SALEM -- More than 2,500 bills have been introduced in the Oregon Legislature this year, most of which never see the light of day.
As of this week, we have a better idea which ones have a shot at becoming law. The Legislature reached a critical point in the session Tuesday -- the deadline for bills to receive a committee vote or perish.
Here's a look back at some of the bills we've written about so far and where they stand:
ENVIRONMENT
Pesticide spraying: Senate Bill 613 would have tightened regulations for aerial pesticide spraying. It was introduced after an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed Oregon does less to protect people and the environment from drifting chemicals than neighboring states.
But the bill hasn't made it out of the Senate Energy and Environment and Natural Resources committee, meaning it will die unless lawmakers make a concerted effort to revive it before the session ends.
Elliot State Forest: House Bill 3474 would have laid the groundwork for public ownership and protection of the forest. It hasn't made it out of the House Committee on Rural Communities, Land Use and Water.
Senate Bill 806 would have required the state to cut at least $40 million worth of trees each year. It hasn't made it out of committee and probably won't with little support from Democratic leaders.
ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY
Kate Brown's promise: All three pieces of legislation pitched by Gov. Kate Brown in the wake of John Kitzhaber's resignation remain alive.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, in her first State of the State speech on April 17th, told lawmakers they couldn't go home for the year without tackling ethics reform.
In her State of the State speech, the new governor said she won't let lawmakers go home for the year without tackling ethics reform (though there's not much she can do short of chaining them to their desks).
House Bill 2019, which would change the makeup of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission among other tweaks, unanimously cleared the House's committee on "government effectiveness" on Tuesday. It now lives in the Legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee. House Bill 2020, which expands the list of officials who must disclose their economic interests, is biding its time in the House Rules Committee. It's the same for Senate Bill 9, which would order up an audit of how the executive branch handles public records requests. It's in the Senate Rules Committee.
We'll be watching closely to see if Brown can follow through on her promise.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed ethics reforms in response to the influence-peddling scandal involving former Gov. John Kitzhaber and his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes.
The GOP's solution: House Republicans have their own set of ethics reforms in mind. House Bill 3331 would give the Legislature power to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the executive branch for wrongdoing. Republicans have introduced a number of others that would lengthen retention schedules for public records, make it a crime to lie in testimony to the Legislature (a response to the Cover Oregon debacle), and further define the role of Oregon's "first spouse."
Unlike most Republican bills this session, these might have a shot. There are hearings scheduled next week in the House Rules Committee, signaling that Democrats might be willing to play ball.
Kumbaya? We'll keep listening.
Impeachment: House Joint Resolution 31, a bipartisan proposal for a constitutional amendment creating an impeachment process for executive branch officials, is still in the mix. It lives in the House Rules Committee, where it had a public hearing April 13.
Campaign finance reform: A pair of proposals from Brown meant to attack money in politics are holding on, but barely, in the face of free-speech issues and political opposition. Senate Joint Resolution 5 would amend the section of the state constitution covering election rules to allow regulation of contributions. Senate Bill 75 would enact specific limits assuming SJR 5 is adopted. SJR 5, however, is likely to be amended. And many officials who support the amendment aren't sure they support the limits in SB 75. Both could wind up stranded in the Senate Rules Committee.
HEALTH
Savings accounts for people with disabilities: Senate Bill 777, which piggybacks on federal legislation creating special savings accounts for people with disabilities, remains intact after it was unanimously shipped from the Senate's finance committee to Ways and Means.
Vaccine exemptions: A controversial measure requiring schools and child care facilities to publicly report how many students have gone without immunizations remains alive, unlike a previous measure that would have removed all non-medical exemptions from vaccinations. Senate Bill 895, which also requires local health departments to provide vaccines free of charge, passed to Ways and Means from the Senate's education committee on a party-line vote Tuesday.
Senate Bill 895 would require schools and child-care facilities to post aggregate information about their vaccine exemption rates and to send that information to parents twice a year.
Speaking to supporters on the Capitol steps Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, said she's confident it will move out of committee soon.
We'll see if she's right.
Birth control: An amendment to House Bill 2028 by Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, would have allowed pharmacists to prescribe oral contraceptive pills over the counter. The amendment died in the House' health care committee, but Buehler is hoping to revive it before the end of session.
That's possible, considering Democrats like the idea. We'll see if they make it a priority or kick it to the short session next year.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Racial profiling: Legislative language that would have banned racial profiling for all law enforcement officers in Oregon was moved from House Bill 2003 into a companion bill sponsored by Rep. Lew Frederick, D-Portland. That bill, House Bill 2002, originally sought to catalog incidents of profiling statewide. The amended version of HB 2002 was sent to Ways and Means on Monday.
House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, is fired up for of this one, meaning it probably has a good shot.
Curious about other bills? Post a comment below and we'll do our best to find an answer for you.
Visit gov.oregonlive.com to track bills and keep tabs on the people who work for you in Salem.
Kelly House and Rob Davis contributed to this report.
-- Ian K. Kullgren and Denis C. Theriault
503-294-4006; @IanKullgren