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Major Change for Political Leaders Ahead

Starting Feb. 1, the Oregon Legislature will meet in an abbreviated 35-day session that will adjourn on or by March 7.

A limited number of policy issues will be considered because each legislator only has two issues to bring forward for consideration. The timeframes for committee hearings, work sessions and amendments are extremely tight, so it behooves all with an issue to be ready weeks in advance instead of waiting until the session begins.

Democrats will hold strong majorities in both chambers during the 2022 session. Gov. Kate Brown will begin her final year in office and will be looking to leave her legacy.

The pandemic, wildfire recovery, ongoing unemployment issues, and civic unrest continue. These issues will have an impact on the ultimate progress and policies that come from the 2022 session and will help frame the talking points for the 2022 campaign season.

The overriding concern of 2022 will be the major changes taking place as key legislators retire or run for another office. Senate President Peter Courtney announced he will not seek re-election, ending his nearly 40-year career in elected politics. Speaker Tina Kotek will run for governor and will face a crowded primary in May as State Treasurer Tobias Read and others will also seek the Democratic party nomination.

The Republican side of the ledger includes Dr. Bud Pierce who lost to Kate Brown in 2018, Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam, former Republican Caucus Leader Rep. Christine Drazan and several others.

More than 25 individuals have committed to run for governor including former state Sen. Betsy Johnson who will seek to be the first Independent candidate to win since the 1930s. Johnson will not have a primary and will be waiting for the victors from the Republican and Democratic primaries in May. Johnson stepped down from her Senate seat to focus on the campaign in mid-December.

Other changes include Sens. Chuck Riley, Ginny Burdick and Lee Beyer all stepping down or not running for re-election. On the House side, a number of 2021 legislators will move on or seek new offices. These include Reps. Jack Zika, Brian Clem, Cedric Hayden, Tina Kotek, Raquel Moore-Green, Bill Post, Andrea Salinas, Barbara Smith Warner, Janeen Sollman, Suzanne Weber, Brad Witt and Teresa Alonso Leon.

All the vacancies at once are unique at the upper echelons of political power. When the 2023 session begins, there will be a new governor, new speaker of the house and new Senate president.

Issues of concern for ACEC Oregon as preparations are made for the 2023 session continue to include Duty to Defend. This important bill will ensure fairness in public contracting by banning the requirement that design professionals can be required to include duty to defend clauses in construction contracts. Duty to Defend requirements are especially detrimental to small, emerging, women and minority-owned businesses. Conversations are expected to continue with interest groups and key legislators including Sen. Floyd Prozanski who sponsored the legislation in 2021.

Implementation of the 2017 transportation package will continue to be of great interest. ACEC looks forward to working with ODOT leadership and the Oregon Transportation Commission to implement the major projects that were mandated in the bill from the 2017 session. In addition, ACEC will work closely with ODOT on finding solutions to their agency funding concerns.

The fair and balanced implementation of the Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) bill that passed in 2019 continues to be a priority for ACEC. The organization continues to work with local governments on this important issue. Ongoing educational outreach will be key in 2022 to help ensure that local government procurement staff are aware of the benefits of QBS and are comfortable with the process.

Both the Joint Transportation Committee and the Joint Committee on the Interstate Bridge will meet this session. ACEC will participate with both committees to assist in finding a path forward on key policy issues.

As always, ACEC Oregon will be actively engaged supporting or opposing a significant number of unanticipated issues during the 2022 legislative session. ACEC is grateful for active member involvement which is necessary to help protect and promote the engineering profession in Oregon.

Marshall Coba, ACEC Oregon Lobbyist
CobaCo Government Relations