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The 2023 legislative session has concluded. Bills were rushed through in both the Senate and the House to meet the 160-day constitutional deadline of June 25th. It seemed that an inordinate amount of bills were pushed through during the last two weeks of session than the prior month previous. The process can be challenging and frustrating as we as legislators scramble to keep up with the specifics of each bill and budget, let alone amendments. Much of this is done on purpose to keep some legislators and the public in the dark. This is no more than a version of what US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once stated, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in the bill.” While the Oregon Democratic majority party rams their last-minute bills through, the Republican minority and the public are frustrated with the blurred and hyper pace which prevents real transparency and public input.
HB 2002 & 2005
There were several controversial bills during the session but, the two most controversial were HB 2002 (expansion of abortion and the insurance mandates for gender treatment/surgery) and HB 2005 (omnibus gun control bill). We as House Republicans spent over 10 hours on the House Floor debating both bills before they were passed by the majority of Democrats in early May. In the Senate Chamber, Republicans and Independents denied quorum to block these bills from final passage. A denial of quorum means a chamber does not have enough members present to conduct business. Constitutionally, each chamber must have 2/3s of its legislators on the chamber floor in order to vote on any bill. This requirement exists to foster and encourage dialogue between the majority (Democrats) and minority (Republican) parties. The lack of a quorum caused much concern for many legislators as many bills and budgets had not yet passed and were stopped from moving forward, including HB 2002 and HB 2005. In addition, without budgets passing the only constitutional obligation of the legislature – a special session would have been inevitable.
At the 11th hour, a deal was struck by the Senate Republicans and the majority Democrats to amend HB 2002 and HB 2005 in order to end the stalemate. In my opinion, even with these amended versions are unpalatable. A government is formed to serve the people by protecting life and individual liberty. These two bills were in opposition to these two concepts. These amended bills then passed the Senate by the party-line Democrat majority and then had to be referred back to the House to concur. Again, after much discussion and emotional debate, the Democrats passed these two bills.
I was at home and not at the Capital the last week of session dealing with some medical issues that hopefully will be resolved soon. However, I would not have been present on that fateful Wednesday and would have walked off the floor to not provide quorum in protest of HB 2005 and HB 2002C. HB 2005 as passed, makes un-serialized guns (ghost guns) illegal. Anyone owning an un-serialized gun has until September 1, 2024, to get a serial number from a licensed firearms dealer. This bill will do nothing to reduce gun crime in this state. Criminals will not change their behavior just because a gun does not have a serial number. Criminals will not change their behavior simply because of a posted sign that says, “Gun Free Zone.” What it will do is make hundreds of law-abiding citizens in my district criminals on September 2, 2024, if they choose to not serialize their guns. This ban may well be unconstitutional. Enough said.
As it relates to HB 2002, I stand in opposition to any bill that sets up Oregon as a “gender-affirming” sanctuary state. At a time when the rest of the world is waking up to the harm being done to our children, the Oregon Democrat House Majority passed it’s “gender-affirming” priority bill, HB 2002.
Oregon set down this treatment path with little to no evidence that it works for children and young adults. Oregon clinics have given puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to hundreds of kids in recent years, yet these drugs may not have FDA approval for their use. Medicaid data for the Oregon Health Authority also shows that Oregon has performed gender altering surgeries on dozens of kids between 12 and 17, even though we are told in Committee that Oregon “virtually never” does surgeries under 18, and that such practices are “not the standard of care and it’s not appropriate.”
And now, the evidence overwhelmingly shows that these treatments are not helping our young people and may in fact be harming them. The UK, Norway, Sweden, and Finland have done systematic review of the evidence and concluded they may be doing more harm than good. They are pulling these treatments back into a research setting, considering them experimental. As one of the many examples, the UK National Health Service now limits use of puberty blockers to research settings due to “significant uncertainties surrounding the use of hormone treatments.”
Hundreds of people from District 9 and around the state have emailed, written letters, talked with me and made phone calls asking me to fight to protect our kids from the doctors, clinics, and drug companies that profit and have influence, money, and lobbyists. I will continue to fight to protect our children because Oregonians overwhelming do not approve of giving children puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, and surgeries based on how their children “feel” about their immature bodies.
It is imperative that we bring balance and common sense back to Salem. Under a balanced government, extreme ideas like HB 2002 and HB 2005 would been discussed and then discarded as a threat to protecting life and individual liberty. The Oregon Democratic Party has failed our children, again. They are siding with protecting the medical establishment and clinics with this reckless ideology, over children and parents. Our children are worth the fight and the truth is coming to light. We must hold accountable those who vote to harm our children.
SUCCESS
After several policy disappointments, I worked with my caucus and those across the aisle to achieve and support several successes for District 9.
- Worked to move the public education budget from 9.9 billion to a close to service level of 10.2 billion.
- Supported efforts to ensure researched based literacy programs are implemented in our public schools with over $120,000,000+ in funding.
- Southwestern Oregon Community College for Student uplift and collaboration create expanded support and success - $8,110,000.
- Port of Coos Bay – Issue Lottery Bonds in amount that produces $20,000,000.
- Passage of HB 3414 – Limits the conditions under which a local government is allowed to deny an application for a land use variance on a residential development within the UBG and on land zoned for residential use.
- Passage of HB 2192 – Modifies requirements for a lawfully established forestland dwelling to be altered, restored, or replaced based of statues of the dwelling.
- Passage of HCR 2 Memorandum for Kendra Perry
- Passage of HB 3382 -Outlines circumstances under which a local government may adopt an exception to land use planning goals related to estuarine resource for the International Port of Coos Bay
- Passage of HB 3068 – Provides school districts and charter schools the ability to award an equivalency diploma.
- Passage of HJR 16 – Power of legislature to impeach a sitting statewide elected official.
- Passage of HB 2073 and SB 498 – CAT reform bill to give tax relief for farmers in some circumstances.
DISSAPOINTMENTS
Having served on the Education Committee, along with Housing and Homelessness, Higher Education, and Oregon Gaming, I was disappointed to not have support from those Education Committee Democrats on some important school safety issues. We at the Capital have metal detectors and Oregon State Police protecting all of us. We are not more important than our public-school children! They deserve to be protected from threats and learn in a safe environment.
- HB 2223 – Would have required the Department of Education to transfer funds to the necessary school districts to pay for school resource officers.
- HB 3354 – Would have directed the Department of Education to conduct a study related to hiring retired police officers to provide security in public schools.
- HB 2704 - Would have required school districts to adopt a policy to install metal detectors.
- HB 3261 – Would have directed the Department of Education to conduct a study to identify sources of funding to pay for the costs of establishing a secure single point of entry for each public school.
- HB 3350 – Would have directed the Department of Education to conduct a study to identify costs and possible funding sources to improve school safety.
- HB 3584 – Would have directed school districts to provide electronic communication to parents and guardians of students attending school where there is a safety threat.
- HB 3101 – Would have required schools to have at least one panic alarm in every school building.
LOOKING FORWARD
There will be many opportunities for visits to District 9 organizations, businesses, and individuals during the time between sessions. I will also travel out of the district to learn and observe programs and communities that have successful approaches to local and state problems. I look forward to learning more about this amazing district and the resilient people who live and work here. I will only be able to present 5 policies during the short session in 2024. Below are the suggestions for the short session that have been requested. These are not finalized but recommendations from the individuals in District 9. More suggestions are requested and appreciated.
- A bill that will change the hunting and angling licensure from yearly to a rolling 365-day license. Hunting and Angling /Shellfish Combo License would extend from the day a purchase for 365 days. The tags would remain yearly.
- A bill to ensure that certain businesses that could promote human trafficking of our young women and men are restricted to be able to only hire individuals over 18.
- A bill to require agencies, hospitals, clinics that may deal with mental and behavioral patients, to provide a third-party evaluation upon entry.
- A bill to remove tampons from boys’ public school bathrooms K-12.
- A bill to require maintenance and upgrades to Oregon hatcheries to promote the abundance of fish in our rivers, streams, and ocean.
I will continue to be a voice for balance and common sense in Salem. Thank you for your continued support!
Representative Boomer Wright
Dear Mr. Chief Clerk,
I voted “no” on HB 2004A because I believe ranked-choice voting will lead to confusion and perplexity in our elections. If enacted, HB 2004A will lead to diminishing of trust among Oregon voters and sow further doubt about our election process.
At a time when we are facing increasing mistrust in our election systems, I believe it is irresponsible to move forward with such a dramatic overhaul of our elections without larger state-wide discussion on a bipartisan basis.
I also question the fact that under HB 2004A, ranked-choice voting will only apply to the offices of President, Vice President, Governor, and congressional representatives, among others. It will, however, not apply to elections for State Representatives and State Senators. This will undoubtedly create even more confusion among voters and will most certainly result in an increased number of spoiled ballots as we elect all our candidates using a single-page ballot.
On top of these concerns, I worry that, if enacted, our election campaigns will no longer be a marketplace for a genuine exchange of free ideas and beliefs about public affairs but will instead become a contest in which no serious policy proposals will be put forward as candidates will aim to appease to “big tent” electorate, hoping that they will not annoy or infuriate some voters. In that case, our elections will become gloomy, gray contests with no significant ideas and policies proposed.
Additionally, Oregon is already facing criticism for slow release of voter results and enacting ranked-choice voting threatens even more delays and increased irregularities. It will also be a significant burden on our elections and county officials that will be required to spend significant time and effort learning new system, while also maintaining the old one for our elections to the State Legislature.
I believe that instituting such a change of election system requires a diligent bipartisan effort that we currently lack. In addition, due to the controversy and scandal surrounding the office of Secretary of State, it is my belief that Oregon is currently in no capacity to successfully implement and rollout such system – even in 2026 or 2027.
Oregon also lacks experience and precedent with ranked choice voting in our history. Oregon has utilized the first-past-the-post system ever since it became a part of the Union in 1859. In the United States, only Maine and Alaska use ranked choice voting on statewide level.
For these reasons stated above, I voted “no.”
Representative Boomer Wright
Oregon Legislative Information System
Both committee hearings and floor proceedings are available to watch online. You can track bills and be notified when a hearing is scheduled. I recommend spending some time learning about it by visiting Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS). Links to the instructional videos for each of the "How To" lines below are included in the attachments.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1409
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-372, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.BoomerWright@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/wright
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