Second Quarter 2020 Legislative Report

My report today focuses on two items. 

1. Community TV

As you may know this Pomona is attempting to sponsor a candidate forum, some would call it a debate, for the Clackamas County Commission candidates.  Due to the Covid 19 situation it is to risky to gather and do it in person, so your legislative committee has been seeking other methods.  We have settled on three sessions, one for each position,  filmed at the Willamette Falls Media Center (WFMC) and broadcast on the CAN (community access network) available county wide and also posted on Utube.  This is possible because the WFMC is willing to film and broadcast the sessions at nominal cost as a public service.   They also provide numerous free classes on film making and cover many government meetings for broadcast on the community channels. They can afford to do this because state law says they get a small percentage of everyone’s cable bills through the cable companies franchise fees.  There is a move afoot both legally and legislatively to essentially make this money optional.  The proposal would allow each jurisdiction to decide whether to keep the franchise money currently allocated to the WFMC.  The proposal would disrupt the current funding mechanism, probably result in closure of media centers state wide and thus further limit government transparency.  If you have not guessed I don’t like the idea.
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         2.   Legislative quorum requirements 
Democrats and Republicans in the Oregon Legislature may not agree on much, but everyone agrees that the recent short legislative session was a failure. This seems likely to repeat in future sessions unless something is done.  The majority caucus in the legislature is proposing lowering the quorum requirements which would eliminate minority parties ability to oppose legislation by denying quorum.  The following is a more balanced idea published in an article by Brent Barton, a lawyer who formerly served as the Democratic representative for House District 40 - Oregon City, in the Oregon Legislature.
First, lower the quorum requirement from two-thirds of legislators per chamber to a simple majority, similar to current majority party proposals.  This change would bring Oregon in line with most other states.
Second, raise the threshold to pass policy bills, but not budget bills, from a simple majority of legislators to two-thirds, but only in the short session. This would focus activity in the short session on budget fixes and consensus legislation, exactly as voters intended when adopting annual sessions in 2010.
Third, prohibit fraudulent use of the emergency clause, particularly on policy bills.  Possibly provide a legal avenue to challenge such use in the courts.
In my opinion pushing the Cap and Trade legislation in the short session, and then attaching the emergency clause was an abuse of power by the majority party and deserved to be shut down.  However, denying quorum during the regular session on a legitimate issue  that a majority of duly elected representatives favored and were elected on is also an abuse of power and should not be tolerated. 
In essence, current Republican legislators appear to be normalizing the nuclear option of denying quorum, something that is inconsistent with a functional legislative branch. Oregon should join most other states, including Washington, in lowering its quorum requirement– a change that would encourage parties to compete for relevance by winning elections, not fleeing Salem.
Partisan competition is a fact of legislative life. But we should minimize this friction in the short session by channeling it into the long session, where parties and legislators can duke out competing ideas.