April 7 marked the final day for all policy committee chairs to schedule work sessions in a bill’s house of origin—leaving many bills dead in committee, even before the next big deadline.
Committees on revenue, rules and all joint committees are exempt from this rule and given more time to schedule and carry out work sessions. Still, the deadline marks the end for many bills that won’t be moving forward.
After several months of public hearings and discussion, bills introduced by both houses now face the threshing room floor on their way to passage.The bills first move through the April 7 work session scheduling deadline and then the April 18 deadline for committee chairs to move those bills out of committee and on to a possible floor vote in its chamber of origin.
“These deadlines are a big deal because we now have a better idea what the landscape looks like moving into the heart of the session,” NFIB/Oregon State Director Anthony Smith says.
More than 55 solutions proposed by Senate Republicans were sidelined by Senate Democrats—the result of failure to schedule work sessions for each.
“While Republican solutions have been temporarily sidelined, our values and goals for the session remain steadfast,” Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli said in a statement.
Here are some of the key bills NFIB is tracking this session, their status and NFIB’s stance on each.
House Bills
HB 2169 – Replaces prevailing “party” with “plaintiff” (always the employee) for the purposes of awarding attorney’s fees in wage a dispute case. DEAD – NFIB opposed
HB 2180 – Authorizes creation of lien on employer’s real and personal property for unpaid wages. DEAD – NFIB opposed
HB 2181 – Employer is “guilty unless proven innocent” bill. DEAD – NFIB opposed
HB 2193 – The House version of the 2017 “Restrictive Scheduling” bill. ALIVE – NFIB opposes
HB 3087 – Paid Family Leave Act (new employer & employee payroll tax). ALIVE – NFIB opposes
Senate Bills
SB 279 – NFIB member bill – requires disclosure of 12-day window of opportunity to pay unpaid wages be included in employee’s notice on nonpayment.VERY MUCH ALIVE – NFIB supports, passed the Senate 28-0 on 4/12/2017.
SB 292 – Workplace bully bill. Creates unlawful employment practice and violation of Oregon Safe Employment Act for creating or maintaining abusive work environment. DEAD – NFIB opposed.
SB 299 – The Senate version of the Sick Time “fix” bill. Exempts owners and family members from the employee count. ALIVE – NFIB supports
SB 301 – Prohibits most employers from having drug-free workplace policies pertaining to “off-th-clock” marijuana use. ALIVE – NFIB opposes
SB 664 – Prohibits agency from imposing civil penalty on small business for first violation of paperwork requirement if violation does not pose unreasonable risk of harm to employees of small business or general public. ALIVE – NFIB supports
SB 828 – The Senate’s version of the 2017 “Restrictive Scheduling bill. ALIVE – NFIB opposes
SB 984 – Manufacturing overtime pay “fix” bill. ALIVE – NFIB supports
SB 997 – Establishes penalty on employers with 50+ employees that offer health insurance coverage to employees but that have employees working at least 20 hours per week who are on the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid). DEAD – NFIB opposed
