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Editorial: Biennial sessions don't make sense The (Eugene) Register-Guard For the past 144 years - since statehood - Oregon's lawmakers have convened in Salem every two years to conduct the public's business. Biennial sessions made sense in a rural state where most decision-making was vested in local governments and school districts. It doesn't make sense any more. While its chances of passing both chambers of the 2003 Legislature are remote - especially with House Majority Leader Tom Knopp, R-Bend, opposed - this session should give serious attention to Senate Joint Resolution 11. The measure, introduced by Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tigard, and Rep. Randy Miller, R-West Linn, would ask the voters to approve annual legislative sessions, with specific limits on how long each session would be. SJR 11 calls for a 120-day session in odd-numbered years and a 45-day session in even-numbered years. Oregon is one of only six states with biennial legislative sessions. The others are Arkansas, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas. Since 1981, Oregon's legislative sessions have lasted an average of just under 180 days. The longest, in 1993, lasted 207 days. The 2001 session lasted 181 days, but was followed by five budget-balancing special sessions, a record number, in 2002. In 1990 the state's voters narrowly - 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent - defeated a measure mandating annual sessions. As the state's budget has grown larger and more complicated, the idea of annual sessions has come up nearly every time the Legislature has met since the 1990 vote, but the proposals never made it to the ballot. SJR 11 should at least be sent to the voters for another decision on the idea. Opponents of annual sessions argue that Oregonians don't want legislators making mischief every year, that there's no pressing need to change the current schedule and that more frequent regular sessions would elevate the influence of lobbyists and campaign contributors. The first argument is more smoke than substance. There's no reason to believe legislators would be more partisan or less productive in annual sessions than they are today. It's up to the voters to elect lawmakers who will diligently address the needs of the state and its citizens, and most will try their best whenever they meet. The second argument is flat-out wrong. It's downright foolish for the state's board of directors - the Legislature - to try to decide how to allocate public resources over a two-year stretch. Indeed, the state's financial problems have been greatly aggravated by the difficulty of projecting revenues and expenses two years ahead. Annual budgeting would reduce the high degree of guesswork inherent in a two-year budget process. The third concern is misplaced. The influence of the lobby and campaign contributors has nothing to do with how often the Legislature meets. It has everything to do with term limits and the corruptive influence of money in elections. Term limits caused a massive hemorrhage in the Legislature's experience level and institutional memory. And as long as Oregon's and the nation's election processes are awash in money, those who provide that money will continue to influence how laws are made and what's in those laws. One problem with SJR 11 is its absolute limit of 120 days for the regular, odd-numbered year session. Lawmakers must have time to thoroughly analyze, digest and decide public policy without having an arbitrary adjournment date staring them in the face. The even-numbered year's limit of 45 days seems appropriate, given the likelihood that the total focus of such a session would be on the budget and any adjustments in it that might be needed. In any event, SJR 11 deserves serious consideration by both chambers and should, once amended regarding the length of the odd-numbered year, be placed before the voters in next May's primary election. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -