five full-time employees at the Department of State Lands and Development and one employee at the Department of Transportation.

After debate on a number of motions to move the bill with a “do pass” recommendation, Sen. Floyd Prozanksi, D-Eugene, made a final motion to move the bill to the Joint Ways and Means Committee with no recommendation due to the high cost.

VIDEO COMING SOON…

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- From a recent press release, Senate President Peter Courtney (D- Salem) announced his appointments of Senators Chip Shields (D- Portland) and Jeff Kruse (R-Roseburg) to the Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee for the 2010 Interim Session.

The appointments of “a Portland Democrat and a Roseburg Republican”, as Courtney stated, “…will help maintain both the urban-rural and political balance on the Ways and Means Committee.”

These additions to the Committee bring about equal representation of House and Senate members on the joint committee which crafts the state budget.

The announcement also brings about a shift of committee membership for the Senate Human Services and Rural Health Policy Committee. With the departure of Sen. Kruse from the Committee, Sen. Chris Telfer (R-Bend) has been selected as Committee vice chair and Sen. Jackie Winters (R-Salem) has been added to the Committee’s membership.