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On June 7, WW published a list of important policy bills at risk of dying in the absence of Senate Republicans.
Related: Republican Senators’ Continuing Walkout Threatens Useful Solutions to Oregon’s Problems
On June 15, after the longest legislative walkout in Oregon history, enough Republicans returned to provide the quorum required (two-thirds of members) to pass bills on the Senate floor.
That same day, the Senate approved watered-down versions of House Bill 2002 (relating to reproductive rights) and HB 2005 (relating to ghost guns) by identical 17-3 votes. Those bills now go back to the House for concurrence—i.e., making both chambers’ versions of the bills the same. Senators also passed numerous bills June 16—but the Legislature will be in recess June 19 for the Juneteenth holiday.
Many less contentious bills that had been languishing throughout May and the first half of June, including those WW highlighted, also got new life last week.
Here’s an update on those five bills:
Senate Bill 3: A long-debated concept—requiring career planning and financial literacy training for high schoolers as a condition of graduation—may finally pass this year after years of discussion. It got a second reading on the Senate floor June 15 and is scheduled for a third reading (the final step before a floor vote) June 20. Once it and other Senate bills clear the Senate, those with strong support have a relatively short route to passage as the House continued working while the GOP senators were gone, which means it has a far smaller backlog than the the Senate.
Senate Bill 337: This bill, which would begin much-needed reforms of the Public Defense Services Commission, got a second reading June 15 and is set for a Senate floor vote June 20.
Senate Bill 420: For the tens of thousands of Oregonians who have survived traumatic brain injuries, this bill would offer something now lacking: a coherent navigation system for the disparate services that many people with TBIs and their families currently struggle to access. The bill got a second reading on the Senate floor June 15 and is scheduled for a June 20 floor vote.
House Bill 2697A: A top priority for nurses and other hospital staff, this bill would establish staffing ratios for health care workers who are in short supply. The bill passed the House on June 14 by a bipartisan 48-9 vote and got sent to the Joint Ways and Means Committee. Observers expect it to emerge quickly for a Senate vote this week.
House Bill 2010: A bipartisan effort led by state Reps. Ken Helm (D-Beaverton) and Mark Owens (R-Crane) to provide funding and policy support for tackling the drought that exists in nine Oregon counties and threatens many others, this bill passed the House on June 14 by a 51-5 vote and is now in Ways and Means. Its prospects are good for speedy passage in the Senate.