Monday was the last day a bill could be scheduled for its 1^st work session. This meant that if a bill wasn’t scheduled by Monday it is considered “dead;” unless the bill was referred to Ways and Means or a Rules committee. OSA was ahead of this deadline and all the bills we care about have been scheduled for a work session. There were some bills that made the deadline that we wished died but we will just have to keep up our lobbying against those policies.

The next deadline is that any bill that has a chance of living needs to be voted out of their 1^st committee by April 18^th. The 10 days between these 2 deadlines make Salem pretty hectic. Students have to stay focused on the issues we prioritize and keep our bills alive.

Budget work is really starting to heat up. The Ways and Means Co-chairs’ budget includes a couple hundred million in revenue creation. That means in order to retain the bad budget numbers we currently have we have to see some revenue changes in Oregon. Speaker Kotek’s office and Representative Barnhart put out a revenue package that would create $275 million. Students are support of revenue creation so here is what this package does.

HB 2456

1. Phase-out Oregon deductions for high income filers; single filers of $125,00 and joint filers of $250,000.
2. Eliminate personal exemption credit for high income filers; single filers of $125,00 and joint filers of $250,000.
3. Apply corporate minimum tax of 0.1% to Oregon sales above $100 million. 
4. Include corporate income reported in tax haven jurisdictions to the water’s edge definition of U.S income for purposes of apportioning income to Oregon.

• Further description:  Require those corporations that are part of a consolidated filing group that have headquarters located in a tax haven to report income from those locations on their Oregon tax return. Then apply Oregon’s sales factor to apportion income back to Oregon. Proposed statute patterned after Montana’s tax haven provision established in 2003.

Outside of the budget students had another victory this week. HB 2611 passed off the House Floor 46-12-2. This bill calls for all healthcare professionals to have access to optional cultural competency trainings through their licensing boards. The licensing board will then track who takes the trainings and works to hold workers accountable. College campuses will also provide these trainings to their healthcare workers. Healthy students are more likely to complete their degree and get through on time. Now HB 2611 is on to the Senate!

The House higher education committee chose not to change the rights of security officers on community college or OHSU’s campus (HB 3114) after a heated public hearing on Monday. The other higher education gun bill that died was a bill that would have allowed for a concealed weapon’s carry on college campuses (HB 3009). The legislature chose not to move that bill forward.

Finally, a big highlight of the week was a bill that brought over 500 supporters to the state capital. So far that’s the most of any issue this session. The “Safe Roads Act” would allow all people regardless of documentation status to apply for a driver’s license in the State of Oregon. OSA does not have a position on this bill, but we will be watching the organizing work to see if we can garner any tips.

-Emma

April 18^th marked the halfway point for the 2013 Legislative Session. As of Thursday any bill that was going to move forward needed to have passed out of committee. Through hard work and strategic organizing OSA priorities are still in play and gaining ground. Budgets will not be worked out until May or June. The Ways and Means Road Show have had strong student representation. The Speaker of the House’s Communications Director said their office found student stories to be some of the most compelling part of the tour. Specifically, he remembered a student with considerable debt from Lane Community College and a struggling student parent from SOU.  These are the compelling stories that keep us on the reinvestment list.

In the policy realm our priority bills are moving through the process. Cultural competency for healthcare providers (HB 2611) passed out of the Oregon House this week. We already passed tuition equity (HB2787). Public Safety Reform (HB 3194) is in a joint committee so it is not subject to the policy committee deadlines and this bill is expected to move down to Ways and Means in May.

Next week is the Oregon Student Rally for Higher Education and it couldn’t come at a better time. As we move closer to the May revenue forecast students need to be on the forefront of everyone’s mind. We need to keep fighting to get on the reinvestment list. Our Ways and Means testimonies have been pivotal and our rally is the right next step.

We are half way there. Half way to getting students the policies they need. Half way to victory.

-Emma

This is a hugely successful week for students in Salem. The Ways and Means Roadshows proved to be a perfect platform for students to talk about affordability and the need for more funding. We are past the half way mark of the 2013 Legislative Session so… I guess it was time for a massive statewide student rally. OSA has been building the student voice in Salem since the 1^st day of session, creating a crescendo of student power. Students have been in Salem every week, building to the 500+ student rally on April 25^th. Members on both sides of aisle expressed their awe of the student power in Salem. The rally was meant to call attention to our budget asks and we needed a major event to get the press for our issues. The tactic was very successful and now we keep fighting. We won’t stop until we get the budgets we need: $850 million for universities, $510 for community colleges, and $115 million for financial aid.

-Emma

The Capitol was a buzz again this week. Workloads died down a little for members after the last deadline, but this week it ramped back up. It sounds like Senator Johnson will be back in the next couple weeks after a terrible and unfortunately car accident. This means the Senate side is willing to schedule additional work sessions. The House got through their backlog on the floor so they are also accepting work sessions again. Cultural competency (HB 2611) had a fabulous public hearing this week with no public opposition and that bill has now been scheduled for a work session on May 14^th; the same day as the OSERA lobby day!

The other OSA priority this week was starting the discussing on setting tuition ceilings for universities through budget notes. Representative Buckley is open to this discussion and OSA hopes to come to an agreement with the Oregon University System. We would all like to agree on a tuition ceiling together.

Still no word on public safety reform legislation, but we can expect amendments coming soon. Budgets continue to be an end of session discussion. Finally, from now until the end of the session we will continue to fight for victories on our 1^st and 2^nd tier priorities, participate in the governance debate (SB 270 and HB 3120), and of course continue to lobby hard for our budgets.

Next steps in Salem for OSA:

• May 14^th: OSERA Lobby Day
• May 16^th: Revenue Forecast
• May 28^th: Higher Education Coalition Lobby Day

I wanted to wait and send this update until after the Governor’s latest budget press conference as well as the 1^st public hearing on SB 270 in the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education. So here goes…

The Governor came out on May 15^th with a new compromise on revenue and PERS. He claimed he has talked with leadership of both parties and in both chambers with no avail. This proposal is meant to break through the partisan grid lock. The Governor is calling for $200 million additional in revenue creation in exchange for more PERS reform. OSA is hoping our elected officials look at all the options that could increase financial aid, level tuition increases, and improve the quality of our education. No word yet on whether these proposals will be adopted. Hopefully our legislators will be willing to cross party lines and do what’s right for education this session.

In the world of governance reform the official fiscal still hasn’t not be drafted for SB 270 or HB 3120. OUS was asked to run a preliminary fiscal putting the costs as high as $5 million per board per year for PSU, OSU, and UO. The financial impact on the regional campuses still has not be fully analyzed.

On an up note legislators are taking the concept of a tuition ceiling seriously in the form of a budget note again this year.

Finally, the best news of the week is that Cultural Competency for Health providers passed the Senate today and is now on to the Governor’s desk where it is expected to be signed into law. The Oregon Student Association worked in coalition on this landmark piece of legislation with the Urban League of Portland, CAUSA, APANO, BRO, and many other amazing coalition partners.

The work is not done. Student governments maybe in transition but our student association will be fighting hard for access and affordability until Sine Die. #cantstop #wontstop

-Emma

The last month of a legislative session can be hectic. So what are student working on during dead week and finals? Here are the top issues still up for debate:

1)      Funding for our schools and financial aid.

2)      Tuition ceilings for public universities

3)      Capitol construction dollars for community colleges and universities

4)      Public Safety Reform

The best part of the week by far was the OSAC budget that passed out of the Ways and Means Committee with a $14.6 million increase in the Oregon Opportunity Grant. OSAC was also granted $3 million to create a new scholarship for 1^st time college classes. These scholarships will be used for AP exam costs or college credit in high school. Student leaders across the state know that our advocacy all session long significantly improved access to post-secondary education in Oregon.

PSU students also got a chance this week to meet with U.S Senator Merkley to talk about the Sen. Warren’s “Bank on Us” bill that would bring down student loan interest rates (see photo above). This bill is unlikely to pass, but this is an example of great public policy shinning the light on the student loan bubble.

The State Legislature is under 24 hours’ notice which means a work session can be scheduled with a day notice. OSA is tracking all our legislation and lobbying every day until the end of session for access to public post-secondary education in Oregon.

The Oregon Student Association would like to thank the members of the Oregon Legislature and the Governor’s office for working with the Oregon Student Association this session. Together our elected officials and students fought for the collective needs of students across the state of Oregon. For us there is little more important during a Legislative Session than the fight for increased funding for our public universities and community colleges. Students can claim great victories this session with increases to all our public colleges and financial aid for the first time since the start of the recession.  Until all the budget bills have been signed and the dust settles in the Legislative Fiscal Office these numbers are approximate figures. These budgets and policy victories reflect the importance of continued lobbying and organizing efforts during the entirety of the session. Students kept the pressure up and these budgets reflect the importance of constant and quality student advocacy.

Financial Aid

Funding for the Oregon Opportunity Grant program is set at $113.7 million, an increase of almost $15 million over the 2011-13 funding level. This amount of funding is anticipated to fund approximately 63,000 awards at an average amount of $1,800. The ASPIRE program is appropriated at $1.4 million General Fund to replace lost federal resources. This level of funding should be sufficient to have 145 sites across the state – the number of sites in the first year of the current biennium.

Community Colleges

The state support for the 17 Community Colleges is set at $450 million representing an increase of over $50 million from the level included in the 2011-13 budget. Other General Fund programs in this budget include $7.5 million for a workforce initiative, $600,000 for skills center in Clackamas County and in Portland, and almost $675,000 for expanding and coordinating training programs at Community Colleges for community health care workers.

 Oregon University System

Approximate 7% increase in general fund dollars to OUS when compared to the 2011-13 LAB.  The Subcommittee increased the General Fund appropriation for public university support by $15,000,000 with direction that the money be used to reduce resident undergraduate tuition increases at the state’s seven public universities. The Subcommittee adopted the following budget note to limit tuition increases on resident undergraduate students:

OUS Budget Note

In adopting the budget for the Oregon University System, the Legislature intends that increases in the base rates for tuition paid by resident undergraduate students on all seven campuses and one branch campus (EOU, OIT, OSU, OSU-Cascades, PSU, SOU, UO and WOU) may not exceed an average of 3.5% at any individual campus in any given year of the 2013-15 biennium. For students choosing the Tuition Promise program at WOU, rates of increase over the prior cohort may not exceed 5.7% in any given year. These limits on tuition shall apply to all seven campuses and one branch campus for the next two academic years (2013-14 and 2014-15) regardless of the outcome of any governance changes that may be implemented during the biennium.

Governance

This session students opposed institutional boards for public universities. In the finals days of this legislative session, after 24 versions of the bill were debated, SB 270 did pass.  Students worked to insure that any institutional board will have a designated voting student seat and tuition cannot increase above 5% annually. Students also supported the partner house bill (HB 3120) that protects the rights of students to collect and control the student incidental fee. Simultaneously, students opposed the cap on increasing the student fee more than 5% per year. Student concerns were centered on the dismantling of shared services, a loss of shared governance, and insurmountable tuition hikes over time. Governance reform has resulted in more questions and uncertainty of what lies ahead.  One thing is clear university governance structure will not change the Oregon Student Association. We will continue to fight for access, affordability, and the inclusion of the student voice on every campus. We welcome the new working relationships ahead of us and the new opportunities that may be available with the addition of institutional boards.

Tuition Equity

After over a decade of intense and often heartbreaking organizing, the Oregon Legislature, along with the many organizations and individuals, passed HB 2787, Tuition Equity.  Granting undocumented youth, who have graduated from an Oregon high school and have been accepted to an Oregon public university the right to pay in-state tuition.  The bill passed through both chambers of the legislature fairly early on in the legislative session allowing for OSA to turn its focus and capacity to other major policy priorities AND students were able to take advantage of Tuition Equity as early as July 1^st, 2013.

 Cultural Competency

House Bill 2611, though not a sweeping mandate as we had hoped it would be, was a major victory for students and underrepresented communities across Oregon.  Upon the decision for OSA to join the coalition this issue was given a much needed – expanded and effective – voice within the Capitol. Proving to be essential to the non-partisan advocacy and queer justice framework of this bill, it’s safe to say this bill would not have passed had students not been at the table.  Licensure boards and our college campuses will be asked to provide cultural competency continuing education for healthcare providers in addition to tracking and making public which individuals complete these courses.  Just one step forward in insuring Oregon college students have better access to quality healthcare.

Public Safety Reform

This session, after what some would call a legislative game of volleyball, the Oregon Legislature advanced legislation to address the cost of public safety in Oregon. With the passage of HB 3194 the legislature made a commitment to halt prison growth for the next 5 years, eliminating the need to build a new prison, and saving Oregon over $300 million in the next 10 years.  Though this isn’t the bill students and coalition partners had hoped for it is a win and evidence that our state continues to move away from our over-reliance on incarceration. Oregon is showing signs that we are ready to invest in addiction treatment, mental health programs, re-entry support, and other prevention oriented programs.  There is work left to do and members in both chambers are eager to continue the conversation of public safety reform.

-Emma and Mario

The Oregon Student Association’s mission of improving access and affordability for all students regularly reaches into federal policy. Below are some good articles about the bill that miraculously managed to pass the US House and Senate. OSA has been lobbying our Oregon Congressional Delegation to pass a bi-partisan bill that would limit the previously doubled interest loan rates. This bill is a start and not something students could whole-heartedly support. This bill does however keep interest rates lower in the short term. As the economy improves student loan interest rates as projected to rise.

OSA keeps a finger on the pulse of the national student movement by directing the movement locally and as members of the United States Student Association.

This year the Oregon Student Association used all 7 of our votes at USSA’s National Student Congress in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  OSA’s delegates were from LCC, OSU and SOU.  The UO also used one of their votes as a direct member of USSA. The Oregon delegation included the experiences of working class students, student veterans, students of color, LGBT identified students, and many other intersecting identities.

Our delegation used their varying personal and education experiences to bring forth proposals student issues; many of which were adopted by the National Student Congress. The following priority issues will direct the work of the USSA’s Board of Directors and its members for 2013-14 academic year.

USSA’s 2013-14 Priority Issues:

1)      USSA’s institutionalized budget campaign which will also include direct lobbying for an improved College Reinvestment Act in the coming year.

2)      Increasing the student voice through our institutionalized voter engagement campaign.

3)      A new campaign targeting a reduction in student debt.

4)      A new campaign on student fee and shared governance legislation.

A number of other internal issues were debated with the hopes of continuing to improve USSA’s national power and influence. Students authored and edited these policy suggestions over many days, culminating in 24.5 hours of debate in 36 hours. OSA sent Emma Kallaway (our new Executive Director) so she could network with our national partners and also co-chair USSA’s plenary debate.

Oregon’s Nationally Elected Representatives:

• Alexandra Flores-Quilty USSA Pacific Northwest Regional Chair
• Anayeli Jimenez DREAM Caucus Chair
• John Price Community College Caucus Chair
• OSA will also elect a representative for the remainder of the year. Our interim representative has been Torii Uyehara.

Suggested Articles:

1)      House Approves Student Loan Interest Rate Bill

2)      Why The Student Loan Deal Is Bad News For Students

3)      An Unusual Feat in Congress: Student Loan Bill Breezes On

The U.S Government has shut down the same week the U.S Congress discusses the need to slash food stamps, unemployment rates are at near record highs, and our class rooms are over capacity. Yesterday, the Oregon Legislature took the necessary votes to reinvest $40 million to public universities and community colleges. This support will significantly improve the lives of Oregon’s neediest students. Improving access to mandatory classes, graduation rates, and buying down tuition is absolutely critical to ensure students graduate with manageable debt.

It makes us sad to discuss with legislators “manageable debt” when a student loan is the only type of debt you can’t write-off in bankruptcy. Buying down tuition lowers our over-all debt load and increases the likelihood that students go to school in the 1st place. We will continue to take on debt for things like tuition; books, food and adequate housing.

In 2013, there are students who, during winter months, decide to sleep in 24 hour libraries rather than their homes because they cannot afford to turn on the heater. Furthermore, we see more and more students dumpster diving for food, using food banks on campus and in the community because for them that is what financial sacrifice means. We cannot continue to force students to use services that were not intended for us nor can we continue to increase the financial burden on students who have fewer and fewer job opportunities upon graduation.

We are saddened that parts of this Grand Bargain hurt some of Oregon’s poorest workers. We also know that this bill is a band-aid. Over the last month we have stood hand-in-hand with our classified workers as together we prepared for a possible strike. We believe that in times of limited funding we need to cut administrative bloat and settle fair contracts with our workers. The changes to PERS hurt us, our workers, our community, and our families. The pains of this deal must not be lost on any of us when we revisit the budget during the 2015 legislative session.

We could do better, Oregon could do better. After much debate on campus OSA came to support the grand bargain because we need the help. We applaud the work of the Governor and legislative leadership. Thank you for coming together to form what we see as a very impactful yet imperfect resolution to a patchwork of issues. Here is a synopsis of the events that unfolded in Salem Oregon on October 2, 2013.

After two long days of committee meetings Speaker Kotek called the Oregon House to order around 8:45am just a few moments after Majority Leader Hoyle  and Minority Leader McLane requested 30 minutes to caucus and about an hour later the Oregon House reconvened.

Debate on the complex tax reform bill (HB 3601) began with bill carriers Rep. Davis and Rep. Read calling on the House to act quickly and in good conscious.   This was the first time rank and file members were able to express their opinions on all five pieces of legislation on the record.  Rep. Barton was the first member to call for no votes on the tax bill saying “How can we in the same day pass legislation that gives lawyers, doctors, business owners and lobbyist a tax break and cut benefits to retirees?” Still some members expressed their concerns and others praised the bill. Needing a 3/5^ths majority to pass tax changes the Speaker withheld dropping the gavel as the vote was 3 shy of passing.  The gavel suspension lasted over an hour while leadership scrambled to find more votes.

Meanwhile on the Senate side of the building President Courtney postponed the convening of the Senate by half an hour to allow the House time to continue working. Speaker Kotek called the House back to order and asked for motions of reconsideration. 3 Democrats, Rep. Barnhart, Rep. Keny-Guyer, and Rep. Lively changed their ‘nays’ to ‘yays’ giving the Speaker the constitutionally mandated 3/5^th majority (36 votes) needed to pass the bill.

Debate then turned to HB 5101 which allocates new revenue to public education, disability services and creates a dedicated fund for mental health services among other things.  Representative Jensen, while supportive of the bill, didn’t think community colleges were getting nearly enough of the revenue as the largest educator of Oregon’s workforce.  After a few hours of debate and the passage of 2 bills the House recessed for lunch while the Senate began debate on the PERS changes (SB 861 and SB 862) as well as the GMO bill (SB 863).  Senate Republicans and Democrats had similar sentiments about cutting benefits to retirees but ultimately passed both bills relating to the Public Employee Retirement System.  The GMO bill met little resistance in the Senate but saw the House with a lengthy debate.  Representative Peter Buckley (Ashland, OR) gave a passionate floor speech in opposition to the GMO regulation bill saying this was an issue better left to counties to regulate, and described the concerns of his constituents.  The House swept through the final bills of the day. The Senate finished debate on the revenue bill and tax changes with moderate back and forth debate.  All 5 bills were passed by each chamber and are expected to be signed by the Governor, who warned multiple times that he wouldn’t sign any unless every bill passed.  The revenue bill will give public higher education an additional $40 million to buy-down tuition and increase quality on public university campuses and community colleges.

Before President Courtney dropped the gavel to adjourn Sine Die, Senator Ted Ferrioli commended the House and Senate and Special Session Joint Committee on their long day and nights of work.  Saying that this is a place where republicans and democrats can find common ground and make the lives of Oregonians better. He ended with “this is Oregon, My Oregon not Washington D.C.” The Oregon Legislature adjourned Sine Die at 4:48 pm.

Next up in Oregon’s State Capitol are Interim Legislative Work Days November 20^th – 22^nd.

-Mario

The Interim Legislative Days got off to a start Wednesday morning in Salem as legislators began three packed days of informal committee meetings.  From House Higher Education to Senate Rules, your OSA staff was there the entire time.  These final committee days of 2013 saw the confirmation and swearing in of Senator Michael Dembrow – formerly the representative from SE Portland and chair of House Higher Ed, Senate confirmations for institutional boards for the University of Oregon, Portland State University and Oregon State University and hearings on the Oregon Promise – Senator Mark Hass’s ‘Free Community College’ concept and University Governance and Shared Services.  The legislature was given an update on the Revenue Forecast that showed the state’s economy is essentially flat-lining – which isn’t a bad thing at all.  Eastern Oregon Representative and longtime higher education champion, Bob Jenson also announced he will not be seeking re-election in 2014.

Your Legislative Director was able to meet with several legislators who are working on issues for students in the 2014 session and coalition partners as well.  Our 2014 – 2015 legislative agenda is continuously being developed and legislators from both sides of the aisle are eager to tackle the issue of affordability and quality of Oregon’s post-secondary education systems.  The short session is often a time for fixing bills or defending budgets we passed in the previous session but students aren’t sitting this session out by any means.  Our agenda is robust and proactive and will address affordability and student debt from several angles.  While our work in the legislature will be thorough this session we also have to be diligent of work being done on campus as budget / tuition season is upon on. 

Below are links to a few highlights of the past few days.  More details will be included in the next Legislative Director update in January.

Oregon Promise – https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2013I1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/31178

University Governance Shared Services Presentation – https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2013I1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/31063

Oregon Revenue Forecast December 2013 – http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/OEA/docs/economic/forecast1213.pdf

-Mario

To mark Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday today, about 70 advocates and organizers, including the Oregon Student Association, will deliver “Facing Race: the 2013 Oregon Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity” to Oregon legislators in Salem. The report card is  a multi-issue assessment of the 2013 legislative session, evaluating lawmaker’s commitment to advancing opportunity and addressing disparities affecting Oregonians of color. The  report card was put together by the Western States Center and the Oregon Student Association along with many other advocacy groups signed on in support earlier this year and have taken an active role in it’s creation. 

“Facing Race is a collaborative effort of the Racial Equity Report Working Groups that includes: Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, Basic Rights Oregon, Causa Oregon,Center for Intercultural Organizing, Partnership for Safety and Justice,Urban League of Portland and Western States Center.

In this report card, each member of the Oregon House and Senate was given an individual grade, based on both their votes and their leadership on 21 bills. Out of 30 Senators, there were 13 A’s, 3 B’s, 3 C’s and 11 Needs Improvement. Out of 60 Representatives, there were 25 A’s, 9 B’s, 5 C’s and 21 Needs Improvement.

Out of the 21 bills examined in this report card, 18 were passed into law compared to 10 out of the 23 that were examined in the 2011 Facing Race report card. Although there has been some progress, more work and leadership is needed to meaningfully address issues of racial equity.  

Oregon’s racial and economic gaps run deep. For example, in 2012, the poverty rate for Whites was only 15%, but 30% for Latinos, 34% for Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 36% for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and 41% for African Americans. The report also includes recommendations to improve Oregon’s approach to racial equity and inclusion” (From the Western States Center).

Download the report here: http://www.westernstatescenter.org/tools-and-resources/register-download-2013-facing-race

The January Legislative Days were packed for The Oregon Student Association. Our priorities this week were lobbying efforts on our Financial Aid Protection bill, Good Samaritan legislation, governance reform, and electoral engagement access.

Lobby Visits

OSA executed over thirty meetings with legislators and leadership staff during the 3 Interim Committee Days.  Discussing issues from the Good Samaritan legislation about how the state can help increase reporting rates of alcohol poisoning to Higher One’s excessive fees and predatory marketing.  Lots of conversations were had regarding regional university governance and student representation on the Higher Education Coordinating Commission as well as how the institutions can increase voter registration efforts on college campuses.

Students from OSU, WOU, EOU, UO, and PSU made the trip to Salem during the committee days and spent several hours in hearings for Regional University Governance, Higher Education and Consumer Protections to name a few.  The OSA Legislative Director and Executive Director spent some time gaining new co-sponsors for our priority issues as well; including the Student Loan Tax Benefit, Governance and Voter Registration.  With the bill filing deadline approaching on Tuesday January 21^st – many lobbyists, advocates and organizations were in the building shopping bills and getting members to sign on to concepts.  Although this isn’t the official beginning of the legislative session the feeling amongst everyone in the capitol is clear that the legislative session is in full swing. 

Confirmation of new House of Representative Member

Representative Barbara Smith Warner was confirmed early Wednesday afternoon – replacing Michael Dembrow – who was recently appointed to the state senate. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/12/barbara_smith_warner_new_orego.html

Racial Equity Report

“Facing Race: the 2013 Oregon Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity” is a multi-issue assessment of the 2013 legislative session, evaluating lawmaker’s commitment to advancing opportunity and addressing disparities affecting Oregonians of color. The  report card was put together by the Western States Center. The Oregon Student Association along with many other advocacy groups signed on in support earlier this year and have taken an active role in it’s creation.

Oregon Student Access Commission

The Oregon Student Access Commission (OSAC) met on Friday 1/17/2014. The commission is helping the Higher Education Coordinating Commission decide how the Oregon Opportunity Grant, Oregon’s only need based aid program, will be allocated moving forward. They are going to answer hard questions. For example, should the OOG be allocated to everyone regardless of how small the grant will be or should we provided a more meaningful grant to a smaller number of people. The Oregon Student Association BOD Chair and Vice Chair brought forward similar questions to OSA General Assembly to aid OSAC in their efforts to meet the needs of students.

OSAC also reported that community college students are filing for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) this year at a higher right than last year. There is increased activity from all student segments for their Oregon Opportunity Grant.  OSAC is on track to allocate $54.5-55.5 million dollars this year and about 55 million+ for 2014-15. There are 34,000 recipients in 2013-14.  

Next steps

The short legislative session is scheduled to commence on Monday February 3^rd.  By the end of that week we must have public hearings scheduled for all of our priorities or they will die.  Let’s continue to prepare for the session by holding issue and lobby trainings on campus and lay the groundwork needed to be as ready as possible for the quick 45 day session.

-Mario Parker-Milligan

Oregon Student Association Legislative Director

The Oregon Student Association had one of the most robust agendas in the 77^th Legislative Session and had a presence in the capitol every single day.  Students organized multiple lobby days and actions calling attention to statewide issues students care about.  Students worked on proactive policies and defended the 2013 session budgets. Below is a synopsis of the accomplishments made by students and missed opportunities by the legislature.  OSA’s full 2014 End of Session Report will be published in the coming weeks.  This work could not have been made possible without the dedication of students statewide; from universities and community colleges making up a strong statewide nonpartisan student association.

Affordability

House Bill 5201[1] was the omnibus budget reconciliation bill for the 2014 Legislative Session. This piece of legislation includes 2014 session budget decisions, technical adjustments, and actions approved by the Interim Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

Aspirations to College – HB 4116[2]

OSA worked alongside community colleges to pass HB 4116; which appropriated $750,000 from the General Fund to Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (for the current biennium) to increase the number of underserved, low-income, and first-generation college-bound students who enroll in community college.  This is an impactful budget win for students in a session where we didn’t see an investment over previous years in the Oregon Opportunity Grant or any additional tuition buy downs.  It also addresses some of our core values in advocating for traditionally underrepresented communities in higher education.

Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG)

The committee increased funding for the OOG by $2.3 million from state Lottery Funds in the Oregon Student Access Commission’s (OSAC) budget.  This amount could provide an estimated 1,150 more grants to college students for the 2013-15 biennium. The committee did not restore any of the $2,332,612 General Fund that was reduced from OSAC’s adopted budget for the 2% supplemental ending balance holdback.

Oregon University System (OUS)

The committee approved a one-time General Fund appropriation of $2 million for the four technical and regional universities and Portland State University to fund new compensation agreements for classified staff.  The committee also approved a one-time $500,000 General Fund appropriation to both Eastern Oregon University and Southern Oregon University to assist those campuses for the remainder of the biennium as they address budget shortfalls.  These appropriations wouldn’t have been prioritized by the co-chairs without the consistent advocacy of OSA throughout the duration of the session.  This win will be celebrated by students profusely.

Employment Related Day Care (ERDC)

An increase of $2.2 million was approved by the committee and should allow the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) program to reach an average monthly caseload of 8,500 families over the last 12 months of the biennium.  This one-time funding increase is available due to a higher than anticipated amount of Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) carry forward revenue from the 2011-2013 biennium.  While this budget is larger than previous years there is a recognizable higher demand than the state can meet.  The work that OSA did to highlight the needs of student parents this session elevated the need to change the eligibility requirements for the ERDC.  OSA was able to work with other advocates and the legislature to develop and adopt the following budget note.

Budget Note:

The Oregon Department of Education – Early Learning Division’s Office of Child Care and the Department of Human Services will convene a workgroup of stakeholders to develop a set of policy recommendations on how best to modify the ERDC program to provide child care subsidies to working parents enrolled in post-secondary higher education. The agencies will report these recommendations back to the Emergency Board in May 2014; the expectation is that rulemaking to implement legislatively approved changes would follow soon after. Program elements to address within the recommendations should include eligibility criteria, work hour requirements, school attendance verification, academic standing expectations, limitations on assistance, TANF leavers, families having children with special needs, program exit income limits, child care quality, data reporting, caseload priorities, and program evaluation.

Community College Child Care – HB 4084:

OSA worked closely with Representative Jason Conger on House Bill 4084[3] for the first couple weeks of the session and was able to pass the bill through the House committee on Higher Ed.  Within the 1^st week of session the fiscal impact statement revealed that th necessary appropriation was too steep to pass the bill. Furthermore, the Oregon Community College Association created political barriers to its passage. It was then that OSA decided to work with Family Forward Oregon on the solution described above.

Free Community College Research Bill: SB 1524

Senator Mark Hass introduced SB 1524[4]; a bill that directs the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to research the feasibility of providing 2 years of community college free tuition for recent resident high school graduates. This concept received national attention and will be a upcoming priority for the HECC. The bill wouldn’t have garnered the attention it did had students, staff, faculty and community members elevated it through our combined advocacy.  Through the next few months OSA will work closely with the HECC to ensure planning moves ahead and possibly decreasing the ever growing debt loads our students face.

OSA’s Policy Priorities

Governance Omnibus Bill – SB 1525[5] WUE amendment

Senate Bill 1525, Senator Mark Hass’s omnibus bill, made technical changes to SB 270 and HB 3120.  OSA also was able to pass an amendment to SB 1525 that clarified a barrier which kept out of state students from registering to vote in Oregon, where they live at least 9 months of the year. Those students are no longer in jeopardy of losing your eligibility for the Western Undergraduate Exchange if they register to vote in Oregon.

SECTION 11 of SB 1525:

The act of registering to vote by a student who is attending a post-secondary institution of education has no effect in determining that student’s eligibility to participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange coordinated by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education established under ORS. 351.780.

Medical Amnesty: HB 4094[6]

OSA worked with Representative Doherty to pass a statewide Medical Amnesty bill.  House Bill 4094 passed through both chamber unanimously due to the work of students to build bipartisan support.  The bill allows immunity to minors in possession of alcohol if they are attempting to seek medical emergency services.  This will allow persons under the age of 21 to contact emergency services or law enforcement if they or a friend are in need of medical assistance.  This is a monumental win for students. One that sets the foundation for greater protections, without fear of legal retribution, a bill that will truly save lives.

Missed opportunities

Financial Aid Protections: HB 4102[7]

HB 4102 provided increased protections for student financial aid. Creating restrictions on the types of contracts campuses signed with 3^rd party financial firms like HigherOne. This bill passed through the House and failed to gain enough support in the Senate.  Financial aid protection is a hot button topic right now and OSA used that public discourse to draw the attention of Oregon legislators.  We utilized informational hearings and aggressive lobbying efforts to exhaust all options for passing this bill. In the end Higher One and some of our public higher education institutions lobbied harder and prevailed in stalling the bill.  OSA will continue to support this work on campuses and by working with the US Department of Education through their rule making process in the near future.

Student Loan Tax Benefits: HB 4097[8]

HB 4097 would have created a student loan tax subtraction, allowing individuals who attended an Oregon university or community college to subtract 100% of the interest paid on their loans from their taxable state income.  This bill failed to gain the support of House Revenue committee chair Phil Barnhart due to an unknown Revenue Impact.  We will continue to work with chief sponsor Rep. Julie Parrish in the interim to craft similar legislation for the 2015 session.

Voter Registration Access Bill: SB 1581[9]

Senate Bill 1581 was a bill that would have granted unprecedented access on campuses for students for the purpose of nonpartisan voter registration.  This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules where it was held up for a number of weeks before being amended by Senator Close and Senator Ferrioli. It passed the senate with strong bipartisan support (20-10) and despite intense organizing by OSA and supporters inside and outside of the building, failed to secure a required public hearing and work session before Sine Die on March 7^th, 2014.  This issue was not lost because students didn’t try to pass it.  We pushed the bill to the final hours gaining new supporters and educating legislators on our issue. We lost because campus administrators avidly worked against us. We also lost because in the end students were splintered off by concerns that we did not have enough time to address. A bifurcation of our organization will always be a sure fire way to kill a bill.   We should however celebrate our organizing efforts and endurance on this topic. In the interim we will gain better access on our campuses and search for champions interested in protecting the electoral engagement of students.

Governance Improvements: HB 4147[10]

HB 4147 would have made improved our higher education governance system by adding a third student to the HECC and restoring the voting rights for all student commissioners. In addition, the bill would have added a 2^nd student seat to institutional boards for universities; created by Senate Bill 270.  Finally, the bill would have created some local accountability for the institutional boards by giving student and faculty a path to removing a local board member. The formal review process allowed for the removal of any institutional board member if the student and faculty senates each pass a Vote of No Confidence by a 2/3rds majority.  This issue was tough for leadership and most rank and file legislators to wrap their heads around.  House leadership believed they negotiated a better deal for students in 2013 when they successfully placed a student, with voting rights, on each institutional board – only after removing the voting rights of students from the HECC.  We will continue to work with our legislative champions and leadership to improve governance in higher education in the interim.

Senator Merkley invited our Executive Director Emma Kallaway to D.C. to testify in front of the Senate Economic Subcommittee on Banking and Housing on June 6/25. Senator Elizabeth Warren was also present to ask questions.

Here are the links to her oral and written testimony.

The hearing was picked up by Time magazine.

As a member of the panel it was Emma’s job was to discuss the long term impacts of student loan debt on the US economy, convey her personal story, and share student stories. Emma took the invitation, only after asking if they wanted a current student leader. The Senator’s office wanted someone who had graduated from a public institution.

The next morning, Emma was invited to the Oregon only meeting in D.C on 6/26, entitled “Good Morning Oregon.” Senator Merkley’s staff was in attendance and Emma took the opportunity to advertise our voter registration efforts and lobby for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Later that day Emma attended the U.S Senate hearing on “sexual assault on college campuses.” The debate was informative. The politics of this important issue often boil down to what is the role of the institution to prevent and report. OSA students should develop a clear opinion on prevention and reporting as well as solutions before moving forward with lobbying on this issue in Oregon. Everyone on the panel agreed that sexual assault is drastically under reported. Members of the panel asked that lawmakers avoid further fixes to the crime of sexual assault that victimizes a person not just once but often twice. We need real policy and cultural changes on our college campuses.

Interestingly, the Cleary Act requires disclosure of this information in an annual security report. In Oregon we should review this and make a public document comparing the reports of different schools and consider using that report to lobby elected officials.

Emma spent the remainder of her time in Washington lobbing Congresswoman Bonamici, Congressman Schrader, and Congressman Defazio’s staff. 

When the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed and enforced, it was the first time that African American communities became an electoral force in the South. For the first time in US history, communities of color had a foothold in our political system. This political power quickly resulted in policy victories that have helped our communities to address institutionalized racism and challenge our political subordination. Why then, in 2014, do Voting Rights seem so important?

“Voting Rights are a real battle of our time,” says Emma Kallaway, Executive Director of the Oregon Student Association. In the West, we are lucky to have some of the strongest laws in the country protecting our right to vote. In Oregon, for example, vote by mail results in high voter participation. But we know that there are still barriers to voting especially for underrepresented communities.”

Not everyone in our communities has access to voting. Some decision makers want to limit voter participation by passing laws that exclude specific individuals or by setting up barriers that impact communities broadly. People of color, young people, LGBTQ people, people living with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, low-income families, and the formerly incarcerated are often targets of this kind of legislation.

In June of 2014, the Voting Rights Act was gutted by the Supreme Court. When it passed it became easier for states to pass discriminatory voting rules. In just over 3 months, 53% of the states have passed voting restrictions including ending same day registration, purging voter rolls and limiting voting hours.

While people experiencing homelessness are eligible to vote, the system remains challenging to making this a reality. Having a consistent place to call home makes voting more accessible. For members of our communities experiencing homelessness, this is a serious barrier — especially for young people, students, and LGBTQ people of color.  LGBTQ youth of color experience homelessness at a rate far higher than their peers, often because their home environment becomes unstable or unsafe after they come out.  Among homeless youth nationally, 42% are LGBTQ and 65% are people of color.

Students face barriers to voting, including LGBTQ Students of Color. Moving an average of once a year, students need to re-register annually. Jennifer Gibbons, Equal rights Organizer at OSA shares, “Students have seen ballot drop sites moved out of our neighborhoods, their ID’s rejected and a weight of history telling us our vote doesn’t matter. LGBTQ communities and communities of color are growing, and registering students to vote is an important contribution in enfranchising our communities.” Oregonians have seen the rights of LGBTQ people debated on the ballot 35 times in the past thirty years. We’ve voted on racial equity, immigrant’s rights, worker’s rights and women’s rights. With this active of a ballot, students — and especially LGBTQ students of color — cannot afford to sit any elections out.

The Oregon Student Association (OSA) is a statewide organization that is a student-led that prioritizes advocacy and organizing to represent, serve and protect the collective interests of students in post-secondary education in Oregon.  Pledge to vote here this November 4^th!

Oregon students attended the Ways and Means Education Subcommittee’s university budget hearing in Salem today and the community college budget hearing last week to advocate for more accessible and affordable higher education. They asked committee members to restore funding for university and community college budgets and stop the downpour of student debt.

Students demanded increases to higher education budgets including: $755 million for universities and $560 million for community colleges. These increased budget allocations will help stabilize funding for higher education in Oregon and prevent sharp tuition increases next year.

Reinvestment in higher education is badly needed. Oregon has a steady pattern of disinvestment from higher education and it is hurting students. Between 2002 and 2012, funding per student at Oregon decreased by 32%, from $5,663 to $3,650 in inflation adjusted dollars. This disinvestment has begun pricing students out of an education and causing them to go into increasing student debt. This year, 72% of Oregon students will graduate with student debt and the average student debt in Oregon is over $27,000. Total student debt in the United States increases by $2,853.88 per second.

Even now as students continue to struggle to pay for school, the state legislature is debating budgets that will put greater hardship on Oregon’s students by hiking tuition or eliminating services.

If tuition increased by 8% next year we would see the average Oregon student pay $706 more dollars per year in tuition. That is equivalent to 6 months of groceries for the average student. Tuition hikes like those being debated by our elected officials often force students to make tough choice about continuing their education. College students shouldn’t have to drown in debt to get a good education.

Oregon Students,

The legislative session is now half way through and Oregon Students have a lot to show for it.  All of our top priority legislative policies are alive and moving, several 2^nd chamber hearings are scheduled for the coming weeks and most of our 2nd priority bills are moving as well.  All of this is possible because of the amazing work students did last year to register, educate and turn out students to vote AND because students keep showing up in Salem to display authentic advocacy.  We have to have this same level of detail and intentionality to move these through to the finish line before we can really celebrate each win.  For now, please know the work you have been doing in the field (on-campus) is working in the building (the Capitol).  Keep up the phenomenal work!

In solidarity,

Mario

Below you will find an update on all of those plus an update on bills the association has come out against this session.  A thorough update on OSA’s budget priorities will be available in the coming weeks.

Top Priority Bills

New Motor Voter : HB 2177

Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide information of eligible voters to the Secretary of State for purposes of registering to vote and/or updating existing voter registration information of individuals. This law essentially automatically registers people to vote and updates their registration information any time they update with the DMV.  This law was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Brown and is expected to add around 300,000 to the voter rolls by the 2016 general election.

Status: Signed by Governor Kate Brown 3/16/15

Cultural Competency: HB 3308

This bill would direct the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to convene a work group to develop recommendations, cost, and efficacy of cultural competency continuing education.  The first public hearing went successfully with students from various institutions sharing personal experiences they’ve faced which have negatively impacted their college careers and personal health.  Committee members expressed concern the bill didn’t go far enough and wouldn’t address the immediate needs of students.  OSA worked with the HECC to draft amendments to include 1^st Generation Students in the frame work of the work group’s directives and extended the report back from Sept. 2015 to May of 2016.

Status: Passed House with bipartisan support, Hearing scheduled in Senate Committee on Education for Thursday 5/7/15 at 1pm

 Survivor – Advocate Privilege: HB 3476

This is one of two priority bills which address sexual assault and sexual violence that OSA is prioritizing this session.  This bill would grant trained advocates privileged communications between victims of sexual and domestic violence.  When passed this would create a confidential resource on and off campus for victims of sexual assault.  Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum among a large group of bipartisan legislators has spoken out loudly for this bill’s passage.  Along with the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the Oregon Law Center, and the Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, OSA has made this issue a priority for legislative leadership within both chambers and both parties and is expected to pass the Senate and be signed by the Governor.

Status: Passed House unanimously, referred to Senate Judiciary, no public hearing scheduled

Campus Sexual Assault Protocols: SB 759

This bill has garnered widespread support of legislators and has been championed by Senator Sara Gelser (D –Corvallis/ Albany).  The first public hearing went very well for supporters and has helped user this bill through the Senate. OSA worked with Sen. Gelser to amend the bill completely to include all public and private post-secondary institutions based in Oregon.  The bill requires colleges and universities to provide written notification to victims of sexual assault of their legal rights to recourse on and off campus, privacy limitations they face when seeing a counselor or therapist on campus, and resources available to them on and off campus.  This bill passed Senate Education with a do pass recommendation and passed the Senate unanimously.

Status: Passed Senate unanimously, Hearing scheduled in House Committee on Higher Education, Innovation, and Workforce Development for Monday 5/4/15

LGBTQ Data Collection and Preferred 1^st Name: SB 473

This is the second session OSA has worked on this issue.  We were able to pass this through the House in 2013 with then Representative Sara Gelser championing the issue.  Senator Gelser introduced this into Senate Education and worked with OSA pre-session to add the language allowing students to use a first name other than what is their legal first name on certain college documents, such as class lists, campus directories and student ID cards, as well as diplomas where not federally prohibited.  We had a great first hearing and were forced to amend the bill to ensure its survival in the Capitol. The amendments removed community colleges from the entire introduced version of the bill and created a new section directing them to work with the HECC to identify barriers to implementation and report back to the legislature by May 2016 with most low cost option to implement.    The committee adopted the amendments and passed the bill on a party line vote and sent the bill to Ways & Means due to an unforeseen fiscal impact statement of $53,000 by the HECC.  We have confirmation from the co-chairs of Ways and Means and leadership that this will be a priority to fund.

Status: Passed Senate Education, Referred to Joint Committee on Ways & Means, the fiscal attached to this will be rolled into the HECC budget and the bill sent to both chambers for a floor vote.

Access to Opportunity: SB 932

Our first hearing was a great example of under-promising and over-producing.  The coalition expected 30 people to attend the hearing and over 100 supporters showed up and filled the hearing room and most of the overflow space in the galleria.  Institutions and legislative leaders joined students and advocates to voice support for the bill that would expand eligibility of the Oregon Opportunity Grant to Tuition Equity students.  Additionally, the bill removes the requirement to enroll in university within 3 years of graduating from high school or receiving a GED and removes the 5 year period a student has to utilize Tuition Equity once enrolled in a university.  This bill received little opposition in committee and was passed to the Joint Committee on Ways & Means due to the $40,000 fiscal impact statement attached to the bill by the HECC in order to implement the Oregon Opportunity Grant Expansion.

Status: Passed Senate Education, Referred to Joint Committee on Ways & Means

2nd Priority Bills

Minimum Wage: HB 2009

This bill would increase Oregon’s minimum wage from the current $9.25 to $15 per hour in graduated steps by September 2018.  OSA joined a coalition of dozens of organizations calling on the legislature to increase Oregon’s minimum wages to something closer to a living wage.  The first hearings resulted in dozens of proponents and opponents to the change.  There are multiple proposals to increase the minimum wage; however this is the vehicle with the most momentum.  It’s unclear if legislative leadership will bring this bill to the floor for a vote.

Status: Public hearings and worksessions held in House Committee on Business and Labor, referred to House Committee on Rules.

Employment Related Day Care: HB 2015

OSA has worked with Speaker Kotek’s office to stay regularly updated on the progress of this bill and to lend support wherever is helpful. The Speaker’s office has carried most of the work on the bill so far and the outlook is positive. This bill has maintained the component that “permit[s] students enrolled in coursework and self-employed persons to receive subsidized employment-related child care.” OSA will continue to track this bill and work with the Speaker’s office.

Status: Passed House Human Services and Housing Committee and referred to the Ways and Means Committee.

Debt Collection Regulations:  HB 2252

This bill establishes requirements under which debt buyer may bring legal action to collect debt, including notice debt buyer must give to debtor. The bill makes violation unlawful collection practice. Increases time period during which debtor may bring action for unlawful collection practice and increases amount of damages court may award. Permits court to award attorney fees and costs to prevailing plaintiff. Permits award to prevailing defendant only if court finds plaintiff did not have objectively reasonable standard for bringing action. Students support this bill due to the impacts debt collection practices can have on an individual and family immediately and overtime.  Students believe this will increase accountability on debt collection agencies in Oregon.

Status: Public hearing and worksession held in House Committee on Consumer Protection and Government Effectiveness, passed out of committee without recommendation as to passage and referred to House Committee on Rules.  OSA will continue to support this bill and take direction from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association.

Banning Conversion Therapy: HB 2307

OSA students testified in support of the bill and as a coalition partner recruited for public hearing days. We will continue to work will Basic Rights Oregon and other coalition partners on the bill as it now moves to the Senate. Significant organizing work has been done on this bill and the work has paid off. The outlook is positive and we will continue to work with coalition partners to pass the bill on the Senate side, including additional testimony.

Status: Passed the House, Passed Senate Committee on Human Services and Early Childhood, Referred to Senate President’s desk and awaiting a Senate Floor Vote.

Open Education Resources: HB 2871

Linked bills: HB 2513, HB 2516, these bill are no longer alive

OSA organized students to testify on Open Education resources for the public hearing on HB 2513 and 2516 on March 11th. After that public hearing members of the House Higher Education Committee formed a workgroup to take the different concepts/solutions around OERs and consolidate them into one approach. From that workgroup an amendment will be drafted to replace the language in HB 2871 with the proposed course of action that the workgroup decided on. From our conversations with workgroup members the bill will include about a $1 million allocation to the HECC to fund grants to institutions with OER programs that focus primarily on the most commonly taken courses and to hire a staff member for the HECC to coordinate and administer the OER program.

Status: Passed House Committee on Higher Education, Innovation, and Workforce Development, referred to Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

University Shared Services: HB 2611

OSA has provided support to this bill and has worked with higher education coalition partners. An amendment will be made to the bill to remove the University of Oregon from the risk management component of the shared services. OSA continues to track this bill closely.  We’ve followed the lead of our coalition partners and will continue to provide support as needed.

Status: Passed House Committee on Higher Education, Innovation, and Workforce Development with a do pass recommendation, Passed House Floor

Pay it Forward Pilot Program: HB 2662

OSA testified on this bill and submitted written testimony during the public hearing on March 6th. The organizing work to get the bill out of committee was substantial and the passage of the bill through the entire legislature is unlikely. We met recently with Sami Alloy from WFO to discuss strategy to move the bill forward. We will continue to work with the Working Families Organization (coalition lead) to track the progress of the bill and the organizing work that will be happening.

Status: Passed the House Higher Education Committee and referred to the House Revenue Committee with subsequent referral to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

Financial Aid Disbursement Contracts: HB 2832

Linked Bills: HB 2254, HB 3184, these are no longer ‘alive’ but contents were stuffed into HB 2832

OSA gave a presentation on campus debit cards and additional students testified on the Higher One bills on March 13th. After that hearing we continued to work with Representatives Holvey and Nathanson to develop amendments that bring all of the components of the three bills into a single bill. House Bill 2832 will become the vehicle for our student financial aid protection efforts. The amendments to the bill will include the requirement that contracts with third party financial aid firms are publicly available, prohibiting revenue sharing, prohibiting the $0.50 debit transaction fee, and prohibiting fees for receiving direct deposit or a paper check. The amendments will also require governing boards at public universities and community colleges to review contracts based on US Department of Education and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Standards and that the Shared Services Enterprise research methods for multiple institutions to collectively contract with a financial aid disbursement service. We are also in conversations with the lobbyist for Higher One about possible agreements.  However, OSA will need to actively work to build and maintain support for this bill and focus efforts in the Senate to build the necessary support to pass.

Status: Passed House, referred to Senate President’s desk for referral.

Affordable Baccalaureate Degree Act : HB 2973

OSA testified in support of the bill on March 9th. We have been meeting regularly with Representative Whisnant’s office and HECC staff to stay up to date on the bill and lend support where helpful. We worked with HECC to draft an amendment which changed the bill to create a HECC work group to research a fixed cost bachelor’s degree based on certain criteria and will report back during the 2016 session. OSA is supportive of participating in the work group the bill will create and will continue to track the bill in the Senate.

Status: Passed from the House Committee on Higher Education, Innovation, and Workforce Development with amendments, passed the House, Hearing scheduled in Senate Committee on Education 5/12/15.

Student Loan Interest Tax Subtraction Increase: HB 3342

OSA testified in support of this bill on March 18th and has been working with Representative Rayfield’s office to track the development and progress of the legislation.  We’ve seen both vocal supporters and opponents of this bill. There will be an amendment to the bill that raises the income cap to receive tax deduction benefits and to simultaneously lower the home mortgage interest rate deduction cap to maintain the revenue neutral nature of the bill. Moving forward OSA will continue to work with Representative Rayfield’s office on the strategy to maintain the necessary votes in the House to pass the bill and to build the necessary support in the Senate.

Status: Passed House Committee on Higher Education, Innovation, and Workforce Development, referred to House Committee on Revenue.

Student Whistleblower Protection Act: HB 3371

The bill is introduced as the “Student Whistleblower Protection Bill.” Representative Buckley has introduced the bill and Representative Holvey is championing the issue and coordinating as lead on the bill. We spoke to Rep. Holvey’s office on a separate matter and they brought this bill up and asked us to work with them on the issue. The bill has received strong bipartisan support as well as support from various institutions.

Status: Passed House with bipartisan support, Referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary

University and Community College Staffing Ratio Reports: SB 113

OSA provided testimony in support of the bill and we are continuing to work with Senator Dembrow’s office and higher education coalition partners on the bill. We’re taking lead from coalition partners and will continue to be supportive as needed.

Status: Passed Senate Committee on Education and referred to Joint Committee on Ways and Means

Good Samaritan Law: SB 839

Exempts specified persons from arrest and prosecution for certain offenses and for certain violations of terms of release or supervision if evidence of offense was obtained because emergency medical services or law enforcement agency was contacted to obtain necessary medical assistance due to drug-related overdose.

This bill is an expansion of a bill OSA worked with Rep. Doherty to pass in 2014, the Medical Amnesty for Minors Act of 2014 provided criminal exemption for people under the age of 21 seeking medical assistance in an alcohol related emergency.  This bill provides similar exemptions for individuals seeking medical assistance for another person experiencing a drug related-overdose.  This is picking up strong bipartisan support.

Status: Passed Senate with bipartisan support, referred to House Committee on Judiciary

Campaign Contributions Constitutional Amendment: SJR 5

This bill would place a measure on the 2016 general election ballot asking Oregon voters to amend the state’s constitution to give the legislature and the people of Oregon (through the initiative process) to establish campaign contributions for candidates for elected office.  Oregon’s constitution doesn’t allow for the state legislature to set limits so a constitutional amendment is required.  OSA submitted testimony in support of the joint resolution along with various organizations, a group of bipartisan legislators and Governor Brown.

Status: Hearing in Senate Committee on Rules held, no work session scheduled as of yet.

Bills Opposed

Community College Tuition Waiver: SB 81

Folks will remember this as the Free Community College bill.  This version of the free community college concept is a last-dollar-in approach, meaning that it would grant certain individuals a tuition waiver for the remaining balance of tuition and fees that weren’t covered by available Pell grants, Oregon Opportunity Grants, and scholarships.  Students debated and decided this concept wasn’t the deal students were willing to go to bat for and wouldn’t benefit the financially neediest of Oregon’s students and opposed the bill.  While there was considerable amount of opposition to the bill, no organization has backed this legislation and several legislators have spoken out against it.  Though it passed committee its apparent the funding for this concept is not a high priority for Ways and Means co-chairs.

Status: Passed Senate Committee on Education, referred to Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

Oregon Education Investment Board Sunset Removal: SB 215

Since this bill was first introduced and hearings held a workgroup was convened at the order of Senate Education Committee Chair Senator Roblan.  The work group has met nearly every week since early March to develop amendments and discuss the future of what is the Oregon Education Investment Board agency now.  Amendments included dissolve the current board, extends the sunset by 4 years on the agency (which includes 5 staff), freezes the OEIBs budget of $20M and extends the current work group convening through the summer and fall to provide additional recommendations to the legislature by February 2016.  Your Legislative Director will continue to participate and monitor the work of this work group through this process.

Status: Public Hearing and Worksession held in Senate Education, Passed Committee and Referred to Senate Committee on Rules.

Missed Opportunities: Failed Bills

These bills didn’t make the 1^st chamber deadline for one reason or another, none of which is due to a lack of organizing.  However, it is recommended that student leaders consider these for future sessions.  OSA staff has already begun discussing the future of these issues with their respective chief sponsors.

• Student Loan Interest Tax Credit: SB 530
• Student Loan Tax Subtraction: HB 2768
• Community College Child Care Needs Assessment: HB 3407
• Graduate Student Seat on Institutional Boards : HB 3237

This has been a great legislative session for Oregon college students! We have passed ALL of our top priority policy bills! We have had huge wins and it was all because of the amazing organizing and advocacy work students did this session. Thank you for all your hard work!!

By Mario Parker Milligan, Executive Director of the Oregon Student Association and Nikki Fisher, Executive Director of the Oregon Bus Project

In Oregon, we modernized our voting system to allow for online voter registration, vote by mail, and when there are limitations, it’s been our motto to find solutions.

We did it last legislative session with Oregon Motor Voter. We know voter registration continues to be a barrier for individuals to access a ballot. We worked with then Secretary of State Kate Brown, and proposed a solution. We became the first state to proclaim:  If you are an eligible voter, and want to vote,  it is our policy to get you a ballot. From now on, when you go to the DMV, you’ll be registered to vote without any extra steps needed (unless you choose to opt out).

As leading nonprofits working to register, educate and mobilize young voters, Oregon Student Association and the Bus Project are working together to find real solutions to barriers to the ballot. This short session, we have an opportunity to pass a bill that has a real and sensible solution to an urgent problem.

The problem: Many Oregonians are excluded from the voting process because of the requirement of postage stamps on ballots.

We need to do more to ensure all young, eligible voters have access to the polls. When we ask young people if they have a postage stamp, many of them respond with a laugh, confused face, or just say no. Because technology has changed from predominately a world where we pay our bills online, bank online, and do transaction in a more digital world, it has made acquiring a postage stamp impractical. There is a barrier set up that prevents young and low income people from voting. Because post offices have been closing, many Oregonians must go out of their way to purchase a stamp in order to cast a ballot. Millennials often go to school, work multiple jobs, and are not available to go to the post office during business hours, leaving them with few options.

The Oregon Student Associations and the Bus Project have registered hundreds of thousands of Oregonians to vote over the last decade. We want to know when we register voters, that it is an easy, sensible, and empowering experience. Our organizations have a long history with making voter registration more accessible. We helped fight for pre-registration of 17 year olds, online voter registration, and Oregon Motor Voter.

Rural Oregonians who have even less opportunities to purchase postage stamps can benefit a great deal from this. Disadvantaged young people, working parents, and folks living on a fixed income would also benefit from this solution. We would also continue setting precedence for increasing access to our democracy. We think this is the best option to help equalize the playing field and give a voice to everyone. Take action today and tell your legislators to remove barriers to the ballot HERE.

General Update

The Oregon Student Association started off the session with a successful lobby day. Since then, Students have been in the building every day testifying and lobbying on our priority issues. This short session has been an extremely busy one, as members debate the minimum wage, housing, and balancing the budget.  There is still about two and a half weeks left of session, which means we will have a short amount of time to get the rest of our bills through! Below is an update on where our bills are at currently.

Priority 1 Bills

•  Civic Engagement Bill (SB 1586) – At the beginning of February, Oregon Students began lobbying the legislature for full passage of SB 1586. Our Civic Engagement bill is scheduled for a work session today, Tuesday (2/16) and has the support of most of the members on the Senate Rules Committee. On Tuesday, members will also be discussing an amendment that OSA and Universities jointly developed which will put the responsibility of requesting access for nonpartisan voter engagement work on student governments. After Tuesday’s committee vote, the bill will then go to Ways and Means where they will discuss the fiscal impact of the bill before sending it to the floor for a vote.
• Budget Ask- The state’s revenue forecast^[1] that came out last week showed lower revenue than the Co-Chairs of Ways and Means expected. The forecast showed that there are additional funds that could be dedicated to Higher Education, but not at the $15 million level we were hoping for. OSA will continue to work with the Co-Chairs to ensure some of their discretionary funds go towards Higher Education.

Priority 2 bills

• Housing (HB 4143 and HB 4001)-  Passing Housing policy is priority for legislative leadership and the Governor this session. HB 4001- Contained both Inclusionary Zoning and Tenant Protections. The Tenant Protection pieces from HB 4001 were moved to HB 4143 last week. This was done because there are members in the Senate who do not want Inclusionary Zoning to move forward this session, which meant we had to split up HB 4001 in order to preserve the tenant protections piece. HB 4001 is no longer expected to move, but HB 4143 is expected to move out of committee this week.
•  Campaign Contribution Reform (HJR 205 – Amends OR Constitution to permit campaign contribution limits) There is currently no movement on this bill.
•  Amending the Oregon Promise (HB 4076- Amends the Oregon Promise and allocates $2.5 million to community colleges). This bill moved out of the  House Higher Education committee and is currently in Ways and Means.
•  Researching Student Loan refinance (HB 4021) – Passed the house with 54 ayes- 6 nays. It is now on the Senate President’s desk and is awaiting to be assigned to the Senate Education Committee.
•  Increasing opportunities for math majors (SB 1540)- At the request of the HECC, this bill was amended to increase the number of people in math related programs. The HECC wanted more flexibility on how they conducted their research than just providing tuition waivers. SB 1540 passed through the Senate 27-1 on Monday the 15th.
•  Expanding Student Privacy (SB 1558)- This bill passed through the Senate unanimously without one word of debate on Monday the 15th.
•  K-12 Bullying (HB 4024)-  creates standardized systems of response, and documents cases of bullying, harassment, intimidation and cyberbullying. Passed out of committee will be moving to ways and means.
•  Extending Profiling Task force (HB 4003) -Passed through House unanimously, and is awaiting a hearing and work session in Senate Judiciary.

Opposing

• Equities Bill (HJR 203- would allow universities to be able to invest in stocks; is a ballot measure referral to change the constitution to reflect current statute) – This ballot measure referral has passed out of the House chamber almost unanimously. HJR has a lot of support from members because they have technically already supported Universities being able to invest in stocks when they passed SB 270 in 2013. At this time because of the overwhelming support to pass this legislation in order to make the constitution mirror legislation it’s your staff’s recommendation that we do not spend any more capacity fighting this legislation.