SALEM- In a Tuesday morning vote, the Senate shot down a bill to ban the chemical bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups.
The bill, carried on the floor by Sen. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, lacked just a single vote to pass in the legislature’s smaller body. Failing on a 15-15 margin, three Democrats voted with the Senate Republicans to oppose the bill.
The legislation, SB 1032, was narrowed from its earliest form, which included banning the chemical in cans as well as in bottles. This early legislation was strongly opposed by industry representatives who feared the ban would bring an end to the canned food business in Oregon. Following these concerns, the bill was tapered to include just children’s sippy cups and baby bottles.
Similar bans have been enacted already in Minnesota and Connecticut; and proposals reducing BPA have been proceeding in Washington, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Proponents of the bill believe the chemical is a danger to children, potentially causing early onset of puberty, liver abnormalities, diabetes, and some types of cancer. However, the bill’s opponents claim the chemical is not a real danger in small quantities, such as those amounts used to make bottles and cans.
SALEM- A bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in vehicles under 10,000 pounds moved from the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Thursday, following the release of a fiscal report finding the bill would cost between $2.1 and $2.3 million to implement.
The bill, introduced by Senate President Peter Courtney, would create a process for adoption and implementation of plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with recommendations from the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of State Lands and Development in the following session.
While changes to the original bill seemed to settle the nerves of its critics, a fiscal report released Thursday showed that the cost for implementing the plan would be upwards of $2 million, including the costs for five full-time employees at the Department of State Lands and Development and one employee at the Department of Transportation.
After debate on a number of motions to move the bill with a “do pass” recommendation, Sen. Floyd Prozanksi, D-Eugene, made a final motion to move the bill to the Joint Ways and Means Committee with no recommendation due to the high cost.
SALEM- A constitutional amendment allowing law enforcement to establish sobriety checkpoints was given a public hearing Monday morning in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
While the bill, proposed by Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, was given this public hearing, it has not been scheduled to receive a work session and thus is not likely to leave the committee.
Traffic safety activists and Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) supported the bill, saying that sobriety checkpoints could save more than 20 lives per year that otherwise would be taken by people driving while intoxicated.
However, citizens and lobbyists from ACLU and other organizations opposed the bill, claiming it is not only a waste of the state’s resources but also would infringe on citizens’ right to privacy.
SALEM- The Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held a public hearing Tuesday on a plastic bag pan proposed by Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton.
Multiple testimonies were given but the bill was not brought to a vote.
SALEM- The first day of the Oregon Legislature’s special session turned out to be a long day with, as one lobbyist put it, “a whole lot of nothing” besides mingling in the halls of the capitol.
Between the lobbyists and the politicians, the only thing that remained clear for the session is that the body is trying to squeeze six months’ worth of work into their restricted one-month period. And with staff being cut back to handle about two committees each, the schedule will be even more hectic than during regular sessions.
Legislative concepts were introduced in various committees, as were the members of each committee. Work plans were also approved, laying out the agenda for the next few weeks of hearings.
Bills must leave their original committees by February 11. From there they will proceed to the other chamber’s committee, and then to the respective floor sessions for a full House and Senate vote.
SALEM- Monday will ring in Salem’s test case for annual sessions, bringing state legislators to the state capital for the body’s Special Session.
And what is on the agenda for the month-long meeting? Everything from a constitutional amendment declaring health care a right for all Oregonians, to the House Speaker’s repeal of a ban on teachers wearing religious garb in the classroom.
Also on the list is a ballot measure which would bring about another constitutional amendment allowing for annual meetings of the Legislature, instead of the current meeting every two years, and a ban on the chemical Bisphenol A.
More bills include an extension of unemployment benefits, early release for over 4,000 inmates, sobriety checkpoints to stop DUII offenders, new limits on the controversial Business Energy Tax Credit, an ethics bill to prevent legislators from accepting jobs in state government, and a modification of the current kicker refund.
On the business front comes a proposed tax credit for making capital improvements and a tax credit for woody biomass, pushed by the Republican caucus.
For more information on the session’s bills, check out the Oregon Politico’s Bill Tracker.
