Last week, the 2015 Legislative Session reached its first crucial deadline. Most bills not voted on as of last Tuesday’s self-imposed deadline are likely not moving forward in this session. To date, AGC has closely tracked over 250 of the 3,500 bills introduced. The bills most critical to our industry and members include: proposed laws to expand prevailing wage to private work, multiple proposals to change Oregon’s responsible bidding requirements, and attempts to impose California off-road clean diesel requirements on our industry.
At this mid-point, AGC has been able to defeat or modify many but not all of the bills directly aimed at our industry. In addition, there remain many general business proposals that AGC and its partners are working to defeat that would impact the broader business climate. These bills include: expanded Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) authority, mandated paid sick leave, workers’ compensation, and flexible schedules.
With its coalition partners, AGC continues to advocate aggressively for substantial new investments in career technical education programs and the need to fund Oregon’s transportation infrastructure. The Oregon Legislature’s ability to make these investments will likely remain a question until much closer to the end of the session, expected at the end of June or early July.
The AGC 2015 Mid-Session Report in its entirety can be found here.