SALEM, Ore. – The eventful 2023 legislative session came to a close this weekend.
It featured a 6-week walkout, the longest in state history, as Senate Republicans protested against a bill providing reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare.
Those who walked out might not be able to run for reelection because of voter-passed Measure 113, though Senate Republicans have said they will challenge the measure in court.
Despite the distractions, both the Senate and House of Representatives passed a flurry of bills over the weekend that covered a wide range of topics.
The Senate unanimously passed a bill establishing an impeachment process for statewide elected officials.
Medford Republican Representative Kim Wallan was in the committee that considered the bill and said she is very happy that it passed.
“We’re the only state that doesn’t have an impeachment process,” Representative Wallan said. “I think that we just need to show our voters and our constituents that we’re taking accountability seriously.”
If approved by Governor Tina Kotek, it will appear on the 2024 November ballot.
Another bill passing this weekend was Senate Bill 283 which tries to tackle the K-12 teacher shortage in the state through mentor programs and apprenticeships.
Ashland Democratic Representative Pam Marsh hopes this will spur the workforce and make it easier to enter into that career.
“We both need teachers, and we need teachers that reflect the students that are in their classrooms so that students see people who look like them,” Representative Marsh explained. “So that’s an important effort going forward.”
Two bills addressing hospital staffing also passed directed at a critical Oregon need.
House Bill 3396 provides funding to increase training, apprenticeship, and educational opportunities in the field, while House Bill 2697 establishes a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio in the state, which Representative Wallan is not a fan of.
“The argument is we’re losing nurses because we are making them work too hard,” Representative Wallan said. “I mean, fair enough. The answer to me is to encourage more people to go into that profession, and making it more appealing, and I would prefer to do that without state mandates.”
“I think there’s much more work to be done,” Representative Marsh admitted. “But it’s a good first step and it’s good when the people on both sides of the issue recognize the issue and can figure out some commonality.”
Finally, the Senate passed a bill sending ranked choice voting in certain elections to the ballot in November 2024.
Instead of just voting for their top choice, it would allow voters to rank their top candidates.
“We need to make sure that we’re looking at innovation in the voting system,” Representative Marsh said. “People need to believe that their vote counts. People who are sitting around the edge and not sure whether it matters should see that it matters and that means looking at some fundamental reforms.”
Representative Wallan said a big point of contention for her was trying to get voter-passed Measure 110 repealed.
It didn’t happen, but she said the recriminalization of fentanyl was much better than nothing.
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