NEWS

The week ahead in Oregon’s Capitol

Hannah Hoffman
Statesman Journal

MONDAY

The House Committee on Business and Labor will hold a work session on House Bill 2005, one of two bills being discussed in 2015 that would require nearly all Oregon businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The committee will discuss amendments to the bill and potentially pass it on to the House of Representatives for a vote.

The committee meets at 8 a.m. in Hearing Room E.

TUESDAY

The House of Representatives will vote on two bills related to standardized testing in schools. House Bill 2713 would require the Department of Education to evaluate the use of testing in schools, including the fiscal, administrative and educational impacts, and create a report no later than Sept. 15 on its findings. House Bill 2715 would forbid any school district employee from making public the results of a standardized test.

The House convenes at 11 a.m.

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY

Senate Bill 941, which would expand background checks for private gun sales, has a public hearing scheduled Wednesday and a work session scheduled Thursday before the Senate Committee on Judiciary.

Both meetings are scheduled for 8 a.m. in Hearing Room 50. The public hearing is an opportunity for anyone to testify in favor or against the bill, but it will end at 10 a.m. The meeting will begin with 30 minutes of invited testimony from experts, followed by 90 minutes of public testimony. Each member of the public will have two minutes to speak and must sign up before the meeting begins.

The work session is an opportunity for the committee to discuss the bill and potentially pass it on to the Senate floor for a vote. Two of the chief sponsors of SB 941 are on the committee: Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, and Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Tigard.

FRIDAY

The House Committee on Higher Education, Innovation and Workforce Development will hold a work session on a bill that would create a low-cost bachelor’s degree program in Oregon’s public universities. House Bill 2973 would create the “Affordable Baccalaureate Act,” and it would require public colleges to offer at least two bachelor’s degrees that cost no more than $10,000 in tuition, fees, books and materials.

The committee meets at 8 a.m. in Hearing Room D.

hhoffman@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6719 or follow at twitter.com/HannahKHoffman