Oregon lawmakers are returning to the Capitol for a three-day flurry of meetings. It’s the first round of Legislative Days since the 2017 session adjourned July 7.
One high-profile hearing will be Monday’s meeting of the Senate Interim Committee on General Government and Accountability.
Its chair, Sen. Chuck Riley, D-Hillsboro, called the meeting last month after reports that the Oregon Health Authority had prepared a plan to plant negative stories in the press about Oregon health care nonprofit FamilyCare.
“It is highly irregular that a state agency would plan to engage in any kind of campaign to attack another entity,” Riley said in a press release announcing the hearing. “It is incumbent upon the Legislature to ensure that state agencies are accountable for their actions.”
The Legislature will also get an update on this year’s fire season, a report on the state’s handling of last month’s solar eclipse, and an update on how the state is reacting to the massive breach of consumer data by the credit reporting agency Equifax.
Legislative committees will also look ahead to the 2018 session, which starts in February.
That includes an update on efforts to find an agreement on so-called “cap-and-invest” legislation. The proposal would create a cap on the amount of fossil fuels used by companies in Oregon and charge a fee on those that exceed the limit. The money generated would be used on projects that would reduce carbon emissions in Oregon.
Cap-and-invest legislation failed to come up for a vote during the 2017 session, but advocates say interim work groups are nearing a consensus for a bill that could be introduced in 2018.
Chris Lehman
/The Oregon Capitol.
Copyright 2017 Oregon Public Broadcasting