Policy in Motion

Re-posted from the mailing list:

For those of you that were unable to attend the meeting this Saturday,
HB 2009 had too much going on for us to discuss it all in one
sitting.  We decided to limit our discussion to and hour and a half
and then have a follow up on Thursday (today).  The follow up session
is will focus on the Tobacco tax and give us a chance to share
thoughts that have come to us in the days since the meeting.

We liked the idea so much we are hoping that this will become a
regular part of Policy in Motion experience.  We are going to meet at
Vincente’s (20th and Hawthorne) for a beer and slice starting at about
5:30 this evening.  This gathering is meant to be very causal and will
be open to anyone that would like to attend.  I hope to see many of
you there after work.

While the Oregon legislature may have swung solidly into the “D” column this session, making it easier to pass progressive legislation, the expected budget shortfall will make any new programs very difficult to fund. What then will happen to the long-desired expansion of the Oregon Health Plan to cover the more than 100,000 children in the state who are currently without health insurance?

Come join us this Saturday, January 16th for a discussion of how to fund and justify this and other health care programs in the coming biennium. As usual, send an email or join the Google Group if you want the details for time, place, and what to bring.

If you’re feeling especially motivated, you can start reading through the text of House Bill 2009, which serves as a sort of “omnibus” bill for the implementation and funding of increased health coverage throughout the state. According to our own Greg Diamond, the following areas will be of particular interest:

Regarding HB 2009, Sections 1-26 deal with the establishment of the
Oregon Health Authority, 124-128 deal with the expansion of the
Medicaid program, and 129-157 (roughly) deal with the tax systems that
will fund the whole thing. The rest is all conforming amendments.

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

If you have a few minutes to browse any of these resources before or after the Nov. 29 Legislative Literacy tutorial, they could offer some good background material:

• How an Idea Becomes a Bill [PDF] (published by the State of Oregon Legislative Counsel)
• Citizen’s Guide to the Legislative Process (published by the Oregon Legislature)
• Oregon Government 2.0 Bill (Pete Forsyth’s open government draft bill)
• Oregon’s 75th Legislative Assembly (Wikipedia)

Now that the election is over, we need to start learning how to be productive students of the legislative process. To that end, Policy in Motion will be hosting a tutorial on “Legislative Literacy”. We’ll start with the basics: deciphering a legislative committee agenda, and where to find information about bills in progress.

It’s going to be all kinds of policy-wonk-tastic fun! Your politically-minded friends are more than welcome, too.

We’ll start getting down to business around 7pm, but feel free to swing by closer to six if you’d like to join us for a potluck dinner. RSVPs are encouraged by not required. Email or post a comment here if you need directions or more info.