12 / 22
The Oregon Surveyor
|
Vol. 39, No. 5
12
Government Relations
2016
PLSO Lobbyist Board Report
MEMORANDUM
Date:
August 12, 2016
To:
PLSO Board of Directors
From:
Darrell W. Fuller
Re:
Lobbyist report
The Oregon political/legislative world is reeling from
the unexpected death of State Senator Alan Bates
(D-Ashland). He apparently died of a heart attack after
a day of fishing with his son. Senator Bates, a family
practice physician, was truly one of the “good guys”
at the Capitol and he will be missed by everyone—
Democrats, Republicans, staffers—even the building
custodians were his friends.
Campaign Update
Senator Bates’s untimely death adds an unexpected
wrinkle to an already interesting political season. He
was in the middle of a four-year term and was not
campaigning. However, with the seat now vacant, a
new Senator will be elected in November to complete
the remaining two-years of his four-year term. Then,
two years hence, the seat will be up for election again
for a full four-year term. With no time for a Primary
Election, the political parties (major and minor) will
soon meet to select candidates who will have little
time to organize a campaign.
Outside of this, most of the political focus is on the
gross receipts ballot measure with businesses lining
up against it and public employee unions backing its
passage. The opposition campaign has already raised
more than $5 million with $20 million as the goal.
Realistically, both the Senate and the House will
remain in Democratic control after the elections
unless something earth-shattering and unexpected
occurs. Republicans in the House have some excellent
opportunities to narrow the gap (currently 35-25). The
Senate numbers may well stay the same.
At this point, I also expect all the state-wide races
(Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney
General) to remain in the hands of Democrats.
Legislative Update
Lawmakers will gather at the Capitol in Salem
in September for interim meetings. It is at these
meetings that lobbyists learn more about what
legislators are planning for the full session next
year. This is an opportunity for legislators to float
trial balloons. If I learn of anything that impacts
Land Surveyors, I will let you know immediately. At
the same time, I am scheduling meetings with both
Senator Lee Beyer (D-Springfield) and Rep. Paul
Holvey (D-Eugene) who chair the committees which
will likely deal with the hydrography issue. I plan to
update them – that the hydrographers apparently will
not be advancing a bill to create a distinct registration
process next year – and ascertain their appetite to
deal with this issue over the objection of the hydrog-
raphers.
Beyond hydrography, the final product of the
geospatial work group is the only other issue on my
RADAR at this time. If you are aware of other issues
boiling under the surface, please let me know.
Membership Meetings Update
I have started the process of meeting with the
local chapters as I am invited. This is an initiative I
suggested, if my memory serves, during the most
recent convention. To date, I have attended the
Willamette Chapter dinner in Salem and the Pioneer
Chapter meeting in Oregon City. I hope the feedback
has been positive from both dinners. I know I learned
a lot.
On October 17th I will travel to southern Oregon to
attend the Rogue River chapter dinner.
I am happy to attend more regional meetings. All I
need is an invitation!
During those meetings I am encouraging PLS’s to
“adopt” their local legislators and start building a
relationship. I have asked people to invite their
legislators to shadow them for a day, or part of day,
so that the lawmakers will know more about what
you do, the problems you face, and why PLS’s are
vital to commerce. To date, I am not aware of anyone
actually following through on these suggestions. But I
remain hopeful and I am dedicated to the process of
building our influence by building relationships at the
local level.
As always, if you have any questions, comments,
suggestions or concerns, please give me a call or
shoot me an email.