Today is the 81^st day of the Oregon legislature’s 2007 session.  If Senator Jason Atkinson (R-Grants Pass) has his way, by this time in 2009 school districts around the state will know exactly how much money they’ll have for their next school year. 
 
SJR 16 would require the legislature to pass the budget for k-12 schools by 81^st day of legislative session, or to lose their pay. 
 
Why 81 days?  Here’s what Senator Atkinson has to say:
 
Well to be honest, it’s a little art, somewhat out of my hat, but all very generous.  81 days is 21 more days than other states like Washington, Utah, and Idaho who can pass their entire state budget in 60 days.
 
Special interests tell me, “Senator Atkinson, if we wait until the revenue forecast we’d get more money.”  Let me tell every Oregonian one thing: that’s not true.  We know roughly how much education will get in January. The revenue forecast in my experience has never changed the k-12 budget one dime, and the delay is for politicians and special interests to beat each other over the heads with and make campaign fodder for the next round.
 
Imagine if you bought groceries, went to the movies, got back from vacation or clothes shopping, bought a new car, and then paid your mortgage seven months late every two years.  In Salem, its how its always been done.   No wonder Oregonians don’t trust us to manage their money. 

Good news from Oregon Right to Life’s Life Lobby Update.

Thanks to your dedication in writing and calling your Senators about SB 776, the attack on Pregnancy Resource Centers, your voice has been effective and the bill is dead.

As unbelievable as it sounds, we have received word from several different sources inside the Capitol including the Senate President’s office that the bill will not be moving forward. This is a great victory!

After hundreds of emails flooded Senate offices, the Pregnancy Resource Centers moved into action and more than 100 staff and volunteers came to the Capitol on Tuesday. What an amazing force! It was an incredible sight to be in a room with so many Godly men and women. The unity was overwhelming and even though it was an incredibly crowded, busy day at the Capitol, the right meetings happened with the right people.

It is cause to be excited and amazed, however we must remain vigilant. The supporters of SB 776 are not known for giving up. This particular bill may be dead in the water, but there are other means by which Planned Parenthood and NARAL can ask their supporters in the Legislature or the Kulongoski administration to attempt to harass pregnancy support ministries.

The Vermont House of Representatives killed the state’s “Patient Choice and Control at End of Life” legislation, voting 82-63 against it. Like Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, the Vermont bill would have allowed doctors to assist patients in killing themselves.

Rep. Harvey Otterman said the bill would have gone “too far in enforcing one group’s preferences on the traditional values of others.”

Pro-euthanasia groups targeted Vermont, considered a bellwether for radical ideas, in an effort to advance their assisted suicide agenda and to “lay the groundwork for the big win: the state of California,” according to National Right to Life.

Oregon is the only state in the nation to have legalized doctor-assisted suicide.

Where’s the tolerance? Senate Bill 2, the “Minority Status Bill” brewing in Salem, has been carefully devised by a handful of activist legislators who have made clear their intentions to “stick it to the faith community” with the bill’s decidedly paltry religious exemption.

During the March 12 public hearing, Senator Vicki Walker (D-Eugene) cited constitutionally forced arm-twisting as the only conceivable reason to even consider a religious exemption.  She even went so far as to suggest that churches’ religious freedom be eliminated altogether!

During testimony by one of the state’s leading pastors, Senator Ginny Burdick’s (D-Portland) disengaged posture during the testimony did nothing to hide her lack of interest… like listening to public testimony was cramping her legislative style.

Specifically, SB 2 limits a church’s religious freedom to employ those who follow their faith, the deciding factor being whether the position in question is tied to the church’s primary purpose. And who do you suppose will decide that? The courts will, of course. Which brings up the question of whether defending themselves against lawsuits is a fair burden to attach to Oregon churches’ purse strings. Definitely not.

And for any non-church enterprise—whether faith-based or secular—there is no exemption; a religious bookstore may be forced to employ someone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or whose gender identity differs from their biology. (READ: A Christian bookstore may be legally forced to hire a cross-dresser to man the checkout line.)

Religious freedom? Why, that may be a thing of Oregon’s past! Now we have the government to decide where our convictions must lie. And if that’s where we’re heading, a Measure 36-style conflict may be the only option left for Oregon’s faith community to defend itself. It may be the only course of action for churches, mosques, and synagogues that want to keep their religious freedoms intact.

The Big Bang Theory has new meaning: mention the Bible in biology class, and—BANG!—you’re out of a job. Religious intolerance has reached a fever pitch.

Kris Helphinstine, a high school biology teacher in Sisters, was fired last night for deviating from the established curriculum on evolution by “including biblical references in material he provided students.”

When asked about the incident by the Bend Bulletin, Helphinstine said, “Critical thinking is vital to scientific inquiry… my whole purpose was to give accurate information and to get them thinking.”

Over the weekend, the Oregonian’s editorial board recommended that the state pass HJR 43, which would allow election day voter registration.
 
“Students and young adults change residences more frequently than older, more established Oregonians and many pay less attention to elections until late in the campaign cycle,” said Representative Ben Cannon (D-Portland).  “Oregon’s early registration cutoff means that many young people learn too late that they are not registered to vote and are consequently disenfranchised from our democracy.”
 
Same day registration does seem reasonable – after all, isn’t voter participation what makes our country work?
 
But, if you, like me, have ever been to the Multnomah County Election office on voting day, you know how wild it is already.  People who need replacement ballots line up out the door to vote, and workers are doing their best to keep up with demand.  Allowing same day voter registration would only increase the confusion and long lines.  And, do we really want people to vote who had no idea the election was even happening?
 
I know we have a statewide voter file now, but it seems this bill would increase fraudulent registrations.  Would there be enough time to check out that the social security number or driver’s license of every person in that line stretching out the door? 
 
I’m all for increasing voter participation, but I also want to make sure that the people voting are actually eligible.

From a House Republicans Press Release:
 
“Rep. Bruce Hanna today spoke on behalf of House Republicans at the Governor’s ceremonial signing of the Rainy Day Fund legislation. He had the following to say regarding the enactment of HB 2707 and HB 2301:
 
“On behalf of the House Republican caucus, I am pleased to be here to celebrate the signing of the Rainy Day Fund legislation.  This has been a top priority of our members for many sessions.
 
We very much appreciate the willingness of the Governor and Democratic leadership to work with us to create a rainy day fund in a way that protects small businesses – the backbone of our state’s economy.
 
The state rainy day fund will bring much-needed stability to our budget process, and it will improve Oregon’s credit rating, which helps save taxpayer dollars.
 
It is important that our rainy day fund is starting with a healthy balance. It is just as important that thousands of small businesses will receive their kicker tax credit, and enable the $24.8 million to be reinvested in Oregon’s economy.
 
Hopefully, this will set a positive tone for the remainder of the session, where we can work together to address issues that are important to Oregonians.”
  
After years of negotiating, fighting and cajoling, we finally have a rainy day fund, and small businesses still get their kicker.  Here’s hoping it works!

Now, get off the computer and enjoy the beautiful weekend!

If you’re outraged about the Eugene teacher who received a slap on the hand for supplying beer and marijuana to students at a birthday party, you can breathe a little easier now because… she’s sorry. McKenzie High School teacher Brandye Sauvajon told  a Lane County judge yesterday she was “incredibly remorseful” for her actions. Whew! There for a minute, I thought she was going to get off the hook easy.

Rep. Vicki Berger’s latest newsletter gives a personal kicker update.

March’s rosy economic forecast confirmed that Oregonians will receive their first kicker check in six years. State economists estimate that $1.1 billion in personal income tax rebates will be returned to Oregonians this fall. The median kicker check is projected to be $271, meaning half will be higher and half will be lower. The average check would be $633.00. You can get a more precise estimate of your kicker once you have completed preparing your 2006 tax returns.

The calculation is simple. On the Oregon Form 40, multiply the amount listed on line 42 by 21.7%. If you use the short form multiply the amount listed on line 18 by 21.7%.

Final kicker amounts won’t be known until September, after the books are closed on the 2005-’07 budget.

At 9:30 pm Monday night the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 2 to the floor. The bill would grant minority status to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals.

In five hours of testimony, nearly 100 people had a chance to testify (basically equal numbers on each side). Nearly every person opposed to the bill seemed concerned about the religious exemption; yet, when the committee voted on the bill, they gave no opportunity for amendments.

Here are just two of the problems that I see with SB 2:

1. SB 2 contains inadequate religious protection. Under the bill religious organizations could be legally forced to hire people based on their sexual orientation.

2. It also allows judges to define the primary purpose of a church. If a church is sued for not hiring someone based on their sexual orientation, to determine fault the judge must decide whether the position in question is par of the primary purpose of the church or religious organization. What is a religious organization’s primary purpose? Won’t it differ among organizations? How will a judge decide.

In one of the more shocking parts of the evening, Senator Vicki Walker (D-Eugene) went so far to state that, if she had her way, there wouldn’t be a religious exemption at all. I’m paraphrasing here, but she basically said that only the Constitution was keeping her from asking that churches never be exempt from any law.

The bill will likely be voted on in the Senate in the next few days. I’ll try to keep you updated on its progress.