8 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 47, No. 4 From the PLSO State Lobbyist (L to R) Marshall Coba (ACEC), Tonya Finley (ACEC), Cindy Robert (AIA), Darrell Fuller (PLSO) inside the Capitol celebrating the passage of SB1575-A. TThe first half of 2024 has been pretty busy for those of us in the world of policy and politics. First, it is an election year. Have you noticed? It will only get stranger and more acrimonious between now and November. My advice: Find a reason to be pleasant. It is going to be rough no matter the outcome. Culminating nearly four years of negotiating, compromising, cajoling, and political combat, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1575-A into law with Governor Kotek’s signature. The bill prohibits “duty to defend” provisions in public contracts. Already a Busy 2024 By Darrell W. Fuller, PLSO State Lobbyist Lead by ACEC’s long-term lobbyist and political strategist Marshall Coba, and ACEC President Tonya Finley (her husband, David, is a PLSO member), and partnering with Cindy Robert representing AIA, along with myself, design professionals went head-to-head with literally dozens of government lobbyists to get SB1575-A over the finish line during the 35-day “short session” of the Oregon Legislature. This was truly David versus Goliath. Mayors, County Commissioners, in-house and contract lobbyists for Tri-Met, Metro, AOC, and many cities and counties did their best to derail our work. But we prevailed on this issue of simple fairness. Hard work brought the League of Oregon Cities (LOC), Trial Lawyers (OTLA), and Associated General Contractors (AGC) to a position of neutrality on the bill. Three legislators played key roles in the passage of SB1575-A. The Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Floyd Prozanski (D- Eugene) has been a key advocate since the issue was first raised in the halls of the Capitol about five years ago. His support never wavered. On the House side, there are two state representatives who
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