Hooray! I like the renovation part myself... There's a chance that the hideous green/orange carpeting can be renovated away? Wonderous!

Everything else is gravy.

Why shouldn’t they hire only one assistant for all the legislators?

Why shouldn’t they hire only one assistant for all the legislators?

1-let voters decide id raise is OK 2-only if needed..not for esthetic's 3-OK 4-your joking 5-excellent idea 6-NO! 7-Make it illegal period. All meetings should be open to the public. Raises constitutional questions Let's go back to calling it the " Ethics Commission" and have separate funding.

1-let voters decide id raise is OK 2-only if needed..not for esthetic's 3-OK 4-your joking 5-excellent idea 6-NO! 7-Make it illegal period. All meetings should be open to the public. Raises constitutional questions Let's go back to calling it the " Ethics Commission" and have separate funding.

1-let voters decide id raise is OK 2-only if needed..not for esthetic's 3-OK 4-your joking 5-excellent idea 6-NO! 7-Make it illegal period. All meetings should be open to the public. Raises constitutional questions Let's go back to calling it the " Ethics Commission" and have separate funding.

Ooops,sorry it did it again. It gave the code twice and I could barely read it.

I was at the meeting. 1-let voters decide id raise is OK

The proposal is to have a combination of citizen members of the compensation commission and appointed professionals with experience in HR doing compensation packages. Part of the discussion was about the whole package--per diem, health insurance, etc. and not just salary. Part of the discussion was about outlawing the hiring of relatives--if a legislator comes from a long distance and hires a spouse, that contributes to family income. But is that fair to those who don't hire family members? And what about equal opportunity vs. nepotism? They want to have a pay package high enough to attract legislators who are neither independently wealthy nor retirees, but not high enough that it becomes a career path and legislators don't have jobs in the real world.

"Let the voters decide" implies a ballot measure, ads by opposing sides, etc. Is that really the best way to decide this?

About the renovation, one of the big concerns is safety--incl. modern wiring. Even the wings were built before the electrical needs of modern computer and other technology were known.

As far as the proposals rejected, it might be more precise to say that after a robust debate and some logistical questions (could the Speaker attend a fundraiser if leadership is kept away from fundraising?) the votes weren't there.

CREATING a performance-evaluation unit for state-funded programs in the Legislative Fiscal Office.

Does this mean that we currently don't do performance evaluations for state funded programs? If that is the case, it sounds like a long overdue idea.

I posted once about Oregon Jim Crow re: Legislative salaries. It is bad for Oregon's legislature to be in the hands of only the wealthy or retired, it isn't supposed to be a personal hobbyhorse.

John N. said: Does this mean that we currently don't do performance evaluations

The state already does extensive evaluations of programs’ efficiency and effectiveness through the budgeting process. The Oregon Progress Board has set numerous benchmarks for state performance and many budgets and programs are tied to these standards in addition to numerous internal performance measures adopted by the legislature. Oregon has actually been on the forefront of Performance Based Budgeting for almost a decade. I’m not entirely sure what the proposal does that’s different, but I’m guessing that it would create a dedicated office within the Legislative Fiscal Office that would oversee and monitor performance outcomes and program benchmarks.

The Public Commission on the Legislature's deliberations are available on cable (ch 29 in Portland area), streaming and archived audio at leg.state.or.us as are meeting agendas and other documents. Any member of the public who is really interested in these issues has access to the information they need to form an informed opinion. Unfortunately, too many people just want to tee off without knowing the pros or cons of the issues.

The comments of LT and JTT are right on point. The Oregon Progress Board (also available online)benchmarks for civic involvement show Oregonians as a whole making no real progress on understanding the issues they want to complain about the most. Fewer than 20% of Oregonians can correctly identify the state's largest revenue source or the state's largest expenditure.

The comments of KISS above reflect this unfortunate situation. Too glib, too shallow.

The Public Commission continues to meet and work on these issues. Stay tuned. Better yet, tune in. The meetings are open to the public. Get involved.

Sorry, the correct link to agency performance measures adopted by the legislature is here

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Legislative sessions should begin in March rather than in January. Major financial decisions are always delayed until after the May forecast by the state ecomomist.

Howard, did you say something?

<h2>Sorry for the redundant posts. The verification jumble kept demanding that I letter in successive jumbles and I complied. I finally gave up in frustration and am flabbergasted they went through.</h2>