It is hard to believe that 2007 is nearly at its end. It has been quite a year for me, beginning with my swearing-in as a state legislator and concluding with the six-month anniversary of my daughter's birth. I am sure that many of you have had a busy and fulfilling 2007 as well.

The end of the year is a time for looking forward, too. This email will cover two issues on the horizon, one just around the corner and the other slightly further off.

PCC Looks Ahead

First of all, I wanted to let you all know about an event that I am attending in our district tomorrow - Tuesday December 11th - from 4:00 to 6:00pm at PCC Southeast (2305 SE 82nd Avenue at Division).

Over the past couple of years, PCC has been drawing up plans and considering ways we can be ready to serve the students and train the workforce of the future. The metro area and PCC face big challenges in the coming years. The region is expected to grow by 369,000 people by 2020. The population will be both more diverse and older. As technology rapidly changes, the need for higher education and career training will be even greater. Already the demand for trained workers is greater than PCC can meet.

In October, the PCC Board of Directors decided to ask for input from the community about how best to address these challenges through a potential bond measure in November 2008. That's where you come in. I hope that you will join me, despite this short notice, to hear how PCC plans to address the challenges ahead. Your questions and comments will be welcome at this forum.

The Legislature Reconvenes

On February 4th, the Legislature reconvenes for a one-month supplemental session.

I will be taking a month of from my teaching job and settling in to what will be a very crowded capitol building. The House and Senate wings of the Capitol are currently closed for retrofitting and remodeling work that was far overdue (progress thus far pictured at left). This means that legislative staff will be working in crowded cubicles, while many others will be stationed off-site. It will be interesting to see how it all works out, but I do know that my only work space will be my (very small) desk on the floor of the House.

You may be wondering why the Legislature is gathering under such circumstances when we are not scheduled for a full session until January, 2009. Oregon is one of only six states in the nation that don't hold regular annual sessions. The Public Commission on the Legislature, which met in 2006, recommended the short off-year session as a way of better managing the budget and state government in general. The 2007 Legislature agreed with this recommendation, and one of our first orders of business in 2007 was to begin planning for a short 2008 session.

I agree with the Public Commission on the Legislature that we ought to try this out. A few reasons why:

• Every year issues arise that require immediate attention. This year, for example, we've discovered serious problems with the adult foster care system and the developmental disabilities program. We can begin to address these issues quickly and efficiently in the February session, fixing problems now before they become much worse in 2009.
• It is not unusual for agencies to discover problems when they begin to implement new legislation, such as the bills we passed in 2007. Some of these are problems that need to be fixed in order to avoid confusion or litigation.
• Because we budget in two-year cycles, we are required to go through a process where we have to rebalance the budget, consider new requests, or move funds from one area to another. Instead of allowing a small number of legislators to make those decisions (the "Emergency Board"), we can call on the entire legislature to make any budget adjustments that are necessary.

The Eugene Register Guard published an article last Wednesday about the session and some of the bills going forward. Click here to check it out.

Next month, I will send a complete report of the legislation being put forward for the supplemental session, including my own priorities. Sure to be on the list: taking additional steps toward curbing global warming emissions.

As always, please be in touch anytime.

Enjoy your holidays,

State Representative Ben Cannon
1125 SE Madison, Suite 100B
Portland, OR 97214
rep.bencannon@state.or.us
http://www.repbencannon.com
(503) 236-3351