Today is the last day for bills to remain alive in their committee of origin. There were many bills that ceased to exist yesterday by not moving forward out of committee.
On our call this morning Rep. Weidner explained that some bills may be resurrected later on (anything can happen right?), but that is not usually the case. The following updates are on bills that we identified as being business focused and where they are currently at in their life:
SENATE:
Senate Bill 477 – which eliminates coal as a source of electricity generation for Oregon customers, has now officially died. Proponents tried to revive this concept in the final hours with an amendment that would prohibit coal generation facilities from making scheduled pollution control upgrades, but the Chair of the committee, Senator Chris Edwards, finally pulled the plug on the bill.
Senate Bill 888 – which mandates flexible scheduling procedures for employers, was moved to the Senate Rules Committee.
Senate Bill 718 – which allows for liens to be filed against employer property upon allegation of wage claim, was kept alive and moved to the Senate Rules Committee.
Senate Bill 845 – which levies fines and penalties on employers with 250 or more employees who reduce hours and health benefits due to the federal Affordable Care Act – was kept alive and moved to the Ways & Means Committee.
Minimum Wage Increase bills – all four Senate Bills (Senate Bills 327, 597, 610, and 682) which increased the minimum wage were kept alive and passed to the Senate Rules Committee.
HOUSE:
House Bill 3377 – mandatory flexible scheduling – did not move, dead. Note that Senate Bill 888 is still alive.
House Bill 2764 – increased attorney fees in workers’ comp cases, 5% increase in workers’ comp costs – passed the House Business Committee on a 6-5 vote.
House Bill 2386 – BOLI “cease and desist” authority – passed the House Business Committee again this morning on a 6-5 vote. Although the bill was amended, it was not improved.
House Bill 3025 – the “ban the box” bill which prohibits employers from conducting criminal background checks on prospective employees, passed the House Business Committee this morning on a 6-5 vote. The bill was amended, but it’s still a bad bill.
All House Bills that increased the minimum wage (HB 2008, HB 2009, HB 2012) were kept alive and moved to the House Rules Committee. This was a particularly unwelcome development.
Other Updates:
SB 565: Creates tax credit for certified historic property rehabilitation contributions. This has been referred to Committee on Tax Credits.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out. Also, for the most updated information, consider searching OLIS for the bill of interest. https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2015R1