A
Message
From
Representative
Whitsett
Summer
Lake,
Lake
County
Oregon
2014
Legislative
Session Week
3 Update
The
third
week of
the
short
legislative
session
found bills
that
have not
already
been
passed
out of
the
House, either
dead or
unscheduled
for
hearings
in the
alternate
chamber,
with a
short
two
weeks
left in
the
session.
The
Senate
was
placed
on one
hour
notice
for
bills to
be heard
in
committee
and
voted
out to
the
floor. This
system,
which
was
adopted
by the
majority
party,
does not
predispose
the
state’s
citizens
or
minority
legislators
to
adequate
time to
thoroughly
read
bills or
amendments
to
bills.
Bills
are
often
“gut and
stuffed”
with
amendments,
a
nomenclature
which
suggests that
the
entire
meaning
of the
original
bill may
have
been
changed,
with
only the
"relating
to"
clause
remaining
the
same.
These
bills
are then
quickly
read and
acted
upon in
committee
and the
public
never
has a
chance
for
citizen
input.
Often
even the
non-leadership
legislators
of
the opposite
party do
not have
time to
read the
amended
bills either,
as they
see the
bill in
its new
form
only
minutes
before
having
to vote.
It is
critical
in my
opinion
for the
public
to have
full
participatory
access
to the
legislative
process.
This is
not
occurring when
a member
of the
public
is
restricted
to two
minutes
of
testimony
time on
a given
bill.
If the
bill is
so
controversial
that
dozens
of
people
show up
to
provide
citizen
input,
then the
committees
should
be
extended
to
accommodate
them.
It is a
simple
concept-
entitle
those
who show
up to at
least
five
minutes
to
testify.
We are
citizen
legislators
in a
republic
form of
government
and only
when we
listen
to the
public
and then
make
completely
informed
decisions,
can we
do our
jobs by
making
the best
decisions
for all
of the
people.
We are
not
elected
to force
our
personal
agendas
onto the
state's
citizenry,
which is
what is
happening
with
some
regularity.
We are
seeing a
consistent
blurring
of the
lines of
separation
between
the
Executive
(administrative),
the
Legislative
and the
Judicial
branches
of
government
in this
state.
No
members
of one
branch
of our
government
should
wrest
power
from
another,
under
any
guise.
It is a
disabuse
of the
entire
elective
process. |
|
HB 4065
- A Eng
The
methamphetamine
testing
notification
bill was
heard in
Senator
Shield's
Senate
Committee
on
General
Government
Consumer
and
Small
Business
Protection on
Wednesday
afternoon.
HB
4065-A
Engrossed
was
unanimously
voted
out of
the
committee
after testimony
was
presented .
Three
days
later,
HB 4065
was
third
read on
the
Senate
floor
and
passed
unanimously,
with
Senator
Whitsett
and
Senator
Baertschiger
speaking
on
behalf the
bill. It
now
awaits the
Governor's
signature
to
become law,
or
after 91
days without
the
Governor's
signature
it will
automatically
become
law. It
will
become
the
first
bill in
the
United
States
dealing
with
foreclosed
auction
homes
and
methamphetamine
posting
notifications.
I would
like to
thank
the
Jonathan
Hankins
family
of
Klamath
Falls for
bringing
the
concept
forward
and
testifying
for the
bill in
the 2013
session.
With an
estimated
2.5
million
homes
contaminated
with
excessive
meth
residue
nationwide,
the
bill is
long
overdue.
I view
it as a
consumer
protection and
health
issue.
Click on
picture
below to
view HB
4065 A
Eng
testimony
starting
6
minutes
in video
to
minute
17 (This
video is
17
minutes
long)
 |
|
Click on
Picture
above to
see
Representative
Bentz
and
Representative
Whitsett's
testimony
on
Greater
Sage
Grouse
Zero to
6
minutes.
HB 4093
B Eng
Representative
Cliff
Bentz of
HD 60,
drafted
HB
4093-A,
regarding
the
potential
ESA listing
of the
Greater
Sage
Grouse.
Senator
Whitsett
and I
were
also
chief
co-sponsors
of the
bill,
with
Rep.
Bentz.
Senate
District
28 and
part of
House
District
56 are
located
in Lake
County. Many
thousands
of
acres of
Lake
County
and most
of far
central
and
southeastern
Oregon
will be
under
extreme
economic
hardship
if the
US Fish
and
Wildlife
lists
the
Greater
Sage
Grouse
as an
endangered
species.
This
bill
should
help
private
landowners
and the
sage
grouse
simultaneously.
The
Oregon
Farm
Bureau
supports
the
bill,
and it
passed
through
both the
House
and
Senate.
By
encouraging
landowner
involvement
in
habitat
improvement
projects,
while
not
putting
private
ranch
information
in the
public
domain,
this should
be a
win-win
for the
birds
and the
ranching
economy
of Lake
and
other
potentially
affected
counties.
This
bill
simply
strengthens
an
existing law
already
in
statute. It
will be
up for a
concurrence
vote
motion
in the
House
next
week.
Oregonian
Article
on
Greater Sage
Grouse
Listing
Rep.
Whitsett
is a
Co-Chief
Sponsor
of this
Bill
Oregon
lawmakers
pass new
public
record
exemption
to save
sage
grouse.
Read
Oregonian
Article |
|
Barry
Point
Fire
Update
Heard In
Senate
Committee
The
Senate
Committee
on
Rural
Communities
and
Economic
Development
heard
lengthy
testimony
from the
Oregon
Department
of
Forestry
regarding
issues
related
to the
2012
Barry
Point
Fire in
Lake
County,
as well
as the
Pole
Creek
Fire in
Deschutes
County.
A white
paper
entitled
"The
2012
Large
Fire
Review
Committee
Report
to the
State
Forester
Feb 20,
2014"
can be
viewed
through
OLIS (by
clicking
the
picture
below).
It is my
opinion
that
although
we have
recommendations
for the
future,
the
landowners
affected
by the
Barry
Point
Fire are
still
not
receiving
proper
information
on
causes
of
personal
property
destruction
by
backfires set
by
either
state or
federal
forest
fire
fighters during
the
event.
I
questioned if
the
individuals
responsible
for
setting
the
backfires
had been
identified
and we
were
told
they
were
not.
I also
asked
the
Michael
Jordan
of the
Department
of
Administrative
Services
how many
tort
claims
had been
paid to
private
landowners
by ODF
over the
last ten
years.
He said
he did
not
know,
but
would
get back
to me
with an
answer.
Click
the
Picture
to Read
Report
|
|
Best
Regards,
Representative
Gail
Whitsett
House
District
56
|
|
Agriculture
&
Natural
Resources
Agendas:
Tuesday
2/18/14 No
Meeting Thursday
2/20/14
|
|
Human
Resources
&
Housing
Agendas:
No
Meeting Monday
2/17/14 No
Meeting Wednesday
2/19/14 Friday
2/21/14
|
|
|
