IT’S HALFTIME AT THE CAPITOL IN SALEM
By: Darrell W. Fuller
(SALEM, OR) -- The 2015 Legislative Session at the Capitol in Salem reached a midpoint, of sorts, at 5:00 PM on Friday, April 10th. A deadline, which expired April 10th, provides an excellent point to stop, pause and reflect on how things are (or are not) progressing in the marbled halls of the Capitol Building.
A quick review of Junior High School civics may prove helpful: For a bill to become a law (remember the Schoolhouse Rock song?), it must pass both chambers -- the House and the Senate -- before going to the Governor.
Since starting in February, State Senate Committees have been hearing Senate Bills while State House Committees have been hearing House Bills. April 10th was the deadline for Committee Chairs to post notices for work sessions on “original chamber” bills. That is, after April 10th, Senate Committee Chairs can no longer schedule meetings on Senate Bills and House Committee Chairs can no longer schedule hearings on House Bills. From this point forward, committees can only work on bills already passed by the other chamber.
It can be a bit confusing. But the point is this: Hundreds of bills. Actually a couple of thousand bills introduced at the beginning of the session, are now officially “dead” for the year. The list of bills which are still “active” has been narrowed substantially.
So, how are the bills of interest to PLSO members faring? Let’s take a look:
House Bill 2161 Authorized county to charge fee not to exceed actual cost to county of recording certain instruments. This bill relates to the fund for corner restoration and maintenance. As written, the bill is confusing at it sets the fee based on cost recovery for the service provided, yet the fee is not used by the county for recording the instruments. The PLSO Legislative Committee voted to oppose this bill.
This bill received no hearing and died in Committee.
House Bill 2164 Makes permanent a pilot project that requires certain licensees (including Land Surveyors) to demonstrate and maintain tax compliance as a condition of issuance or renewal of license. The PLSO Legislative Committee voted to oppose this bill.
This bill had a Public Hearing on February 23 and died in Committee.
House Bill 2831 Modifies authority to use property line adjustment in resource zones. The PLSO Legislative Committee is uncertain how, if at all, this bill will impact surveying. They directed the PLSO lobbyist to contact resource-based associations (Farm Bureau, Forest Industry, etc.) to learn more about the bill.
This bill passed out of Committee with a unanimous vote and is awaiting action by the full House of Representatives.
House Bill 3489 Requires OSBEELs to waive fundamentals of engineering examination and practical engineer’s examination requirements for a professional engineer registration applicant who has held a professional engineer registration or license in another jurisdiction for a specified period. The PLSO Legislative Committee voted to support the position of Engineers who oppose this bill as currently written.
This bill received no hearing and died in Committee.
Senate Bill 166 Establishes International System of Units as state’s official system of measurement. The PLSO Legislative Committee voted to oppose this bill.
This bill received no hearing and died in Committee.
Senate Bill 297 Revises qualifications for registration to practice professional engineering, land surveying or photogrammetric mapping. PLSO participated (via Carl Sweeden) in a work group which drafted amendments to the bill. With the amendments, the PLSO Legislative Committee supports the bill with a recommendation to change one word from “program” to “curriculum”. The Legislative Committee also voted to support an additional amendment to the bill which will clarify that hydrography/bathymetric surveying must be done by a licensed land surveyor. The current statutes do not clearly address under water surveying.
This bill passed the Senate (30-0) and will be heard in the House. If amended in the House, it will have to return to the Senate for re-passage with the new amendments.
Senate Bill 383 Modifies pleading requirements for claims against design professionals (including land surveyors). The bill will make it more difficult to file suit against a design professional by requiring a person with the same or similar credentials to provide a written summary of the defective work by the design professional as part of the legal complaint. The PLSO Legislative Committee voted to support this bill.
This bill passed the Senate (30-0) and will be heard in the House.
Senate Bill 508 Modifies provisions authorizing expedited land divisions. The PLSO Legislative Committee did not take a position on this bill.
This bill received no hearing and died in Committee.
If you have any questions about the bills listed above, or anything else related to the Legislature, please contact me at fuller_darrell@yahoo.com or 971-388-1786.
