January 2019 Government & Community Relations Update
Two weeks in, the Oregon legislative session is underway
As week two of the Oregon legislative session comes to a close, Oregon’s state capitol building is busy with legislators, citizens, and lobbyists working on public policy and budgets.
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Title IX comment period closes
Oregon university Title IX coordinators and university presidents joined more than 100,000 others in submitting comments on the US Department of Education’s
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Oregon’s 80th legislative assembly convenes
On January 22nd, the Oregon Legislature convened for its 80th session. It has until June 30th to complete all its policy work and set the state’s budget for the next two years. New members were sworn in on January 14th, with the bulk of policy development and deliberation happening during February, March, April, and May.
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DeFazio elected chair of House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) was elected chair of the US House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The committee has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation: aviation, maritime and waterborne transportation, highways, bridges, mass transit, and railroads.
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116th Congress begins, shut down continues
The 116th Congress began on January 3, 2019 with the swearing-in of new members. But the partial government shut-down has continued and the negative impacts are growing. Early in the new term, the House passed four remaining FY19 funding bills – which included funding increases for NSF, NASA, NEH, and AFRI consistent with those included in appropriations bills from the last Congress.
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New committee assignments shake things up in Salem
In December, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek announced membership of legislative committees for the 2019 session. Committees are important because they are the core deliberative bodies on legislative concepts and make recommendations to the full House or Senate.
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