Finishing by June 30 became important as proof that the new leadership of the House could work effectively with the continuing leadership of the Senate and the Governor to do the people's business promptly. While it took some evening and weekend work in the closing days, the job got done.

Landmark Legislation

Rainy Day Fund. Until this year Oregon was one of only a handful of states that had no reserve fund to support public services in an economic downturn, beyond a limited Education Stability Fund for K-12 schools. As revenue dropped in the last recession, the services supported by the state's General Fund were slashed. House Bill 2707 suspended the corporate "kicker" for the two-year budget cycle that ends this Saturday and placed $316 million of it in a Rainy Day Fund. Otherwise the kicker provision of Oregon's constitution would have required the state to pay corporations the amount by which actual corporate income tax receipts in these two years exceeded the projected receipts.

Civil Rights. Some of the most contentious issues in American politics in recent years have involved the legal treatment of gays and lesbians. For example, in November 2004 voters amended the Oregon Constitution to limit marriage to heterosexual couples. This legislative session enacted two new laws addressing these issues. Senate Bill 2 adds "sexual orientation" to Oregon's statutes prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation, and several other areas of activity. Sexual orientation joins race, religion, color, sex, and national origin in these protections. House Bill 2007 creates a system of domestic partnerships under which same sex couples can obtain most of the privileges and responsibilities Oregon law provides to married couples.

Measure 37 Modifications. In November 2004 Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 37, requiring a public entity to pay compensation to the owner of property reduced in value by a land use regulation or to waive the regulation. About 7,500 claims have been filed under the measure, seeking about $18 billion in compensation. Because the measure provided no funding source for compensation, the state and counties have no choice but to grant waivers. But such a waiver cannot be transferred to a subsequent owner of the property, which makes it useless to most owners. House Bill 3540 refers to the voters a set of amendments to Measure 37 limiting the scale of development that can occur and providing that waiver rights are transferable. House Bill 3546 grants the state and counties an additional 360 days to process claims. House Bill 2640 sets the election for the Measure 37 modifications and for the Healthy Kids constitutional amendment (see below) for November 6, 2007, and provides the ballot title language.

Healthy Kids. About 117,000 Oregonians under the age of 18 have no health coverage. Extending health care to these kids is less expensive than for older citizens and is likely to improve their long term well being and reduce the cost of future public services to them. Senate Joint Resolution 4 refers to the people an amendment to the Oregon Constitution providing an 84.5 cent increase in the tax on a pack of cigarettes to pay for the Healthy Kids Program. The tax increase would extend health coverage to nearly all uninsured Oregonians under age 18. The cigarette tax increase was pursued by constitutional amendment after the House failed to pass a statutory version by the 3/5ths vote of legislators required for any bill that raises revenue. Senate Bill 3 implements the Healthy Kids Program upon passage of the constitutional amendment.

Renewable Energy. Business leaders have designated sustainability as a central theme in Oregon's economic development. To advance this theme, to improve the quality of Oregon's air, and to combat global warming, the Legislature passed a series of bills promoting the use of renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels. Senate Bill 838 adopts a "renewable portfolio standard" under which Oregon electric utilities must obtain 25 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025. House Bill 2210 adopts a "renewable fuel standard" for gasoline and diesel sold in Oregon once Oregon production of ethanol and biodiesel reaches specified levels. Gasoline must contain at least ten percent ethanol and diesel at least five percent biodiesel. House Bill 3201 includes increases in Oregon's tax credits for business and residential use of renewable energy.

Honorable Mention

Education Funding. As voter-enacted property tax limitations in the 1990s reduced local funding, much of the support for K-12 schools fell on the state General Fund. The inadequacy of the General Fund for the wide range of services it must maintain caused education at all levels to suffer for many years. The budgets adopted for the two years starting next Sunday don't make up all that lost ground. But the amounts are better than the state has produced for quite a while. House Bills 5020 and 5021 provided K-12 schools with $6.245 billion, an increase of 17.7 percent from the prior budget. House Bill 5012 provided community colleges $511.5 million, an increase of 17.9 percent. Senate Bill 5515 provided the Oregon University System $896.4 million, an increase of 19.8 percent.

Identity Theft. Robbers of the past would threaten the victim to make them hand over their cash. Today thieves are more likely to assume the identity of victims in order to get cash or goods by using their credit. Several bills were passed this session to cope with the rising tide of identity theft. Senate Bill 583 requires those who hold personal financial data to safeguard it and to notify the consumer when there is a breach. It also requires reporting agencies to place a freeze on credit at a consumer's request. Identity theft is already a Class C felony under Oregon law. Senate Bill 464 creates a new Class B felony of aggravated identity theft, chargeable when the criminal commits the crime of identity theft ten or more times in 180 days, takes over $10,000 in 180 days by identity theft, or commits identity theft and has personal financial information on ten or more victims.

Noncompetition Agreements. Some Oregon employers require certain employees to sign agreements not to compete with the employer for a period of time (usually a year to two) after leaving employment. Such agreements can protect legitimate interests of the employer, but also can stifle economic growth by preventing skilled employees from working where they're most effective. Existing Oregon law makes noncompetition agreements unenforceable unless entered into upon initial employment or subsequent advancement. Senate Bill 248 adds requirements that the employee: (1) be notified at least two weeks before the initial employment that such an agreement will be required; (2) be paid a salary to perform creative, administrative, or managerial work; (3) have access to trade secrets or competitively sensitive information; and (4) be paid at least the median income for a family of four.

Updated Bottle Bill. Oregon won a reputation for innovation on environmental issues in 1971 when it required a nickel deposit on beer and soft drink containers. The bottle bill has fallen out of date with the proliferation of beverages sold in individual serving containers, most notably bottled water. Senate Bill 707 adds water containers to Oregon's bottle bill. It also requires retailers to accept all brands of a kind of product if they sell any brand of that kind. Despite concern that inflation is reducing the incentive for containers to be redeemed, the deposit amount was left at a nickel. Grocers have threatened to pay for referendum petitions to place a repeal of the changes to the bottle bill on the ballot for decision by the voters.

Recycling of Electronic Waste. Oregon's 1971 bottle bill led the nation in establishing the principle that the maker of a product should be responsible for its full life cycle. This session Oregon followed the lead of several other states in applying this principle to computers and televisions by establishing a system of recycling. House Bill 2626 requires the makers of these electronic products to provide convenient collection sites where they can be taken for disposal free of charge to the consumer.

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