Thread: OR Republican lawmakers say " READ BILLS OUT LOUD!"

With a short session beginning Feb 1 and scheduled to last 35 days. Democrat legislators holding a majority in both Oregon houses came in expecting to ram through numerous pieces of their agenda in short order.

Instead Republicans, successful in the House so far, made a counter demand that the entirety of every bill should be READ ALOUD. Senate Republicans have so far not succeeded in this demand.

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/i...re_begins.html

With knives out, Oregon Legislature sets off on 35-day sprint


SALEM — The daggers were drawn within minutes.
After gavels sounded the start of the Oregon Legislature's 2016 session Monday, Republicans unsheathed a procedural move that no one could remember seeing for decades. They demanded every bill be read aloud in its entirety, no matter how long it takes.
The message was clear: This 35-day session — packed with proposals to raise the minimum wage, solve the state's housing crisis and reform foster care — will not be easy.
Still, Democrats wasted no time Monday. The House and Senate launched headlong into bills tackling affordable housing and renter protections. One lawmaker proposed a compromise on a ballot measures to raise taxes on the state's largest corporations. Another put off plans to push a gun control bill that would have limited sales to people in crisis.
And on Tuesday, the Senate is set to hold the first hearing on Gov. Kate Brown's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $14.50 in the Portland area and $13.25 everywhere else.
The Senate and House held hours of back-to-back committee hearings on controversial bills that would require 90-day notice for rent increases and no-cause evictions, among other ideas, and also let cities set affordable housing requirements. Because of the short session, legislators have until next week to figure out which of those proposals will live or die.
"We're seeing production. But we're seeing luxury rental production," said Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland, who's pushing this month's most ambitious set of proposals. "We are out of balance and we need to produce affordable housing with the private sector."

Read more: Top Democrat proposes "peaceful solution" to tax fight.
A proposal by Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, would raise $500 million for schools and cut taxes for middle and low-income Oregonians.

Developers and builders who'd previously pushed the state to ban affordable housing mandates, also known as inclusionary zoning, also continued to send signals a deal to rescind the ban was close.
But landlords and their lobbyists pushed against proposals that would not only increase notice periods but also require landlords to help pay relocation costs. Some said they could support 90-day warnings for rent increases but not when ending someone's lease.
"This can lead to landlords who will get out of the business and it will lead to fewer rental units available," said John Sage, president of Rental Housing Alliance Oregon. "The real issue here is supply and demand."
Earlier on Monday, Sen. Mark Hass unveiled what he described as a "peaceful solution" to a $2.5 billion-a-year corporate tax measure speeding toward the November ballot. His proposal, which would replace Oregon's corporate income tax with a new commercial activity tax, faces steep odds in the House.
Democratic leaders, backed by some of Oregon's most powerful unions, say they're less than willing to entertain a compromise unless it offers significantly more money for social services programs and education.
"I'm not delusional. I know the chances of getting there this session are very slim," Hass said. "But it's important to me that Oregonians know there's been some thoughtful diligence in an effort to balance revenues, taxes and Oregon's economy."
Republicans were already crying foul on minimum wage Monday, telling Democrats on the House floor that the short session was never designed for such weighty policy bills.
"The people in my district are scared to death," said Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario. "You'll be hearing more and more on this from me."
The Republicans' push to require long bill readings left Democrats stunned. The Senate delayed a vote on its rules. But the effort prevailed in the House. Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, sent out a message telling lawmakers to prepare for night and weekend sessions starting Wednesday.

"We've been elected by our constituents to come here," said Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis. "We shouldn't have tactical maneuvers that tie our hands down."
Nobody in the House Clerk's office could recall such a thing. Tim Sekerak, the chief clerk, said he is seriously looking into whether a computer program could read the bills at "chipmunk speed" to meet the constitutional requirement.
House Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, simply noted that the Oregon Constitution requires full readings unless lawmakers agree otherwise with a two-third vote.
"The one party that is running the state without a check or a balance is trying to move very partisan, extremist legislation," he said. "The fact that we're making them slow down to read what they're passing in compliance with the Oregon constitution is not unreasonable."
Senate President Pro Tem Diane Rosenbaum, D-Portland, joked about the days to come.
"Tomorrow is Groundhog Day," she said. "At least we're not going to repeat today, tomorrow."
— Ian K. Kullgren
ikullgren@oregonian.com
503-294-4006; @IanKullgren
Denis C. Theriault contributed reporting.