2014 End of Session Report
The Oregon Student Association had one of the most robust agendas in the 77th Legislative Session and had a presence in the capitol every single day. Students organized multiple lobby days and actions calling attention to statewide issues students care about. Students worked on proactive policies and defended the 2013 session budgets. Below is a synopsis of the accomplishments made by students and missed opportunities by the legislature. OSA’s full 2014 End of Session Report will be published in the coming weeks. This work could not have been made possible without the dedication of students statewide; from universities and community colleges making up a strong statewide nonpartisan student association.
Affordability
House Bill 5201[1] was the omnibus budget reconciliation bill for the 2014 Legislative Session. This piece of legislation includes 2014 session budget decisions, technical adjustments, and actions approved by the Interim Joint Committee on Ways and Means.
Aspirations to College – HB 4116[2]
OSA worked alongside community colleges to pass HB 4116; which appropriated $750,000 from the General Fund to Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (for the current biennium) to increase the number of underserved, low-income, and first-generation college-bound students who enroll in community college. This is an impactful budget win for students in a session where we didn’t see an investment over previous years in the Oregon Opportunity Grant or any additional tuition buy downs. It also addresses some of our core values in advocating for traditionally underrepresented communities in higher education.
Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG)
The committee increased funding for the OOG by $2.3 million from state Lottery Funds in the Oregon Student Access Commission’s (OSAC) budget. This amount could provide an estimated 1,150 more grants to college students for the 2013-15 biennium. The committee did not restore any of the $2,332,612 General Fund that was reduced from OSAC’s adopted budget for the 2% supplemental ending balance holdback.
Oregon University System (OUS)
The committee approved a one-time General Fund appropriation of $2 million for the four technical and regional universities and Portland State University to fund new compensation agreements for classified staff. The committee also approved a one-time $500,000 General Fund appropriation to both Eastern Oregon University and Southern Oregon University to assist those campuses for the remainder of the biennium as they address budget shortfalls. These appropriations wouldn’t have been prioritized by the co-chairs without the consistent advocacy of OSA throughout the duration of the session. This win will be celebrated by students profusely.
Employment Related Day Care (ERDC)
An increase of $2.2 million was approved by the committee and should allow the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) program to reach an average monthly caseload of 8,500 families over the last 12 months of the biennium. This one-time funding increase is available due to a higher than anticipated amount of Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) carry forward revenue from the 2011-2013 biennium. While this budget is larger than previous years there is a recognizable higher demand than the state can meet. The work that OSA did to highlight the needs of student parents this session elevated the need to change the eligibility requirements for the ERDC. OSA was able to work with other advocates and the legislature to develop and adopt the following budget note.
Budget Note:
The Oregon Department of Education – Early Learning Division’s Office of Child Care and the Department of Human Services will convene a workgroup of stakeholders to develop a set of policy recommendations on how best to modify the ERDC program to provide child care subsidies to working parents enrolled in post-secondary higher education. The agencies will report these recommendations back to the Emergency Board in May 2014; the expectation is that rulemaking to implement legislatively approved changes would follow soon after. Program elements to address within the recommendations should include eligibility criteria, work hour requirements, school attendance verification, academic standing expectations, limitations on assistance, TANF leavers, families having children with special needs, program exit income limits, child care quality, data reporting, caseload priorities, and program evaluation.
Community College Child Care – HB 4084:
OSA worked closely with Representative Jason Conger on House Bill 4084[3] for the first couple weeks of the session and was able to pass the bill through the House committee on Higher Ed. Within the 1st week of session the fiscal impact statement revealed that th necessary appropriation was too steep to pass the bill. Furthermore, the Oregon Community College Association created political barriers to its passage. It was then that OSA decided to work with Family Forward Oregon on the solution described above.
Free Community College Research Bill: SB 1524
Senator Mark Hass introduced SB 1524[4]; a bill that directs the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to research the feasibility of providing 2 years of community college free tuition for recent resident high school graduates. This concept received national attention and will be a upcoming priority for the HECC. The bill wouldn’t have garnered the attention it did had students, staff, faculty and community members elevated it through our combined advocacy. Through the next few months OSA will work closely with the HECC to ensure planning moves ahead and possibly decreasing the ever growing debt loads our students face.
OSA’s Policy Priorities
Governance Omnibus Bill – SB 1525[5] WUE amendment
Senate Bill 1525, Senator Mark Hass’s omnibus bill, made technical changes to SB 270 and HB 3120. OSA also was able to pass an amendment to SB 1525 that clarified a barrier which kept out of state students from registering to vote in Oregon, where they live at least 9 months of the year. Those students are no longer in jeopardy of losing your eligibility for the Western Undergraduate Exchange if they register to vote in Oregon.
SECTION 11 of SB 1525:
The act of registering to vote by a student who is attending a post-secondary institution of education has no effect in determining that student’s eligibility to participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange coordinated by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education established under ORS. 351.780.
Medical Amnesty: HB 4094[6]
OSA worked with Representative Doherty to pass a statewide Medical Amnesty bill. House Bill 4094 passed through both chamber unanimously due to the work of students to build bipartisan support. The bill allows immunity to minors in possession of alcohol if they are attempting to seek medical emergency services. This will allow persons under the age of 21 to contact emergency services or law enforcement if they or a friend are in need of medical assistance. This is a monumental win for students. One that sets the foundation for greater protections, without fear of legal retribution, a bill that will truly save lives.
Missed opportunities
Financial Aid Protections: HB 4102[7]
HB 4102 provided increased protections for student financial aid. Creating restrictions on the types of contracts campuses signed with 3rd party financial firms like HigherOne. This bill passed through the House and failed to gain enough support in the Senate. Financial aid protection is a hot button topic right now and OSA used that public discourse to draw the attention of Oregon legislators. We utilized informational hearings and aggressive lobbying efforts to exhaust all options for passing this bill. In the end Higher One and some of our public higher education institutions lobbied harder and prevailed in stalling the bill. OSA will continue to support this work on campuses and by working with the US Department of Education through their rule making process in the near future.
Student Loan Tax Benefits: HB 4097[8]
HB 4097 would have created a student loan tax subtraction, allowing individuals who attended an Oregon university or community college to subtract 100% of the interest paid on their loans from their taxable state income. This bill failed to gain the support of House Revenue committee chair Phil Barnhart due to an unknown Revenue Impact. We will continue to work with chief sponsor Rep. Julie Parrish in the interim to craft similar legislation for the 2015 session.
Voter Registration Access Bill: SB 1581[9]
Senate Bill 1581 was a bill that would have granted unprecedented access on campuses for students for the purpose of nonpartisan voter registration. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules where it was held up for a number of weeks before being amended by Senator Close and Senator Ferrioli. It passed the senate with strong bipartisan support (20-10) and despite intense organizing by OSA and supporters inside and outside of the building, failed to secure a required public hearing and work session before Sine Die on March 7th, 2014. This issue was not lost because students didn’t try to pass it. We pushed the bill to the final hours gaining new supporters and educating legislators on our issue. We lost because campus administrators avidly worked against us. We also lost because in the end students were splintered off by concerns that we did not have enough time to address. A bifurcation of our organization will always be a sure fire way to kill a bill. We should however celebrate our organizing efforts and endurance on this topic. In the interim we will gain better access on our campuses and search for champions interested in protecting the electoral engagement of students.
Governance Improvements: HB 4147[10]
HB 4147 would have made improved our higher education governance system by adding a third student to the HECC and restoring the voting rights for all student commissioners. In addition, the bill would have added a 2nd student seat to institutional boards for universities; created by Senate Bill 270. Finally, the bill would have created some local accountability for the institutional boards by giving student and faculty a path to removing a local board member. The formal review process allowed for the removal of any institutional board member if the student and faculty senates each pass a Vote of No Confidence by a 2/3rds majority. This issue was tough for leadership and most rank and file legislators to wrap their heads around. House leadership believed they negotiated a better deal for students in 2013 when they successfully placed a student, with voting rights, on each institutional board – only after removing the voting rights of students from the HECC. We will continue to work with our legislative champions and leadership to improve governance in higher education in the interim.
Helpful links:
[1] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/36637
[2] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4116/Enrolled
[3] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4084/Introduced
[4] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1524/Enrolled
[5] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Measures/Text/SB1525/Enrolled
[6] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4094/Enrolled
[7] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4102/A-Engrossed
[8] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4097/Introduced
[9] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1581/A-Engrossed
[10] https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4147/Introduced