Short session provides tight fit for big proposals

Rep. Greg Smith of Heppner said he anticipates long days when the Legislature’s short session convenes Monday.

The Republican representing House District 57 has eight committee assignments, including vice chair on the House committee on revenue, co-vice chair on the joint committee on ways and means and co-chair on a ways and means subcommittee.

“I’m really going to spend the vast majority of my time working policy issues through money,” Smith said.

Some issues are heavy lifts for the 35-day session, such as the implications the federal tax bill carries for Oregon and the state’s budget.

“Oregon is 100 percent connected with federal tax law,” Smith said, so lawmakers need to determine whether any parts of Oregon’s tax law should break those connections. That’s complicated, he said, and the conversations will not be easy.

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, said at an Associated Press forum Monday “we’ve got a serious budget issue” because of an expected deficit of $200 million to $300 million stemming from those changes.

Republican Sen. Bill Hansell of Athena said reforming the Public Employee Retirement System is another major piece that comes with no easy answers. Democratic Gov. Kate Brown’s task force on how to cover some of the system’s $20-billion unfunded liability included selling off state universities and the State Accident Insurance Fund. Hansell called those bad ideas. SAIF, he said, is one of Oregon’s best functioning programs, so selling that makes no sense.

Hansell said he believes the short session should be about tweaks to the state’s budget, approving legislation that has broad bipartisan support and amending bills that made it into law from the previous session.

Senators get to propose one bill each while representatives get two, and lawmakers have just 10 days to shuttle legislation through both chambers.

Smith will sponsor House Bill 4153 to designate Eastern Oregon University in La Grande as the state’s rural university. Smith said the legislation is more than a “feel good” proposal. The designation would provide EOU some protection from closure or cuts during tough economic times, he said, while sending the message the state’s smaller universities matter as much as their larger compatriots.

Smith also said he is learning more about education policy because he serves as vice chair of the joint committee on student success. Oregon needs to take a good look at how education is working and what it should be doing better.

The Hermiston School District, the largest in Smith’s House district, had the 21st worst graduation rate in the state, according to data from the Oregon Department of Education. Among the state’s largest school districts, Hermiston is eighth from the bottom.

Hansell said he will push Senate Bill 1556 to help community banks.

Those banks assign loans to federal finance agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Hansell explained, which require the banks to use an electronic system to file while prohibiting the banks from recording the loan assignments in the county records. Hansell said counties are suing the banks to recover recording fees and his bill would ban those lawsuits. Nothing under Oregon law requires counties to record the bank’s assignments, he said, and the counties are not entitled to a recording fee.

Smith and Hansell also emphasized bipartisanship would yield the best solutions.

To see a full list of proposals in the upcoming session, visit www.oregonlegislature.gov.