Salem's Session Scorecard

It’s finally over. The second-longest legislative session in Oregon history, 207 days in length, is finally over. While accomplishments were few and far between, one of them should stand out among all others: no new taxes. Somehow, miraculously, the Legislature resisted the temptation to give in to the extortion tactics of the public employee unions and others and held the line on taxes. The accomplishment should be regarded all the more extraordinary thanks to an entire chamber, the Oregon Senate, being controlled by the democrats. Indeed, if there is one member of the Legislature who should be pitied more than anyone else it is Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown (D-Portland) who, despite her numerical advantage, simply couldn’t assert her agenda. On the other hand, House Speaker Karen Minnis (R-Wood Village) gets the Legislator of the Session award for keeping Brown’s agenda from becoming state law.

No new taxes. Even with the unions and special interest groups keeping with their tried and true message- doomsday warnings about grandma getting thrown down stairs, rapists and murderers being set free, kids with 30-day school years crammed hundreds at a time in cramped, dingy old rooms, urban single moms with ten kids who just can’t make ends meet- the legislators would not be swayed. Instead, they drafted a modest budget that met the needs of Oregonians without succumbing to their addiction to over-spending.

Other notable achievements should include the phasing out of the Oregon Lottery’s sports betting program, passed Thursday night. This will allow for NCAA Tournament games to be played in the Beaver State for the first time in decades, and will greatly increase tourism revenue. New money for higher education will allow more people to attain such degrees, and desperately-needed reforms were made to the mental health system, without raising taxes.

Probably the most-publicized piece of legislation came in the form of attempting to prevent Oregonians from producing and using methamphetamine, which has brought nationwide infamy on the state, again. Meth use has recently reached epidemic proportions in Oregon and thanks to this recent bill passed by the Legislature, cold medicine used in the production of such substances now require a doctor’s prescription. While well-intended, this bill will do nothing to curb such production and use. Indeed, the legislators’ naivety was fully exploited on this issue as they have forgotten that Oregon is not an island state but is surrounded by four western neighbors with far more lenient laws. Pseudoephedrine may be illegal in Oregon without a prescription but it can still be brought in from other states (or other countries) where it is still available over the counter. Even in this state meth producers are buying up their last stocks of Sudafed in droves (a process apparently referred to as “smurfing”) and all of it without raising a single red flag among pharmacists.

Above all, however, the Legislature, and specifically Speaker Minnis, should be commended for their work in stifling a democratic scheme to legalize gay marriage in Oregon, and in so doing override the will of Oregon voters last November. A clear and overwhelming majority of Oregonians said no to a small band of Oregon’s most extreme elements attempting to devalue and destroy one of humanity’s longest-lasting and most sacred institutions. While House Republicans may be called every name under the sun by these groups- hatemonger, bigot, homophobe, Christian rightist- they are doing the right thing and the silent majority of Oregonians know it.

If anything, this should be the theme of the 2005 Legislative Session- doing the right thing, even when it wasn’t particularly popular politically among a small band of radical leftists. While the juggernaut that are the public employee unions demanded higher taxes and increased spending for their pet programs, the Legislature stood firm and held the line on both. While the rabid homosexual lobby cried foul and screamed bigotry and homophobia, the Legislature maintained their reserve and kept their nerves in upholding the will of the people of Oregon and standing by the great initiative system that has brought democracy to the common citizen. It might not have been the most expensive legislative session in state history, or even the most radical, but for the most part, it ranked among the most satisfactory for the most Oregonians.