The Beaver Caucus

OSU is supporting students and the community

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Dear Beaver Caucus Member:

I hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy during these unprecedented times. As we are all dealing with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to reach out to highlight what OSU is doing to support students and the broader university community.

Supporting student’s educational success. Through the hard work of OSU’s faculty, 4,000 Spring Term courses have moved to remote delivery. However, we must recognize students’ lives, like many of ours, have been disrupted, resulting in unexpected financial needs. The OSU Foundation has launched the Beavers Care Initiative which will provide immediate resources for OSU students at the Corvallis campus and at OSU-Cascades who are facing new and overwhelming challenges including the security of their basic needs.

The OSU Board of Trustees voted to freeze tuition for currently enrolled students for the summer term and the 2020-2021 school year. OSU will continue to evaluate if they can provide tuition relief to students who are enrolling in the fall.

OSU researchers have pivoted work to fight COVID-19. With disruption in the medical supply chain, many hospitals are struggling to find the necessary resources to test and treat infected patients. In response to a request by Samaritan Health Services, the OSU Veterinary Lab stepped in to produce a critical fluid for COVID-19 testing. The fluid, known as viral transport medium (VTM), allows for the safe transport of patient samples to testing facilities. OSU has the tools and ingredients on hand to produce VTM and sent three liters to Samaritan, enough to process 1,000 tests.

This past week OSU scientists launched a public health study in Corvallis to determine the community prevalence of the virus that causes COVID-19. Team-based Rapid Assessment of Community-level Epidemics (TRACE) will be among the nation’s first to measure the prevalence of the virus among people who are both symptomatic and asymptomatic. With this more comprehensive information, public health and government leaders will be able to better guide efforts they are waging against the virus.

Extension and engagement grow in a new format. OSU Extension has moved their engagement platforms online and are looking for opportunities to expand. For example—a faculty member in Clackamas County is creating videos about forest ecosystems that can be used to supplement the distance education about our environment. Additionally, the Master Gardener vegetable short course online has seen record registration numbers of over 25,000 aspiring gardeners.

Containing university expenditures. While OSU will receive some relief under the federal CARES Act, it only partially covers the impact COVID-19 is having on OSU’s finances. But the university is also taking several steps to offset financial losses including; dramatically reducing expenditures for services, supplies and business travel, restructuring debt payments in auxiliaries, limiting hiring positions to only those essential to maintaining student progress toward degree completion, and evaluating staffing and benefit options for those individuals where work may no longer be available.

This is an uncertain time for you too. While this email addresses the impact of this health crisis on OSU students and the university community, I recognize and understand that wherever you call home, you are living and working in communities impacted by COVID-19, and following the health and safety measures that have been implemented to contain the pandemic.

We don’t yet know the full scope and scale of the challenges we will face in the coming weeks and beyond, but we remain committed to supporting OSU through our advocacy efforts. We all share a commitment to care for our students and help our beloved university carry out its mission to educate, research, and serve.

We are in this together, after all.

Go Beavs!

Sincerely,

Bill Perry
President

Beaver Caucus Legislative Session Recap

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OSU COVID-19 Information: Oregon State University has added a link on the OSU homepage to a new page that provides detailed and up-to-date COVID-19 information.

2020 Legislative Recap
By Bill Perry – Beaver Caucus President

The 2020 Oregon Legislature adjourned abruptly last Thursday when Democratic leaders announced there would be no further floor sessions prior to the constitutionally mandated end of the legislative session on Sunday, March 8 at midnight.

Two weeks ago, Senate Republicans, followed by their colleagues in the House, walked out of the Capitol to protest cap and trade legislation. The Republican walk-out denied majority Democrats a quorum necessary to consider final passage of bills on the House and Senate floors. The denial of a quorum prevented not only passage of the cap and trade bill, but also halted the passage of all other legislation, including bills to fund and support OSU projects and programs.

What was the impact on the Beaver Caucus’ legislative priorities?

OSU and the Beaver Caucus should be extremely proud of what we accomplished. Due to your advocacy, the Ways and Means Committee approved $34.5 million in bonding authority for the Arts and Education Complex on the OSU main campus and $12.9 in general funds for the Student Success Center on the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend. Unfortunately, an agreement to bring the Republicans back to the building was never reached, therefore, preventing final votes on these bills.

What’s next?

Legislative leadership and the Governor are developing plans to call the Legislature back into “special session” sometime in the next 30 days. However, due to new public health and safety measures related to COVID-19 the timing is uncertain. It is also important to note that a special session will likely have the same dynamics if the stalemate over cap and trade has not been resolved. The Governor did take the first step to move carbon decisions away from the Legislature with an Executive Order directing state agencies to implement some of the measures in the cap and trade bill.

Once leadership announces when the legislature will reconvene, we will renew our efforts to ensure continued support for our projects and get them over the finish line (which was, prior to the early end of the session, in sight).

Stay informed

We will share more information and updates on our website, Facebook and Twitter accounts during the special session.

For more information on legislative action related to OSU, please see the OSU Government Relations legislative update.

Thank you for your support. Go Beavs!

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: March 6

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March 6 Legislative Update by Jon Eames

Late yesterday afternoon, the Speaker of the House, Tina Kotek, announced from the floor that the House will effectively end their work this legislative session.  Speaker Kotek, in an impassioned and emotional speech, announced no further floor sessions will occur prior to the constitutionally mandated end to the Legislative session on March 8th at midnight.

For a refresher on how we got to this point:

In a typical session you’d expect to see a Sine Die announcement at the exact time the House and Senate finished their legislative business, adjourning for the year. However, this is not a typical session. A week and a half ago, Senate Republicans, followed shortly thereafter by their colleagues in the House walked out of the Capitol building and have yet to return.

Oregon’s House and Senate Republicans hold enough seats in each chamber to deny the majority Democrats a quorum necessary to consider final passage of bills on the respective chamber floors. The walk-out is centered on one bill: the Cap and Trade climate policy which Democrats have publicly set as their top priority this session. The denial of quorum prevents not only passage of the climate bill, but also halts the passage of all other bills on chamber floors.

Over the last couple weeks Democrats engaged in contingency planning by moving all bills which have the support to pass to a place in the process where they could move most expediently if Republicans were to return to the Capitol.

Today, House and Senate Republicans announced their willingness to return to the building on Sunday March 8th, the constitutionally required end date of session, to complete the unfinished business of the 2020 session. Implicit in this announcement was the understanding Republicans would have the authority to use procedural hurdles to prevent the passage of any legislation of which they did not approve, meaning they would still be able to prevent passage of Cap and Trade should Democrats attempt to move a vote of the bill on the floor.

In light of the early end to the session, Speaker Kotek also announced the Governor’s plan to exercise executive action on climate change in the coming days and that the emergency board will meet on Monday March 9th to distribute emergency funds to address Coronavirus and the Umatilla Basin flooding.

This premature end to session means many bipartisan policies and critical agency budget adjustments have been caught in the crosshairs.  Speaker Kotek indicated Legislative leadership and the Governor are developing plans to call the Legislature back into “special session” at some time in the next 30 days. However, no formal announcements have been made.  It is also important to note a special session is no different than a regular session in that the same dynamics could be at play if the Cap and Trade policy is still on the table.

We will continue to update you as new information becomes available.

Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area. Follow us for more updates.

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: Week 5

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Katie Fast, OSU Government Relations
Week 5 – March 6, 2020

Yesterday, after Republicans announced they would return on Sunday to vote on budget bills, both the House and Senate leadership concluded that a day was not enough time to work all bills passed out of committee and through the chambers, and that Republicans would not be allowed to pick and choose which bills would be considered. Both chambers adjourned without intentions of returning before the constitutional sine die (end of session) on Sunday night.

Legislative leadership announced the Emergency Board will convene on Monday to address coronavirus response and flood recovery for Umatilla County. A special session to address budget bills and other agreed upon policy bills within the next 30 days has also been discussed. However, details have not been released. OSU and other public universities will be advocating for the bills that fund university projects be included for consideration.

Earlier this week, the Ways & Means Committee approved funding for the following OSU projects and programs:

  • $34.5 million    Arts & Education Complex (bonding)
  • $12.9 million    Cascades Student Success Center (general fund)
  • $700,00            Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia research (general fund)
  • $170,000          Mulloscan Broodstock research (general fund)

Thank you to all the Beaver Caucus members for their extraordinary advocacy this session. A great deal of progress was made due to your collective efforts, and we are not done yet.

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: March 3

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March 3 Legislative Update by Jon Eames

The Ways and Means Capital Construction Subcommittee just met to discuss the final budget bills, including those associated with funds for University capital expenditures. Both the Arts and Education Complex and the Student Success Center were fully funded with a combination of bonding and general fund dollars. While funding for the second phase of renovations for Cordley Hall was not included in the final budget bill, OSU will resubmit Cordley Hall Phase II for consideration in the 2021 session. Even though the budget does not include all three projects, we are grateful for the funding for the other two OSU/Beaver Caucus funding priorities. The bills now move to the full Ways and Means Committee which meets at 4 pm today.

Of course, House and Senate Republicans continue to be out of the building, preventing any final votes of all bills on the Senate and House floors. It is still unclear whether Republicans will remain out of the building or return sometime prior to the March 8th conclusion of this year’s legislative session. If a quorum is not reached prior to March 8th, all legislation, including budgets, will be dead.

More to come as we learn more about the final few days.

Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area. Follow us for more updates.

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: Week 4

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Katie Fast, OSU Government Relations
Week 4 – February 28, 2020

Cap & Trade legislation continues to dominate the Oregon Legislature. On Monday, the Senate Ways & Means Committee passed SB 1530 to the floor. Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) added himself to the Committee to break a tie vote of Senators. Immediately after the Committee vote, Senate Republican members left Salem and, except for Senator Tim Knopp (R-Bend), are denying a quorum of the Senate. On Tuesday, the House Republicans, except for Cheri Helt (R-Bend), joined their colleagues in the walkout.

Adding to the drama, the House Rules Committee voted to issue subpoenas to missing House Republicans that would require them to testify at the Capitol on March 5 regarding the reasons behind their boycott. Democrats have also advanced three new pieces of legislation that represent “more aggressive” potential paths to regulate carbon emissions than the current Cap & Trade bill.

With only 9 days remaining until lawmakers must adjourn, the Oregon Legislature has passed just three bills, and resolution to bring the Republicans back seems bleak.

In other political news, Senator Shemia Fagan (D-Portland) announced a run for secretary of state. Former House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson pulled out of the race over a Willamette Week investigation over the use of her campaign funds. The Democrats will have a five-way primary with Senator Mark Hass, Cameron Smith, Jamie McLeod-Skinner and Jamie Morrison already filing to run. Earlier this month, Republican Senator Kim Thatcher announced her candidacy; no other Republican candidate has filed or announced.

Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area.

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: Week 3

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Katie Fast, OSU Government Relations
Week 3 – February 21, 2020

This was a great week for OSU in Salem! On Tuesday, Senator Arnie Roblan invited President Ed Ray to be his guest on the Senate floor. Besides kind remarks by Senator Roblan, Senators Courtney, Hansell and Gelser all extended courtesies to President Ray and commented on his contributions to OSU and Oregon. You can find those clips here.

On Wednesday, both OSU Cascades students and Now 4 OSU Cascades were in Salem advocating for the Student Success Center. Efforts like these and Beaver Caucus’s advocacy elevate OSU’s capital funding requests. We have been getting good feedback about the presence of OSU’s advocacy efforts in Salem this session.

Negotiations around capital are currently on-going. We know OSU’s three projects (Cordley Hall, Arts & Education Complex and Cascades Student Success Center) are in the mix. The Capital Construction subcommittee received a presentation from HECC Director Ben Cannon last Friday, who implored the committee to fund university capital projects. The written testimony for the hearing included submissions from the Beaver Caucus, the Associated Students of Cascades Campus and the Oregon Student Association in support of OSU projects. Beyond a certain measure, we are not able to handicap the politics that drive the outcomes on capital construction. That is why the Beaver Caucus’s continued efforts are so important.

Next Monday, SB 1501, which allows collegiate athletes to earn compensation for their name, image and likeness, will be heard in the House Education Committee. OSU is neutral on the legislation. OSU gymnast Halli Briscoe will testify in Committee giving a student’s perspective on the bill. Other higher education policy priorities including student food/housing insecurity and transfer are awaiting action in the Ways & Means committee.

Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area. Let’s keep it up!

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: Week 2, 2020

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Katie Fast, OSU Government Relations
Week 2 – February 14, 2020

University Day at the Capitol was held on Thursday, with over 150 students, staff, and alumni from all over the state supporting shared public university priorities. This included legislation on student food and housing insecurity, underrepresented students, student transfer and capital construction.

This Thursday also marked the deadline for bills to move out of their committee of origin. Here is an update on several of the policy bills Oregon State University’s government relations team is working on:

  • HB 4055 – HECC to study and develop recommendations on how community colleges and public universities can best combat food and housing insecurity among their students. Referred to Ways & Means.
  • HB 4057 – Bans Lottery from offering betting on collegiate sports. Referred to House Revenue.
  • SB 1501 – Allows collegiate athletes to earn compensation for their name, image and likeness. Will be third read in the Senate on Monday, February 17th.
  • SB 1554 – Appropriates funding for several ocean programs including ocean acidification and hypoxia. Referred to Ways & Means

Today, the Ways & Means Capital Construction Subcommittee will hear from the Higher Education Coordinating Committee on the university bonding proposals. We will be watching to see if the committee gives some indication on the direction they will take.

Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area. Let’s keep it up!

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: Week 1, 2020

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Katie Fast, OSU Government Relations
Week 1 – February 7, 2020

On February 3, the Legislature convened and immediately got to work with committees hearing bills on the first day. Oregon State University’s legislative agenda progressed forward with several hearings:

  • HB 4055 – HECC to study and develop recommendations on how community colleges and public universities can best combat food and housing insecurity among their students. Claire McMorris, OSU Government Relations Coordinator, testified with a collation of student and hunger advocates. Scheduled for a work session next week.
  • HB 4051 – Establishes a hemp commission. College of Agriculture faculty, Jeff Steiner, joined hemp farmers in support of the creation of a commission to assist this growing agriculture sector. Scheduled for a work session next week.
  • SB 1501 – Allows collegiate athletes to earn compensation for their name, image and likeness. OSU gymnast, Halli Briscoe, joined UO Athletic Director shared both student and universities perspectives on this high-profile issue. Amendments are agreed upon, and OSU is neutral. Scheduled for a work session next week.
  • SB 1554 – Appropriates funding for several ocean programs including ocean acidification and hypoxia. Faculty from the Marine Studies Institute and the Sea Grant shared with the Senate Environment & Natural Resources Committee some of the work they are doing in these areas.

Discussions around capital continue, but leadership does not yet have agreements on bonding projects. Advocacy for OSU’s three projects continues. Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area. Let’s keep it up!