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Senate Education Committee Chair Roblan and Vice-Chair Knopp introduced a committee bill, SB 950, which allocates $3.4 million to the OSU College of Forestry for research. It will come up for a work session in committee on Tuesday (4/21). There's a sense of urgency to get this initiative going before other states develop programs like this.
SB 941 passed the Senate this week on a 17-13 vote. It's now been referred to the House Rules Committee. Below are the Representatives you should contact about SB 941.
Below is an edited statement I made on the Senate Floor about SB 941:
The previous speaker talked about the Oregon constitution and our Federal constitution, and those were the oaths that we swore to uphold. As I look at this issue knowing that the courts have watered down those rights over time, the question really comes down to this: does this bill improve safety to the point where it’s necessary to make law abiding citizens into criminals? And I thought who can answer that question? So I went to the top law enforcement person in my county which is the county sheriff. He’s had the better part of three decades of a career in law enforcement, and I thought he surely will know the answer to this question. So I asked him this question, ‘Have you ever, in your career, had a person to person sale or transfer where you are aware that it turned into a significant crime of any kind?’ His answer was one word, ‘Never.’
So that’s the answer. Either there isn’t a problem or law enforcement won’t be able to enforce it because they simply won’t know. Because clearly, at least in Deschutes County, there hasn’t been an instance like this where it has been an issue. I didn’t come to Salem to vote to turn thousands of law abiding citizens in Deschutes County into criminals for what, literally, is no more safety. We all know that criminals are not going to abide by this law. They do not buy guns from people who can identify them later. They steal them.
I’ve received a lot of comment on this bill. Between 2013 and this session, I think my email and phone count is nearly 10,000. Now, not all of those are from my district. A lot of them are from the rest of Oregon, but my feedback has run about 95% no to about 5% yes. There has been person after person after person who has said that this isn’t going to fix anything and asking me to defend their constitutional rights. Having looked at this issue and focusing on what I think the attempt really is, this bill does not measure up. We had the opportunity today to go further in solving the issue of gun violence with mental health funding. This legislative body chose not to do that today, and I think that’s sad. Today, the right vote on this bill is to protect the constitutional rights of the people we represent, and I will be a ‘no’ vote today for that reason: SB 941 doesn’t make people safer but it does cost many their freedom.
The Senate Workforce Committee held hearings on several minimum wage bills last week. These are being voted on in committee on Monday. Email the members of the Senate Workforce Committee and let them know what you think of the bill.
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SB 682 - Raises the minimum wage to $10.75
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SB 327 - Raises the minimum wage to $12.20
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SB 597 - Raises the minimum wage to $13.50
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SB 610 - Raises the minimum wage to $15
Virtual Schools Award
 Senator's Ferrioli, Kruse & I received awards from the Virtual Public Schools for supporting school choice.
OSU Day at the Capitol
 Meeting with faculty and students from OSU and OSU-Cascades at the Capitol on April 14th.
NeighborImpact
 Steve Murray brought a stack of paper plates with handwritten notes from Oregonians who have been helped by NeighborImpact.
Helping Kids with Disabilities
 Met with Stephanie Utzman today. Thanks for coming to the Capitol today to share with me your passion on helping kids with disabilities and their families.
Best Regards,
 Senator Tim Knopp
Senate District 27
email: sen.timknopp@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1727
address: 900 Court St NE, S-309, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/knopp
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