Beaver State News

The Oregon Legislative Session, which commenced on March 21 and spans 160 days, is seeing an unusual number of bills remain active despite the initial deadline. Traditionally, bills must be scheduled for a work session by this date to proceed further. However, committee chairs are utilizing placeholder bills to circumvent this deadline.

Numerous bills are set for work sessions in the coming weeks. Some have not yet undergone public hearings but may still advance from committees unexpectedly. The situation demands vigilant monitoring to prevent undesirable amendments from progressing.

In recent developments, SB 916 passed narrowly in the Senate with bipartisan opposition. Senator Janeen Sollman and Sen. Jeff Golden joined Republicans against the bill that allows striking workers to claim Unemployment Insurance benefits. NFIB opposed this measure as it could increase costs and encourage more strikes by subsidizing union work stoppages.

Two new bills in the House, HB 3838 and HB 2548, propose establishing workforce standards boards for home services and agriculture sectors. NFIB opposes these as they could bypass legislative processes for pay raises and benefits changes while eliminating at-will employment in agriculture.

Additionally, SB 174 aims to include insurance under Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act, potentially leading to increased litigation and higher premiums for consumers. This proposal has met opposition from a coalition including NFIB due to concerns about its impact on insurance markets.

The legislative session continues with various measures under scrutiny and ongoing efforts from organizations like NFIB to influence outcomes favorable to small businesses.