Three Oregon legislators whose districts cover most of Eastern Oregon held a Town Hall meeting last night. It’s the first since the legislature went into session six weeks ago. Senator Lynn Findley, and Representatives Mark Owens and Daniel Bonham discussed and answered questions about some of the 4,000 bills that the legislators have introduced this session. Senator Findley had this response to concerns about polarization in the legislature:
:Ninety-five percent of every measure that is introduced in the chamber, we agree with our colleagues,” he said. “They’re bipartisan; they pass unanimously, no issues at all. There’s another three percent that we have to work at, that we have some compromises and talk about it and get to an agreement on them. Then the last two percent. Those are the bills that get all the headlines because those are bills that we can’t agree to and they can’t agree to and the loggerheads begin. So that’s two percent of what we deal with so there’s a lot of bipartisan stuff.”
Rep Bonham shared some good news:
“In Wasco County I saw Commissioner Hege post that we’re moving from Extreme to Low. Wonderful news,” he said. “Quite frankly, I was flabbergasted that we were able to jump three categories, but I’m excited about it. And I’m excited about what that means to so many entrepreneurs and restaurateurs and gyms and folks that have been abiding by the rules and regulations and waiting for the chance to get back to work.”
And Rep Mark Owens shared his thoughts on one proposal:
“Don’t tax our federal Covid stimulus money,” he said. “I just want to tell you that I agree 100 percent. The State of Oregon should not be taxing these payments.”
If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the town hall, just click on the grey podcast bar below: