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2005-02-16 Alert
HB 2484 Hearing & SB 380
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
A public hearing was held on HB-2484 today before the House Land Use Committee. This bill would amend Section 215 of ORS-195 to clarify its annexation vote provision as meaning "double majority." We had a good showing by the Washington County Folks. NO ACTION was taken on the bill today. That's mainly because the chairman wants at least one more public hearing - possibly at a non-capitol location. Here's a summary of what happened:
There were 10 people who testified: 6 in favor, 4 opposed. All the testifying opposition consisted (not surprisingly) of public entities: City of Portland, Metro, Salem, and League of Oregon Cities. The hearing room was nearly packed.
There were some other "heavy hitters" from the opposition present, including Jon Chandler from the Building Industry Assn. The hearing lasted until around 5 PM and ran the latest one of the session so far for this committee.
Rep. Jerry Krummel took the time to show up and present strong testimony in favor of the bill: He did his constituents proud, and we're urging all of you in his district to write him a "Thank You" note (rep.jerrykrummel@state.or.us).
The opposition presented the usual time-worn arguments about "efficiency" of annexation and UGB residents getting a "free ride." But the most vocal members of the committee debated them vigorously. We clearly have 3 strong supporters on the committee: Reps. Garrard, Greenlick and Ackerman. Mitch Greenlick was the star of the day and often had forceful comebacks to opposition arguments.
Of the other four committee members, Rep. Patti Smith is almost certainly a "No." She was one of only 4 representatives who voted against our successful anti-SLAPP bill (HB 2460) in 2001. Rep. Mary Nolan I sense is a "no" but am not sure. Rep. Gordon Anderson I feel is leaning our way but is still undecided. Regarding Rep. Mac Sumner, I haven't a clue where he stands - he was silent the entire hearing. Among those four, we need one vote to move the bill.
Several of the committee members - some repeatedly - mentioned the "I don't know how many hundreds of emails" they'd received in support of the bill. Chair Garrard declared that the issue has "mushroomed" and cautioned everyone present that there's a "need to do something about an issue so many people see as an injustice." IT'S THE NUMBER OF CONTACTS THAT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE - AND IN THIS CASE, THE NUMBER IS BIG! Thanks to all of you who heeded the call!
The League of Oregon Cities Rep - probably our most formidable opponent - complained about Oregon annexation law being out of sync with land use planning law. She proposed - in lieu of passing 2484 - that a work group be formed to "take a comprehensive look" at all the annexation laws and see if some solution to these problems can be worked out.
Rep. Greenlick asked her, "would the League support a moratorium on all annexations until that group's task is finished?" The League Rep balked, but eventually committed to taking it back to her "people" for discussion and give the committee an answer probably within a week. The Chair warned her that he didn't want to see a "delaying tactic." He clearly indicated several times that he recognizes the problem is real and it is now.
I felt our testimony went over well (and was told the same by two of the committee members). So WHAT'S NEXT?
1. Send Thank-Yous to the committee members for holding a hearing as we requested. ALSO STRESS that we support the bill AS WRITTEN and urge that it not be watered down with conditions - or expanded in scope which would give it less chance of passage. This bill targets ORS-195 reform: That needs to remain its purpose, and the reform has to apply to all cases where ORS-195 is used. THE CHAIR EXPRESSED FEAR THAT AMENDMENTS ARE BEING PROPOSED TO EFFECT ONE OR BOTH OF THESE CHANGES. WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. He also stressed that "we need to keep hearing from people."
2. Continue to spread the word in your communities with the goal of generating "I don't know how many hundreds" MORE contacts to the committee. If you don't remember the contact information, its on the OCVA website in our Feb. 9 "Legislative Alert."
3. We'll alert you when we see the next scheduled hearing or other event for this bill. Attend and testify if you can! Nothing is more effective!
Remember folks, although I think we made good progress today, there's a lot of work left to do - and if we're to have any hope of success, it will take NUMBERS - HUGE ONES!!! I'm very proud of all of you who made this happen so far. The "army" is growing. We need to keep it growing and keep it focused - so don't let up in your efforts.
Regarding SB-380, one of the two Senate Companion Bills, it was scheduled for a work session in the Senate Environment & Land Use Committee on 2/14 - but that didn't happen. So it's still sitting in that committee.
Thanks again to all!
Jerry Ritter
Secretary, OCVA
This page last modified on 2005-11-16 08:29.
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