The Seventy-fourth Oregon Legislative Assembly was the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

(OLA)'s period from 2007 to 2008. (The Legislative Assembly is the legislative body of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, composed of the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

and the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

.) There was a regular session in 2007, and a shorter

special session In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by confli ...

in 2008. The 74th was the first Oregon legislature since 1989 in which both its houses were controlled by the

Democratic Party of Oregon The Democratic Party of Oregon is the Oregon affiliate of the Democratic Party. The State Central Committee, made up of two delegates elected from each of Oregon's 36 counties and one additional delegate for every 15,000 registered Democrats, is ...

, which won a one-seat majority in the House in the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidenti ...

. (Democrats had previously taken control of the Senate in 2004, and retained it in the 2006 elections.) Democrats took credit for addressing a number of issues, and for adjourning a day before a self-imposed deadline (and before

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

, for the first time since 1995). Republican legislators, however, noted that there were no tax reforms to accompany the $15.1 billion (21%) increases in spending over the prior two-year budget. Democratic Governor

Ted Kulongoski Theodore Ralph Kulongoski ( ; born November 5, 1940) is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative As ...

did not veto any bills during the session, and expressed general approval of the session. In August, after the session's conclusion, he did veto one bill which would have allocated $4.6 million in

Portland General Electric Portland General Electric (PGE) is a Fortune 1000 public utility based in Portland, Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - 44% of the inhabitants of O ...

ratepayers' fees to pay off a loan on behalf of the

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI, ) is a science and technology museum in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains three auditoriums, including a large-screen theatre, planetarium, and exhibition halls with a variety of hands ...

. The ''

Statesman Journal The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...

'' praised Kulongoski for being more engaged with the legislative process than he had been in the past. The paper also criticized the legislature for failing to take action on two critical issues, instead referring them to

popular vote Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

Sessions

Oregon is one of only six states where the legislature meets only once every two years. The

Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature The Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature (PCOL) was a group of 30 citizens in the U.S. state of Oregon charged with developing recommendations on how to improve the Oregon Legislative Assembly. The 2005 session of the legislature established ...

, established during the prior legislative session, recommended that the state move to annual sessions after 2009. In preparation for that change, the legislature scheduled a session for 2008. This was technically a

, but lawmakers referred to it as a supplemental session to the 2007 session. The 2007 regular session lasted 172 days, and the 2008 session was scheduled for February 4–29, but was adjourned February 22, for a total of 19 days. During the 2007 portion of the session, a total of 2,744 bills were introduced, with 910 passing and becoming Oregon law. Both chambers took measures to limit the number of bills introduced in the 2008 session; the Senate limited individual members to introducing a single bill, and the House permitted only committee-sponsored bills. The

Oregon Constitution The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.

dictates that the legislature must meet only in biennial regular sessions, and that special sessions must be held only in response to a specific emergency. Senator

Larry George Larry George (born c. 1968) is an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He was a Republican member of the Oregon State Senate representing District 13 from 2007 to 2015. Before his election, he was the leader of the political group Orego ...

sought an injunction based on this law. The Marion County Circuit Court judge who considered the case agreed that there were some concerns, but determined that the session was legal.

Bills

2007 regular session

The Healthy Oregon Act (Senate Bill 329) was passed. Proposed by the Senate Commission on Health Care Access & Affordability (co-chaired by

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...

and

Ben Westlund Bernard John "Ben" Westlund II (September 3, 1949 – March 7, 2010) was an American politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. A Democrat, he was elected State Treasurer in 2008. Previously, Westlund served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative ...

), the act also included amendments promoted by former governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Party ...

and the

Archimedes Movement We Can Do Better (formerly known as the Archimedes Movement) (founded 2006) is a grassroots movement based in the U.S. state of Oregon, which aims to bring citizens and stakeholders together to design a health care system that "works better for eve ...

. It is intended to lay a foundation for lower costs, improved quality of health care, and availability of low-cost health insurance for all Oregonians. (Senate Bill 27 of 2007, known as Oregon Better Health Act and promoted by the Archimedes Movement, did not pass.) The legislature passed two

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

bills: the

Oregon Equality Act The Oregon Equality Act is a law of the U.S. state of Oregon which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other categories. Enacted in 2007, it became effective in ...

, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the

Oregon Family Fairness Act The Oregon Family Fairness Act is a state law in the U.S. state of Oregon that made domestic partnerships legal in Oregon. The bill was introduced into the House by state Democrats. The bill adopted the term "domestic partnership" to describe thes ...

, creating

domestic partnerships A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...

for same-sex couples. Updated ethics rules, which increased the financial disclosure requirements on local officials and commission members, proved controversial; 239 officials around the state resigned their positions the following April, when the rules took effect. Legislators and Governor Kulongoski are exploring ways to reform the ethics rules in the 2009 session. The state ethics commission was allocated funds to hire an investigator and a trainer, and its budget will no longer be overseen by the legislature. A new law will eliminate the "worst" junk food from public school vending machines and cafeterias. The legislature established a rainy-day fund, but did not raise the corporate minimum tax, which the ''Statesman Journal'' called "absurdly low." The legislature passed several new protections against identify theft. The legislature allocated $33.5 million to offices and parking facilities at the

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capitol, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 ...

. A modification to the

Oregon Bottle Bill The Oregon Bottle Bill is a container-deposit legislation enacted in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 that went into effect in October 1972. It was the first such legislation in the United States. It was amended in 2007 and 2011. It requires ap ...

, adding water bottles to the list of containers with mandatory deposits, was passed. This was the first modification to the Bottle Bill since it was first passed in 1971. The legislature also formed a task force that will explore further modifications to the bill. Funding for legislative staffing between sessions was doubled from the $4.2 million previously allocated. Starting in January 2009, smoking will no longer be permitted in most bars. Drivers under age 18 may be fined for talking on cell phones. Three million dollars were allocated to

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tra ...

to upgrade equipment serving rural areas. The ''

Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene- ...

'' praised the legislature for increasing funding for

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

. The ''

Bend Bulletin ''The Bulletin'' is the daily newspaper of Bend, Oregon, United States. ''The Bulletin'' is owned by EO Media Group, which prior to January 2013 was named the East Oregonian Publishing Company. Over the years, a number of well-known journalists h ...

'' criticized the legislature for failing to pass mandatory audits for local school districts, a measure advocated by the Chalkboard Project, which works for education policy reform. The legislature referred two bills to popular vote: Measure 49 that amends 2004's

Measure 37 Oregon Ballot Measure 37 was a controversial land-use ballot initiative that passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 2004 and is now codified as Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 195.305. Measure 37 has figured prominently in debates about the rights of ...

, which had limited land use regulation, and Measure 50 which would have increased the

tobacco tax Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the c ...

to provide

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

for children.

2008 supplemental session

The supplemental, or special, session of 2008 opened with little fanfare in the Senate, but with charges of partisan gamesmanship in the House. The legislature was criticized for preparing bills in secrecy, without posting draft legislation on its web site. Senate President Peter Courtney expressed satisfaction with the session's work, citing laws benefitting senior citizens, children in foster care, people with disabilities, and patients at the

Oregon State Hospital Oregon State Hospital is a public psychiatric hospital in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the state's capital city of Salem with a smaller satellite campus in Junction City opened in 2014. Founded in 1862 and constructed in the Kirkbride ...

. During the special session, lawmakers established a tax force to explore ways to reform Oregon's medical liability limits, in response to a December 2007

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Floyd Prozanski Floyd Prozanski (born 1954) is an American Democratic politician who is a current member of the Oregon State Senate, representing the 4th District, since 2004. He previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 1995 through 2000 ...

and Representative

Suzanne Bonamici Suzanne Marie Bonamici ( ; born October 14, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district, a seat she was first elected to in a 2012 special election. The district includes m ...

. A bill seeking to limit the use of

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

in the workplace met with opposition from Associated Oregon Industries and ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

's'' editorial board, and was not passed. The legislature passed a law requiring proof of residence in order to obtain an Oregon

drivers license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

, in order to comply with the Federal Real ID law. The legislature was criticized, however, for failing to take on an idea, previously advanced by Governor Kulongoski, to provide for an alternate "driving only" card. The legislature referred a bill to voters, a toned-down alternative to a

Kevin Mannix Kevin Leese Mannix (born November 26, 1949) is an American politician, business attorney, and former chairman of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Oregon. Mannix has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, as a Democra ...

-backed bill establishing

mandatory minimum sentences Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term for certain crimes, commonly serious and violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are inst ...

for property crimes. Three bills passed by the legislature related to land use, including restoring funding for the Big Look Task Force, and addressing funding in light of the passage of Measure 49.

Senate members

The

, which had been controlled by Democrats since 2005, had a Democratic majority ranging between 17 and 19 of its 30 members during the 2007 and 2008 sessions (due to the party changes of two senators). Senate President:

Peter Courtney Peter Michael Coleman Courtney (born June 18, 1943) is an American politician, lawyer, and professor who is currently a Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate, representing the 11th District (in Marion County and including parts of Salem ...

(D-11 Salem)
President Pro Tem:

Margaret Carter Margaret Louise Carter (née Hunter; December 29, 1935) is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1985 to 1999 and 2001 to 2009 and was the first black woman elected to the state's legislature ...

(D-22 Portland)
Majority Leader:

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

(D-21 Portland) (2007 session), Richard Devlin (D-19 Tualatin) (2008 session)
Minority Leader:

Ted Ferrioli Ted Ferrioli (born February 15, 1951) is an American politician who served as an Oregon state senator from 1997 until 2017. He represented Senate District 30, which encompasses Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Malheur, Sherman, Wasc ...

(R-30 John Day)

House members

The

had a Democratic majority of 31-29 during the 2007 and 2008 sessions. The narrow majority did not allow Democrats to pass any tax increases, due to the state's

supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...

requirement. Speaker:

Jeff Merkley Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley served as the 64th speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives ...

(D-47

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

)
Speaker Pro Tem:

Diane Rosenbaum Diane M. Rosenbaum (born 1949) is an American politician in the US state of Oregon who was the Majority Leader, majority leader of the Oregon State Senate. She was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Oregon House of Rep ...

(D-42

)
Majority Leader: Dave Hunt (D-40

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

)
Majority Whip:

Phil Barnhart Phil Barnhart (born 1946) is an American politician and psychologist from the state of Oregon. He was a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 11 from 2003 to 2019 and District 40 from 2001 to 2003. Ea ...

(D-11

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

Lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

)
Republican Minority Leader:

Wayne Scott Wayne Scott is a politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives for the Republican Party until 2009, representing House District 39, which includes the communities of Barlow, Beavercreek, Canby, ...

(R-39

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

), then Bruce Hanna
Deputy Republican Leader:

Bruce Hanna Bruce Hanna (born April 1960) is a Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Roseburg, Oregon, Roseburg in the United States, U.S. state of Oregon. He served in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 7, whi ...

(R-7 Roseburg)
Republican Whip: Dennis Richardson (R-4 Central Point)
Deputy Republican Whip:

Gene Whisnant Gene Whisnant (born December 8, 1943) is a Oregon Republican Party, Republican politician from the US state of Oregon. He serves in the Oregon House of Representatives representing Oregon's 53rd House district, District 53, which encompasses mos ...

(R-53 Sunriver)

References

External links

of regular legislative sessions
from

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and on ...

Chronology of special legislative sessions
from Blue Book
List of members of 2007 session
from

Oregon State Archives The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or the Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. The Oregon State Archives is ...

Committee assignments, 2007–2008 interim
from oregonlive.com. (August 14, 2007)

* Officia

in the 2007 regular session * Officia

in the 2008 special session {{OR legislatures Oregon legislative sessions 2008 U.S. legislative sessions 2007 U.S. legislative sessions 2007 in Oregon 2008 in Oregon