Oregon Legislative Assembly Convened in the Capitol

The Oregon legislature convened this week in the Capitol for a three-day organizing session that officially kicked off the 2017 legislative session. Elected officials took their oaths of office, passed their rules of governance, appointed legislative committees and introduced more than 1,500 bills. On Monday, the House of Representatives and Senate gathered for a joint session for the inauguration of Governor Kate Brown. Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland), Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), and Governor Brown addressed the large audience in the house chamber.

In her inaugural address, Governor Brown invoked former Republican Governor Tom McCall in calling on the legislature to “work not in partisanship but in partnership” on the tough issues this session. The governor outlined her top priority of improving high school graduation rates in Oregon.

Signaling her support for the legislature increasing revenue following the failure of Ballot Measure 97, Governor Brown said the time has come to stop “kicking the can down the road” on Oregon’s persistent budget deficit. Governor Brown also said that while the ongoing PERS liability must be addressed, reforms must be done in a way that keeps Oregon’s promises to retirees and does not put us on hamster wheel of litigation.  (The legislature passed PERS reforms in 2014; much of which were overturned by the Oregon Supreme Court. Prior reforms were also passed in 2003.)

Speaker Kotek said, “In many ways, this session will be defined by how we manage the gap in the state budget,” and President Courtney reminded his legislative colleagues that “four million Oregonians are depending on us.”

The legislature starts the 160-day session on February 1. The OHCA government relations team is now reviewing the 1,500 bills for potential impacts on the long-term care sector, meeting with legislators and other stakeholders, and planning our advocacy efforts for this upcoming session.

During session, OHCA will send weekly “Legislative Alerts” on Fridays to members who are subscribed to the weekly News Bulletin newsletter. Please email Rosie Sontheimer, rosies@ohca.com, to be added to this distribution list.

As always, OHCA’s government relations team is at your disposal should you have any questions relating to our work at the state capitol. Contact Phil Bentley, pbentley@ohca.com, or Chris Madden, cmadden@ohca.com, with your questions.