For nearly five months the Governor has mandated that Oregonians shelter in place saying, “Stay Home, Save Lives". This mandate restricts where people go, how they shop, go to church and when (or if) they could attend school. Now the Governor has called a 2nd Special Session of the Legislature that begins in less than two days on Monday, August 10th.
Special sessions are unique in that they are unscheduled, unless called by the Governor or Legislature, and there is no time limit. That means the scope of what is debated is restricted, in large part, by the party in charge — in this instance, Democrats. As early as May, Republicans have advocated for budget adjustments to address a projected over-$1 billion shortfall. The reason for this request is simple: if cuts are made earlier in a budget cycle, they can be spread over a longer period of time causing less harm. Instead of addressing the budget during the 1st Special Session in June, Democrats spent this precious time pushing six police reform bills, which all started with: “Whereas, Black Lives Matter" as well as instating a new state cell phone tax. Your cell phone bill will increase thanks to a Democrat-led legislature who decided another new tax was a good thing during this government-induced economic downturn.
I have three major concerns with this Special Session starting on Monday. The first concern is while the Legislature will be open for business, it will be closed to the public. The building will be closed, locked up, no one allowed in except legislators and Capitol staff. Testimony by the public on the people’s business will be done remotely via a few “booths” set up outside the Capitol building. While I understand the desire to keep people safe, this is no way to run a legislative session. Direct access to legislators, in and out of committee meetings, is essential to ensure all opinions are heard by facilitating an open and transparent process. The Legislature being closed to the public will yield bad results.
The second reason for concern is the agenda for the session has yet, as of this writing, to be published. All State Representatives and Senators deserve to be given adequate time to know the scope and estimated duration of a special session before walking onto the chamber floors. How is it possible to mobilize and encourage people to testify, to protect their interests and their rights, if legislators don’t know what is specifically on the agenda until the 11th hour? This is no way to run a legislative session.
My final concern is that budget cuts are likely to be harsh on the Department of Corrections — translation: prison closures. This seems like an odd place to cut the budget given the unprecedented increase in violence in our state’s largest city. However, for several years the majority party has been focused on accomplishing a political goal — criminal justice reform — this time using the rubric of re-balancing the state budget. Criminal justice reform is based on the assumption that our justice system is systematically racist, and therefore those crimes which disproportionately incarcerate non-white people should be redefined to not punish offenders with time in prison. Moreover, those in prison who committed such crimes (drug possession or vandalism) should be released. Steep budget cuts to the Department of Corrections will help move forward this policy goal of criminal justice reform.
The silver lining in all of this is that every two years the people of Oregon get a direct say in how the government will operate the following two years. This November is such a time for your direct input. If you are disillusioned with the current direction of Oregon’s Legislature, then it is time to stand up. Be sure to get involved in the political process. Be sure all of your family is involved. Be sure your neighbors understand what is at stake and are engaged. Liberty is always just one generation away from extinction.
After this Special Session concludes, I will publish an update on what took place and what we can expect in the future.
Best regards,
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 E. WERNER RESCHKE
State Representative
Southern Klamath & Lake Counties
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1456
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-384, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.EWernerReschke@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/reschke
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