Although it is only three days into the session, Oregon legislators are wasting no time.
Much of Monday was consumed by ceremonial welcoming services, leaving Tuesday and Wednesday packed with legislative work. By Wednesday afternoon, the legislature had read more than 350 proposed bills, all of which will be assigned to committees and examined later this session.
“We are very busy, but we have a plan and are moving forward,” Rep. Phil Barnhart said.
The bills that were examined cover topics ranging from state safety to education. Barnhart indicated that many of the bills, even though they are good in theory and offer a lot to citizens, will have to fight to be a priority in light of the state’s dwindling budget.

Barnhart said Senate Bill 2035 is among those bills. It would expand tuition waivers for post-secondary institutions to children and spouses of deceased or disabled veterans.
“It’s not that the bill isn’t a good idea, it is just hard to say if it will be a high-enough priority this session to pass as a law,” he said. “The governor has proposed an expansion of the Shared Responsibility Model, the state’s scholarship fund. It is very possible that it may provide a better solution for all students than a bill designed specifically for veterans’ families.”
Additional post-secondary education laws include Senate Bill 67. The bill seeks to direct higher education state institutions to release student data upon request for research purposes and other purposes allowed by law.
Schools can currently release data about specific students, including their major, address, phone number, enrollment dates and honors earned while at the University. However, the school is barred by law from releasing additional information such as an individual student’s GPA or personal class schedule.
Secondary education bills include Senate Bill 48. It provides that a person is incapable of consenting to a sexual act if they are a student in grade 12 or below and the other individual involved is a school employee or a person in a position of authority over the student.
That would revise the current law, under which individuals 18 and older can consent to sexual acts with other adults. “To my knowledge we have never had to address this issue on the side of the student,” said Genessa Waits, a human resources assistant for Eugene 4J schools. “It is understood among school officials that this sort of behavior is intolerable.”
Two additional bills seek to increase safety in schools. Senate Bill 46 would require fingerprints of all new hires in public and private schools, and Senate Bill 45 would prohibit registered child abusers from working in certain positions that require unsupervised or direct contact with children, even if the individuals are licensed or registered by the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission.
The 4J school district already requires fingerprints, but 4J does not automatically turn away individuals that have a criminal record from positions in schools.
“If a person has a past history, which includes a felony or misdemeanor, and they are honest about it and check it off, they have an opportunity to have a meeting to explain themselves,” Waits said. “However, if a person does not admit to having a felony or misdemeanor, and they are found to be guilty of one through a background check, they are automatically ineligible for a job.”
With a tighter budget this session, some bills look to generate some state funding. House Bill 2075 increases the cigarette tax and continuously appropriates money from that increase to go to the Department of Transportation services for elderly individuals with disabilities.
Despite more than 350 bills having been read so far and more expected this week, Barnhart is optimistic.
“Morale is high in the capital,” he said. “There is a lot of talk that we should be out before June, which is good news and keeps us all going strong.”
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