Senate Democrats Go Five for Five in Special Session

Prevent Cuts at DHS; Increase Funding for Schools Statewide; Avoid Teacher Layoffs in Portland; Crack Down on Sexual Predators; Cap Payday Loan Fees.

Senate Chamber at the Oregon State Capitol

(SALEM) - In a dramatic demonstration of leadership, Senate Democrats today won passage of all five bills they fought to include in special session. They say those bills reflect the top priorities of Oregonians, and the top priorities of Democrats: health care, education, public safety, and economic fairness.

`Today counts as a victory for all Oregonians," said Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown. `After spending months putting together detailed and comprehensive proposals on each of these issues, our hard work paid off, and the people can be proud of their Legislature."

Preventing Cuts at the Department of Human Services

The path to a successful special session was first set in December of last year, when Senate President Peter Courtney responded to the initial announcement of the DHS budget shortfall by pledging to ensure that no cuts would be made to vital services for our most vulnerable citizens.

From the start, Courtney (D-Salem/Gervais/Woodburn) and Brown (D-Portland) made clear that the Legislature would need a concrete and achievable plan in advance of special session, and that`s exactly what Senate Democrats delivered.

`By preparing early, and staying focused, we were able to fulfill our moral responsibility to preserve health care services and other essential programs for children, seniors, and people with disabilities," said Brown.

Increasing Funding for Schools Statewide (Excess Lottery Revenue)

Senate Democrats also took the initiative when it was discovered in early March that the state lottery fund was running a surplus of over $42 million. Immediately upon learning of the windfall, Senate Democrats suggested that the Legislature use the special session to earmark the excess funds for schools statewide. `As Oregon recovers from the recent recession, our schools are still suffering the consequences," said Sen. Vicki Walker (D-Eugene). `We should be doing everything we can to help, and that`s exactly what we did today � we seized a golden opportunity to help our state`s schools as they are striving to reduce class sizes, restore programs, and maintain full school years for our kids."

Avoiding Teacher Layoffs at Portland Public Schools (Extending Gap Bond Authority)

At the same time as Senate Democrats were developing their plan to distribute excess lottery money to schools statewide, they also proposed extension of gap bond authority for the Portland school district, which was facing a potentially devastating budget shortfall.

`Maintaining strong schools is critical to attracting new businesses to Oregon, and cutting teachers in the state`s largest school district would undermine that effort," said Sen. Ryan Deckert (D-Beaverton). `By extending Portland`s gap bond authority, we`ve given the school board the ability to maintain reasonable class sizes for the upcoming school year."

Cracking Down on Sexual Predators (Jessica`s Law)

After working behind the scenes for months, Senate Democrats went public three weeks ago with a call for the Legislature to pass Jessica`s Law during special session. Senate Republicans followed suit a week later, and there was soon bipartisan agreement in both chambers to pass a comprehensive bill that would increase penalties for sexual predators who target children.

`Once we knew special session was a possibility, we immediately began looking at Jessica`s Law so we would have the time to do it right," said Sen. Brown. `We added an important provision on kidnapping that was missing from the bill the House sent to the Senate at the eleventh hour last session, and the result was a better bill and stronger protection for our children."

Payday Loan Reform

One year after Senate Democrats first passed payday loan reform, and one month after Speaker Karen Minnis (R-Gresham) indicated that the House would agree to such reform, this top Democratic priority has been enacted into law.

`The bill we passed today combines reasonable interest-rate caps with other key protections against predatory lending practices," said Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene), chair of the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection. `It represents a compromise that allows good-faith lenders to make a fair profit, while stopping the loan-shark behavior that has been trapping so many working Oregonians in a vicious cycle of debt."

All five bills passed today received unanimous Democratic support in the State Senate.