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Oregon Election Results
Oregonians considered several notable ballot measures and candidates on November 5. Ballot Measure 115 passed, which will authorize the impeachment of statewide officials by a two-thirds vote of the legislature. Ballot measures related to implementing statewide ranked-choice voting and increasing the corporate minimum tax failed. Another failure was Measure 116, which was closely watched by many in the legal community as it would have addressed judicial compensation through the creation of an independent public services commission.
Regarding statewide offices, Dan Rayfield, former Speaker of the House, won his bid for Attorney General. Elizabeth Steiner, former Co-Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, is the Treasurer-Elect, and Tobias Read, the current State Treasurer, will serve as our next Secretary of State. The state legislature is also slated to gain lawyers, including Anthony Broadman, who is replacing Senator Knopp in representing Bend, and Mike McLane, a former house minority leader who will now be serving in the state senate. McLane was appointed as a circuit court judge by Governor Brown in 2019. The house is also gaining a new representative, Willy Chotzen, who has public defender experience. This brings the total number of lawyers serving as legislators in Oregon to 12.
House of Delegates
The Oregon State Bar House of Delegates had its annual meeting on November 1. The meeting started off with a message from OSB President David Rosen and an update on the state of the courts by Chief Justice Flynn. The delegates considered and engaged in healthy debate over 12 proposed resolutions. Resolutions that passed included supporting adequate funding for the Oregon Judicial Department and the public defense system. The HOD also passed a resolution expressing the bar’s continuing support for adequate funding for civil legal services for low-income Oregonians. Several resolutions failed, including those related to creating a new accreditation system for Oregon law schools and establishing a committee to explore permitting private malpractice insurance. You can watch the full event here.
Public Affairs Section Support
Recently, all bar sections received a letter from the Public Affairs Committee Chair, Curtis Peterson, sharing information about the services available to sections throughout the upcoming 2025 legislative session. Those services include:
Bill Tracking. The bar will review all bills introduced, refer bills of interest to sections, and assist with tracking the progress of notable concepts as the session proceeds.
Facilitating Technical Analysis. The bar may assist sections that wish to produce and offer valuable technical analysis on key bills in their area of expertise—a real value to legislators.
Taking Positions. The Public Affairs Committee will review and may approve requests from sections to take positions on proposed legislation.
If you have any questions about OSB’s legislative services, please contact Public Affairs Director Dominique Rossi at [email protected].
Board of Governors Retreat
The OSB Board of Governors will host its retreat and final meeting of 2024 in Ashland, Oregon, November 22–23. Local lawyers are invited to come meet BOG members and OSB leaders for a social event on November 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., hosted at Ashland Springs Hotel. Before the BOG for consideration are items such as OSB’s budget, as well as the 2025 legislative proposals and guidelines.
Archives
Thank you for reading the Oregon State Bar’s CAPITOL INSIDER.
The archives are available here.
2024 Oregon State Bar Officers and Public Affairs Chair
David Rosen, President, Oregon State Bar
Myah Kehoe, President Elect, Oregon State Bar
Lee Ann Donaldson, Immediate Past President, Oregon State Bar
Curtis Peterson, Chair, Public Affairs Committee, Oregon State Bar Board of Governors
For questions about articles, legislation, or the legislative process, please contact:
Susan Grabe, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer
Dominique Rossi, Director of Public Affairs