PSU Government Relations Update

Recent Government Relations Updates 

March 12, 2024 - 2024 Oregon Legislative Session:  Session Wrap Up

March 4, 2024 - 2024 Oregon Legislative Session: Week Four Overview

February 23, 2024 - 2024 Oregon Legislative Session: Week Three Overview

February 18, 2024 -  2024 Oregon Legislative Session: Week Two Overview

February 11, 2024 - 2024 Oregon Legislative Session: Week One Overview

January 31, 2024 - Start of the 2024 legislative session
 

March 12, 2024

2024 Legislative Session Summary

The legislature adjourned sine die at 8:15 pm on Thursday evening, March 7th – three days prior to the March 10th constitutional deadline. The race to adjourn led lawmakers to hold floor sessions late into the evening and resulted in bills related to book bans (SB 1583) and corporate health care (HB 4130), among others, being left behind as final votes were taken on omnibus budget packages and priority policy bills. The final order of business for the House of Representatives was to elect Julie Fahey (House District 14 – Eugene) as Speaker to succeed Representative Dan Rayfield (House District 16 – Corvallis) who resigned from the leadership position to run for Oregon Attorney General.

Following the adoption of the “short session” on the 2010 ballot, this was the seventh short session in the history of Oregon. Occurring midway through the state’s two-year budget cycle, the short session is often framed as a time for only technical amendments and budget fixes. The 2024 legislative session bucked this narrative and included a remarkable volume of policymaking and bipartisan packages – including reforms to Measure 110, major investments and policy changes in housing production, and even campaign finance reform, among other priorities.
 

Legislative Session Outcomes for PSU
 

Portland State’s 2024 legislative agenda largely reflected the Shared University Agenda, with joint advocacy in support of Strong Start 2.0, Student Basic Needs, and behavioral health and semiconductor workforce investments. More information on the shared agenda is included below. Additionally, PSU sought an F-Bond adjustment to fund the “Finish What We Started” project to support the Vernier Science Center and the School of Art, Art History + Design buildings.

While there were some notable wins for PSU, public universities left the session with unfinished business. Unfortunately, the Joint Ways and Means Committee did not fund the Strong Start 2.0 request or the Student Basic Needs package.

Both of PSU’s workforce-related requests on behavioral health and semiconductors were funded at approximately two-thirds of their requested level. In total, PSU will receive over $3.75 million in one-time resources for the programs listed below and was successful in securing an additional $2 million in F-Bonds for the “Finish What We Started” project. The F-Bond adjustment also came with a scope change that will allow the university to end a land lease, saving significant resources.

Sustainability Funding Update

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) budget bill from the 2023 session (HB 5025) allocated $25 million to PSU and the Technical and Regional Universities to “assist these institutions with long-term financial sustainability.” Of the $25 million, $10 million was to be allocated to PSU. The HECC released the first tranche d in Fall of 2023. However, the remainder of the funding, $18.7 million, was set aside in a Special Purpose Appropriation (SPA) with the Emergency Board. The HECC was directed to report back to the Joint Ways and Means Committee in the 2024 short session. Many of you participated in the development of projects for that report.

The Legislature received the report from the HECC in the second week of the session, but ultimately decided not to release the SPA from the Emergency Board to the HECC during the short session. The funding remains with the Emergency Board, which will meet next in May 2024. PSU will continue to work with the HECC and Legislative Leadership to determine the best path forward to secure release of the funding from the Emergency Board. 

Results of the Shared University Agenda

Supporting Students on Campus: 

Strong Start 2.0: Universities sought continued funding for Strong Start / Summer Bridge programs. The anticipated vehicle for continued funding, HB 4082, unfortunately did not include funding for this program. Despite advocacy efforts, funding for Strong Start 2.0 was not included in the budget allocations this session.
 

Student Basic Needs: Public universities supported the Oregon Student Association-led student emergency needs package, HB 4162. The package originally included funding for the Open Oregon Educational Resources (OER) Program and created a grant program to address campus hunger. The bill was amended to bifurcate OER’s and the basic needs program and led to parallel advocacy efforts for an omnibus line item to support the OER program. HB 4162 did not advance out of the Joint Ways and Means Committee and funding for either program was not included as a line-item in the session’s budget omnibus bill (SB 5701).

Preparing Students to Meet Oregon’s Workforce Needs:

Behavioral Health: Senate Bill 1592 proposed $6 million to address Oregon’s behavioral health crisis by providing $1 million each to Eastern Oregon University, Oregon Institute of Technology, Southern Oregon University, and Western Oregon University and $2 million to PSU to increase the capacity of licensed mental and behavioral health workers.

SB 1592 did not advance as a standalone bill, but $4 million for EOU, OT, SOU, WOU and PSU was included in an omnibus public safety and behavioral health investment omnibus bill (HB 5204). 

Strategic Investments in Semiconductor Talent & Workforce: Public universities supported the redrafted semiconductor talent and workforce package, HB 4154, led by the Oregon Business Council. As introduced, this package included $14.9 million in direct allocations to universities and community colleges intended to start strategic investments in infrastructure, faculty, and curriculum to meet the needs of the semiconductor industry. The bill also would have established a statewide semiconductor industry consortium, as well as the Semiconductor Talent Sustaining Fund and allocated $14.9 million in grants to public institutions of higher education. 

The bill was amended to remove the funding allocations, remove the statewide semiconductor industry consortium, and direct the HECC to allocate monies from the Fund established in the bill to provide education, training, and research to assist the semiconductor industry. HB 4154, as amended, passed both chambers by wide margins and now heads to the Governor’s desk for signature.

$10 million in line-item allocations for the four universities and two community colleges were included in the budget omnibus bill (SB 5701) with proportional reductions.

March 4, 2024 

This Week in Salem

We are now in Week 4 of 5 in the 2024 legislative session! This week, Senate President Rob Wagner announced that “Sine Die is imminent,” which is the moment in session that formally lets legislators know that adjournment is near and to prepare for meetings and bills to be posted at a moment’s notice. We have entered the point where most of the remaining questions revolve around the Joint Ways and Means Committee and budget appropriations. The Ways and Means Committee has started to move forward some of the nearly 100 bills that came out of their policy committees with a price tag attached. This process involves difficult decisions, particularly in short session with limited funding of about $100-150 million potentially available for these bills and a volume of funding request that totals over $1.3 billion. 

The highly anticipated reform package to Measure 110 came to a vote on the House floor yesterday and was supported by Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, who Capital Chatter reported “delivered one of the most powerful speeches. A firefighter, she set aside her prepared remarks and told what it was like to repeatedly respond on drug overdoses. “This is not the heroin of 1993 that took my best friend in college; not the drugs of 1996 that killed my partner,” said Grayber in her floor speech. “What we have on our streets today is more powerful, more insidious than we’ve ever seen before.”

HB 4002, the Measure 110 reform package which establishes a new misdemeanor for drug possession and a deflection program among other provisions, passed on a bipartisan vote of 51-7 following lengthy debate and now awaits Senate action. A companion bill, HB 5204 passed the House 54-2. The bill is a $221 million omnibus budget package with public safety and behavioral health investments that includes $1.3 million for PSU to expand the behavioral health workforce.

Many bills remain in the Joint Ways and Means Committee and most won’t pass this session. Before a bill can be voted on in its subcommittee, it needs to be referred to the subcommittee by the Ways and Means Co-Chairs. Starting next week, any bills that have not been referred to the relevant subcommittee will need to be referred to the Capital Construction subcommittee - the catchall committee for bonding bills and any last bills that weren’t referred this week - or they are dead for this session. If a bill only needs funding appropriation, and not an accompanying change in law, it could find a place in the final omnibus appropriation bill as a final effort.

The first bills moving out of their subcommittees were heard and voted on in the full Ways and Means on Wednesday (2/28) evening. House bills go directly to the House floor. Senate bills go directly to the Senate floor. Once they’ve passed those initial chambers, they go to the floor of the other chamber for consideration, and then on to the Governor’s desk for her signature.

The House Committee on Higher Education held an informational hearing on February 27th on SB 1552, Senator Dembrow’s education omnibus bill, as the committee would otherwise not hear the bill.

On February 27th, The Senate Education Committee held work sessions and public hearings on bills related to allowing school districts to mount stop-arm cameras on school buses and for police to use footage from those cameras to cite drivers who fail to stop and modifying prohibited sexual misconduct. The committee also held an informational hearing on part-time faculty pay equity on February 29th.

The Joint Ways & Means Committee held a work session on directing the Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide education plan for students who are asylum seekers, refugees or any other immigrant and establishing and administering the Summer Learning Grant program and declaring funding for expanding learning opportunities an emergency. 
 

Select Bill Updates:

Key Dates

Week 1 
February 5, Day 1, First Day of Session 
February 8th - University Lobby Day

Week 2 
February 12, Day 8, First Chamber Work Session Posting Deadline

Week 3 
February 19, Day 15, First Chamber Work Session Deadline
February 23, Day 19, Second Chamber Work Session Posting Deadline

Week 4 
February 29, Day 25, Second Chamber Work Session Deadline

Week 5 
March 10, Day 35, Sine Die
 

February 23, 2024

Session Overview

As OPB’s Halfway through the 2024 legislative session reported yesterday, “bills that weren’t voted out of their first committee are considered dead. Meanwhile, the Legislature is still working out changes to pressing and consequential bills that tackle the state’s housing and addiction crises.”

The list of dead bills includes Sen. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland)’s bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 95% from 1990 levels by 2050 as recommended by the state’s Climate Action Commission. It also includes House Bill 4057, which proposed adding teachers to the list of public employees prohibited from striking.

Legislators continue to prioritize legislation to address Oregon’s addiction and behavioral health crises, housing supply needs, wrap-around services for people experiencing homelessness, and community safety. This past week, legislative leadership continued negotiations on reforms to Measure 110.

We are now halfway through the 2024 legislative session! Initial deadlines have passed, most of the focus now is on trying to spread funding across fiscal impact bills referred to the Joint Way and Means Committee. Bills referred from policy committees to this budget committee are awaiting final budget decisions in the coming days.

This Week in Salem

This week legislators continued to hold public hearings on proposed legislation, and also  held work sessions on several bills that public universities are closely watching. During a work session, legislators “mark up” the bill, sometimes adopting amendments. The committee can decide to carry over the work session to a future committee meeting, or vote to move the bill to the floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

The House Committee on Higher Education did not hold work sessions on legislation as proposals head to a floor vote or the Joint Ways and Means Committee.

The Senate Education Committee held work sessions and public hearings on bills related to directing the Board of Education to adopt rules on the completion for International baccalaureate programs satisfying high school diploma requirements, and streamlining definitions related to sexual misconduct. Notably, HB 4164-A, legislation with technical fixes to HB 3456 from 2023, requested by the universities, was up for a public hearing in its second chamber.

The Joint Ways & Means Committee held a work session on a HECC Grant for Tribal Youth restoration Landscapes Project Opportunity and an informational meeting on the Oregon Opportunity Grant to support student funding for higher education.

Select Bill Updates:

Key Dates

Week 1 
February 5, Day 1, First Day of Session 
February 8th - University Lobby Day

Week 2 
February 12, Day 8, First Chamber Work Session Posting Deadline

Week 3 
February 19, Day 15, First Chamber Work Session Deadline
February 23, Day 19, Second Chamber Work Session Posting Deadline

Week 4 
February 29, Day 25, Second Chamber Work Session Deadline

Week 5 
March 10, Day 35, Sine Die
 

2024 Legislative Session: Week Two Overview

Session Overview

As Dick Hughes reported yesterday in the Oregon Capital Insider, “two weeks into the 35-day session, the vibe is one of hyperactivity and deadlines. This week, most policy committees had a deadline of posting a work session for bills they intend to pass out of committee. Of the initial 288 bills introduced, 31 did not meet this deadline are now considered “dead.”

The 2024 short session continues to focus on major topics prioritized by Governor Kotek and legislative leadership, including: housing production, homelessness, behavioral health, and Measure 110 (addiction and community safety) reforms. Additional topics garnering attention include childcare and early learning, public defender workforce, and funding for the upcoming wildfire season. 

This Week in Salem 

This week legislators continued to hold public hearings on proposed legislation, and also  held work sessions on several bills that public universities are closely watching. During a work session, legislators “mark up” the bill, sometimes adopting amendments. The committee can decide to carry over the work session to a future committee meeting, or vote to move the bill to the floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

The House Committee on Higher Education held work sessions on legislation related to Name, Image, Likeness (NIL), technical fixes to a campus sexual misconduct survey, the semiconductor talent and workforce package, student basic needs, and a proposed study of the public university governance structure.

The Senate Education Committee held work sessions on bills related to behavioral health workforce development at PSU and the TRUs, public meeting accessibility, and waivers to the Oregon Promise to allow students who did not attend a community college immediately following high school during the pandemic to receive the grant. 


Select Bill Updates:

Key Dates
 

Week 1 
February 5, Day 1, First Day of Session 
February 8th - University Lobby Day

Week 2 
February 12, Day 8, First Chamber Work Session Posting Deadline

Week 3 
February 19, Day 15, First Chamber Work Session Deadline
February 23, Day 19, Second Chamber Work Session Posting Deadline

Week 4 
February 29, Day 25, Second Chamber Work Session Deadline

Week 5 
March 10, Day 35, Sine Die
 

2024 Oregon Legislative Session: Week One Overview
 

The Oregon Legislature 2024 Short Session began on February 5, 2024. The short session is constitutionally required to adjourn sine die within 35 days. This creates a fast-paced legislative environment, and the first week of the short session is typically filled with public hearings and work sessions.

The Senate convened at 8:30 am with an opening ceremony featuring an a capella rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah by PSU’s Chamber Choir. Senators honored the Chamber Choir with multiple courtesies and a standing ovation. The Oregon House also Legislature started its work Monday with a personal tale of family addiction struggles from House Speaker Dan Rayfield, appointing a new state representative, and a long list of bills to try to pass before lawmakers return home for the year in mid-March.

The 2024 short session will focus on major topics prioritized by Governor Kotek and legislative leadership, including: housing production, homelessness, behavioral health, and Measure 110 (addiction and community safety) reforms. Additional topics garnering attention include childcare and early learning, public defender workforce, and funding for the upcoming wildfire season. 

PSU Priority Bill Updates 

This week legislators held public hearings on several bills that public universities are closely watching.

The House Committee on Higher Education heard bills related to Name, Image, Likeness (NIL), technical fixes to a campus sexual misconduct survey, the semiconductor talent and workforce package, student basic needs, and a proposed study of the public university governance structure.

The Senate Education Committee heard bills related to behavioral health workforce development at PSU and the TRUs, public meeting accessibility, and waivers to the Oregon Promise to allow students who did not attend a community college immediately following high school during the pandemic to receive the grant. 

Other Notable Activities:

Quarterly Revenue Forecast: 
On the morning of February 7th, state economists from Oregon’s Office of Economic Analysis presented the quarterly revenue forecast to a joint meeting of the House Revenue Committee and Senate Finance and Revenue Committee.

Oregon’s economic forecast is stable going into the tax filing season. The economic outlook was revised down slightly based on employment projections, which weakens the long-term forecast for personal income tax revenues. Overall, revenues are tracking along with expectations, with a few exceptions.

The Oregon Legislature will have significantly more one-time resources available for the 2024 Legislative Session, compared to the last quarterly forecast. Expected General Fund Revenues have increased by $76 million relative to the December forecast, largely due to corporate tax collections, and unspent 2021-23 appropriations increase available resources significantly. The outlook for Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission revenues has been revised downward by a large amount.

Projected 2023-25 Net General Fund Resources are up $558.5 million (1.7%) from the December 2023 forecast. Lawmakers will have approximately $1.3 billion available to spend or save before this budget cycle ends in June 2025, assuming they put the required 1 percent in reserves.

Following the presentation, Rep. Pam Marsh (D – Ashland) highlighted the role of postsecondary education in the labor force through a question to state economists. She commented that, with a projected stall in the labor force described in the forecast, we can look inward to boost the labor force – including closing the gaps with traditionally underrepresented and marginalized groups. Economist Mark McMullen, in response, noted that there is also a lot to be gained in terms of educational attainment.

For further information, please review the executive summary, the slide presentation from the committee presentation, and the full report. 
 

Measure 110 Reforms
The Joint Addiction and Community Safety Response Committee held an informational hearing last night and will hold a public hearing Wednesday evening, February 7th on a reform package (House Bill 4002) that may include significant funding for behavioral health initiatives and proposes to reestablish criminal penalties for drug possession (as a Class C misdemeanor), among other provisions. This will arguably be the highest profile bill of the short session.

On January 30th, Governor Kotek, Mayor Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Vega Pederson declared a coordinated fentanyl emergency “to address the public health and public safety crisis driven by fentanyl in Portland’s Central City.”

Governor Kotek’s Housing Production Bill
The Governor’s one and only bill for the short session includes housing-focused reforms, including a one-time expansion of urban growth boundaries for cities, and proposes $500 million in one-time investments toward housing production. Senate Bill 1537 had its first public hearing on Thursday, February 8th and drew significant attention from housing developers, local governments, and environmental advocacy groups. You can read more about the Governor’s proposed bill here. 

University Day at the Capitol:
University Day at the Capitol, the day where students, alumni, leadership, staff, and faculty join focus in Salem to advocate for our shared agenda, took place on February 8, 2024. You can see photos from the day below. 
 

January 31, 2024

Dear PSU Community,

Oregon’s 2024 legislative session begins next Monday, February 5th. Ahead of the session we are sharing information about the role of the university’s government relations team, PSU’s 2024 Legislative Agenda, and how to effectively coordinate with the team on government relations matters.

PSU Government Relations

The PSU Government Relations Department is located in the Office of the President and serves as the liaison between the university and local, state, and national governments and agencies. Our role is to build governmental support for the university and identify opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to contribute to the public policy process. This includes the development of an annual legislative agenda for the university.

2024 Legislative Agenda

The 2024 short legislative session is limited to 35 days and the process moves extremely fast. Most legislation is limited to budget fixes, technical changes to policy, and unfinished business from the last long session. PSU’s 2024 legislative agenda reflects this reality and advocates for requests that were substantially advanced, but did not cross the finish line in the 2023 session.

• Preparing Students to Meet Oregon’s Workforce Needs
  • Behavioral Health: PSU continues to advocate to expand the university’s social work program to graduate more qualified behavioral health providers.
  • Semiconductors: PSU is working in coalition with the Oregon Business Council, UO, OSU, OT, PCC and MHCC requesting a total of $30 million for semiconductor workforce investments across the continuum of K-12, community colleges, and public universities.
• Supporting Students on Campus
  • The public universities are seeking funding for summer bridge programs, community building cohorts, academic skill-building, and ongoing wraparound support. 
  • The public universities are seeking funding to help address student basic needs and affordable course materials
• Releasing $18.7 million Financial Sustainability Funding
  • Funding was set aside during the 2023 legislative session for the four TRUs and PSU “to expend on promising innovative proof-of-concept efforts to realign institutional offerings and resources with current and emerging enrollment and economic realities in order to create long-term institutional financial viability.”

Learn more about PSU’s 2024 Legislative Agenda and how to contact the PSU Government Relations Team

Coordination with PSU Government Relations

The university is most effective when our funding and policy advocacy is supported by unified messaging and central coordination of government relations activities. The PSU Government Relations team works closely with local, state and federal elected officials and policymakers to advance the priorities of the university.

We welcome PSU faculty, staff, and students interested in engaging with federal, state and local governments to advance PSU’s mission. We strongly encourage coordination of local, state and federal legislative activities through the PSU Government Relations team. Our team can provide background, set up meetings, and coordinate communications with government officials as appropriate. Coordination also helps outside elected officials contact PSU through the same representatives they work with regularly. To guide coordination we recommend:

1. Contact PSU Government Relations for help with the following:
   1. Responding to an outside invitation to testify before a city, or state, legislative or congressional committee, task force, or work group;
   2. Preparing oral or written testimony on behalf of a PSU issue;
   3. Attending a city, legislative, congressional task force, workgroup, committee hearing, or meeting on a PSU issue; or 
   4. Initiating written, electronic, or oral communication with a local, state, or federal elected official or their staff to advocate for a PSU issue.
2. Check-in with PSU Government Relations after:
   1. Monitoring a legislative, congressional or tribal affairs task force, workgroup, committee hearing, or meeting on behalf of PSU;
   2. Submitting comments on proposed state or federal administrative rules;
   3. Responding to a PSU-related contact by a local, state, or federal elected official or their staff.

Please contact our Government Relations team if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sheila Martin, Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief of Staff
Portland State University