Last Saturday, a dozen or so eager volunteers convened for the first Policy in Motion meeting focused on the 2009 Oregon legislative session (after a well-deserved rest from cooking and family gatherings, of course). For many of us — especially those that didn’t grow up in Oregon — this year will be the first time we’ll actively be monitoring the legislative process. With this in mind, our “Legislative Literacy” tutorial served as a primer on the political process in Salem and how regular Oregonians can get involved.
We got started after a delicious potluck dinner, which served as a pleasant reminder of one of our goals: namely, sustaining a community of interested citizens. The discussion began on the topic of how an idea becomes a draft bill, moves it way through committee, and eventually moves to the floor for a vote.
The entire process is deceptively simple, but can quickly become confusing if you aren’t versed in the political nuances of various individual and committee roles. We were able to identify some key points in the process where a citizen lobbyist can become involved in helping to shape a bill and get it passed.
We also took time to discuss the current political outlook in Salem. In short, this session is going to be challenging, no matter your political priorities. Our next crop of elected officials are going to have to balance their desire to push for lasting change and improvement with a the hard reality of a projected budget shortfall of well over a billion dollars.
Now that the Governor has released his budget a long battle will begin for precious state funds. The most successful bills will those that are budget neutral or revenue positive. Given the current economic climate, agencies and programs will struggle to defend their own current funding levels, much less expand to serve more Oregonians.
Our conversation wrapped up with discussion of how the group will manage and sustain itself going forward. We did have strong agreement that PiM should remain a casual forum for discussion, rather than a group with its own policy agenda.
Here are some of the basic ground rules we came up with:
- We would like to keep meeting on an more-or-less monthly schedule
- The topic for each month should be proposed by group members a couple of weeks in advance, in order to allow for selection and discussion online before we meet face-to-face
- For a topic to be selected, we would like it to reflect an actual piece of draft legislation — preferably one whose outcome is still undecided, and open to influence by citizen lobbyists
- Furthermore, at least two group members should provide support and background research for a topic before it is brought forward for discussion
- Selected topics will be announced via this blog at least a week before the meeting
- Each meeting should have a policy expert: someone who can provide background and context to help shape our discussion
- Within a week of each meeting the “PiM Crew” (initially Greg, Lennon, and Rob) will publish a white paper that summarizes the outcomes of the group’s discussion
We’re just getting started, and we’d love to hear more ideas about how to keep the momentum the group started to build Saturday night. If you’d like to get involved, check here for more updates, join our Google Group, and most importantly, come join us on Dec. 20th for the next meeting!
With thanks to all who come in person or offered ideas and encouragement,
The PiM Crew