The Republican Liberty Caucus of Oregon

General observation:

1. The performance of Republicans was below average, a lot of work needs to be done.
2. A common trait among the majority of the republicans was the lack of understanding. They do not show any significant understanding of the principles of liberty with only few exceptions.
3. In our evaluation we were not strict to avoid having only 7 people above 60 points with no perfect score.
4. Scores that are below 60 points are F. We recommend unseating the politicians with an F rating.
5. Senator Linthicum has always been one of the strongest defenders of the principles of liberty along with Senator Robinson. We are thankful for their service.
6. Representative Jami Cate was especially impressive since she has voted on the vast majority of the bills but remained principled and a strong defender of liberty. We are thankful.

Grading criteria:

1. The evaluation was based on the votes on 73 bills that has passed through both chambers.
2. Some of the bills with less impact and importance were not included.
3. The bills that has all the Republicans voting the same way were not included.
4. The document above show voting records on these bills for all legislatures.
5. The color yellow indicates absence the bills were not counted for the evaluation.
6. Number 0 means they voted the wrong way and 1 means they voted for liberty.
7. The 73 chosen bills are a good sample size for evaluation.
8. Explanation of the bills relating to the principles of liberty are listed below.

Bills explanation:

1. SB 4: Directs Oregon Business Development Department to develop grant and loan program to support businesses. This is a government subsidy and government interference in the market on top of using public money in unnecessary fashion.
2. SB 80: Makes certain changes related to statewide wildfire hazard map which leads to more restrictions and potentially increases insurance rates in specific areas.
3. SB 85: Makes certain changes concerning water quality permits for confined animal feeding operations. Drives many farmers out of business with loose definitions for no real benefit.
4. SB 99: Prohibits certain facilities that provide long term care from taking specified actions based in whole or in part on resident’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or human immunodeficiency virus status. Government interference in client agent agreements.
5. SB 104: Requires Department of Human Services to contract with one or more agency with choice services providers and with one provider by July 1, 2024. Increases the spending by more $7 million unnecessarily.
6. SB 123: Directs producer responsibility organization to consider and develop recommendations for use of digital labeling to convey information about recyclability claims. Unnecessary regulations that adds costs to the production.
7. SB 161: Moves deadline for occurrence of events related to establishment of Elliott State Research Forest. Adds unnecessary regulations and restrictions on lands.
8. SB 184: Modifies employer child support reporting requirements to include payments made to independent contractors. Adds more regulatory costs on businesses.
9. SB 208: Grants juvenile court continuing wardship jurisdiction upon establishment of permanent guardianship, regardless of whether original bases for wardship jurisdiction continue to exist. Violates parental rights.
10. SB 224: Updates and modernizes statutes that regulate practice of architecture in this state to conform with actual current practice of architecture. Adds unnecessary regulations which effects the costs.
11. SB 234: Expands authority of Chief Justice of Supreme Court to make rules for gathering specified information and identifying and evaluating disparities and impacts in justice system in Oregon. This is a function of the executive branch not the judicial.
12. SB 256: prohibit person from knowingly or intentionally manufacturing, importing, distributing, offering for sale, selling or leasing or otherwise transferring, or installing or reinstalling counterfeit automobile supplemental restraint system component, nonfunctional airbag or object that does not comply with federal standard for make, model and year of motor vehicle. The government has no right to prohibit such sales.
13. SB 283: Directs Department of Education to develop and implement plan to establish and maintain statewide data system on education workforce in state and to convene steering committee to assist in development of business case for statewide data system. Unnecessary spending for a function of the local school districts.
14. SB 310: Increases amount of civil penalty Attorney General may obtain for violation of antitrust statutes from $250,000 to $1 million. Excessive penalty for a counter productive policy which violates the principles of free market economy.
15. SB 337: Establishes Oregon Public Defense Commission within judicial branch. One of the biggest budget items with a total of $400 billion dollars that includes an egregious amount of unnecessary spending and enables unjust laws.
16. SB 489: Eliminates restrictions on payment of unemployment insurance benefits to certain nonprofessional educational workers. Expands the welfare state.
17. SB 490: Directs Higher Education Coordinating Commission to distribute moneys to Area Health Education Center program of Oregon Health and Science University for specified purposes. Unnecessary spending of $1.5 million of taxpayers money.
18. SB 543: Prohibits food vendor from using polystyrene foam container in sales of prepared food. Acknowledging its toxicity, the government has no right to impose such restrictions.
19. SB 546: Requires Oregon Health Authority to adopt and maintain list of designated high priority chemicals of concern used in cosmetic products and to periodically review and revise list. Subject to corruption and unhealthy outcomes, it is a wasteful spending on a function of the market, not the government.
20. SB 569: Requires closed-captioned television receivers in public areas within places of public accommodation to display closed captioning unless exception applies. Unnecessary regulation and spending.
21. SB 586: Makes restorative justice communications confidential. The program itself should not exist for it is not a necessary function of the government. Additionally, it has several flaws that could worsen the victims situation.
22. SB 592: Authorizes Director of Department of Consumer and Business Services to conduct comprehensive inspection of any place of employment as deemed necessary by department based on prior violation history of place of employment. Without court order, it is a violation of owners rights.
23. SB 599: Requires landlord to allow dwelling to be used as family child care home, subject to conditions. The government has no right to require that. The agreed upon contract is enough without government interference.
24. SB 607: Requires Oregon Health Authority to study membership of Pain Management Commission. Unnecessary study of unnecessary commission that should not exist.
25. SB 611: Caps annual rent increases for residential tenancies. The market determines the value not the government. Its interference is creating the crisis.
26. SB 702: Allows Appraiser Certification and Licensure Board to require training on implicit bias and state and federal fair housing laws for real estate appraisers. More costs added to the process for unrealistic and rare goal.
27. SB 767: Limits scope by which public charter schools may conduct operations in school district that is not sponsor of public charter school. The school determines the needed operations with the consent of parents not the government.
28. SB 792: Authorizes Department of Human Services to prescribe application fees for initial and renewed licenses, certifications and endorsements for residential training homes, residential training facilities, adult foster homes that care for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities and facilities or persons certified by department to provide developmental disability services. The people must not need the permission of the government to earn an honest living.
29. SB 999: Clarifies meaning of “one-year period” for purposes of determining amount of unpaid family leave that eligible employee is entitled to take within any given one-year period. It is not the government business to make such demands.
30. SB 1040: Directs Department of Early Learning and Care to establish and administer by rule pilot program for child care micro centers. Unnecessary spending on what is a function of the family not the government.
31. SB 1043: Requires hospitals and other specified facilities that provide substance use disorder treatment to provide to specified patients upon discharge or release two doses of opioid overdose reversal medication and necessary medical supplies to administer medication. Adds more costs to the already unaffordable medical system that is hounded with regulatory costs and subsidies.
32. SB 1089: Establishes Universal Health Plan Governance Board. Some have a nice intent, but they overlook the fact that the money is taken forcefully from some citizens and given to the benefit of others. It is not just.
33. SB 5502: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Oregon Department of Administrative Services for certain biennial expenses. Budget of over $1.3 billion that must see more cuts.
34. SB 5503: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Commission for the Blind for biennial expenses. The intent might be very good but the government cannot forcefully take peoples’ money and spend it on such programs.
35. SB 5504: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Department of Corrections for certain biennial expenses. Increases the already unnecessary spending.
36. SB 5506: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Emergency Board for allocations during biennium. Increases the already unnecessary spending.
37. SB 5510: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries for biennial expenses. Unnecessary spending.
38. SB 5511: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Housing and Community Services Department for biennial expenses and for debt service. Unnecessary spending.
39. SB 5521: Increases the already unnecessary spending.
40. SB 5522: Limits biennial expenditures from fees, moneys or other revenues, including Miscellaneous Receipts, but excluding lottery funds and federal funds, collected or received by Oregon Medical Board.Increases the already unnecessary spending.
41. SB 5523: Increases the already unnecessary spending.
42. SB 5524: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Oregon Business Development Department for certain biennial expenses.Unnecessary spending.
43. SB 5525: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Oregon Health Authority for certain biennial expenses.Unnecessary Spending.
44. SB 5537: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for biennial expenses. Increases the already unnecessary spending.
45. SB 5541: Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Oregon Youth Authority for certain biennial expenses. Increases the already unnecessary spending.
46. SCR1: Expresses support for county clerks and local election officials. It limits the public ability to voice concerns and point to errors and misconducts relating to the election process.
47. HB 2001: Establishes Oregon Housing Needs Analysis in Oregon Department of Administrative Services. It expands the welfare state.
48. HB 2002: It allows minors to undergo surgeries and receives therapies for abortion and gender interventions without parental consent or knowledge.
49. HB 2005: Defines “undetectable firearm.” Punishes manufacturing, importing, offering for sale or transferring undetectable firearm by maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, or both. Criminalizes citizens and violates the second amendment. It solves no crime.
50. HB 2032: Expands eligibility for domestic partnership under Oregon Family Fairness Act to partners of any sex. It destabilizes the society and destroys the family unit. Additionally, the government must stay out of it.
51. HB 2045: Requires health care providers to annually report to Oregon Health Authority providers’ aggregate amount of compensation paid to frontline workers as wages, benefits, salaries, bonuses and incentive payments. Adds more costs to the consumers for unnecessary government intervention.
52. HB 2058: Directs Oregon Business Development Department to develop and administer repayable award program to provide financial assistance to eligible employers to mitigate costs associated with agricultural overtime compensation requirements under section 2, chapter 115, Oregon Laws 2022 (Enrolled House Bill 4002). It tries to solve a problem created by previous legislation by expanding welfare.
53. HB 2087: Extends biennial privilege taxes on merchantable forest products harvested on forestlands. Income Taxes are theft. This bills adds more of it unnecessarily.
54. HB 2100: Increases fees related to driver licenses, driver permits, identification cards and motor vehicles. The government has no right to restrict citizens ability to travel and operate a vehicle unless he pays it.
55. HB 2279: Repeals residency requirement in Oregon Death with Dignity Act. The people can choose to end their life on their own. Nevertheless, we object facilitating death by the government.
56. HB 2281: Requires school districts and public charter schools to designate civil rights coordinator. Wasteful role based on Critical Race Theory.
57. HB 2574: Requires hospitals to adopt policies and procedures to ensure provision of human immunodeficiency virus post-exposure prophylactic drugs or therapies following patient’s possible exposure to human immunodeficiency virus. Regardless of the disputed scientific evidence behind HIV, the bill adds more costs to healthcare and interfere in the patient-doctor relationship.
58. HB 2572: Creates right of action for person injured by paramilitary activity. Redundant with loose and vague definitions that could lead to criminalizing the victim. It makes any group of the 3 people or more, if one of them is legally carrying a firearm, a “paramilitary” group!!
59. HB 2611: Requires that dental and vision are included in health benefits available to part-time faculty members. It adds more costs on these institutions which will be passed to students and taxpayers.
60. HB 2683: Directs Early Learning Council to adopt rules to establish eligibility for certain children to participate in Employment Related Day Care subsidy program. The program itself is subsidized. We oppose it.
61. HB 2696: Authorizes Health Licensing Office to issue sign language interpreter license to qualified applicant. Americans need no permission from the government to work let alone paying fees for it.
62. HB 2697: Requires hospitals to establish professional and technical staff and service staff staffing committees, meeting specified criteria, to develop staffing plans, in addition to nurse staffing committee. It adds more regulatory costs that will be passed to patients.
63. HB 2727: Directs Department of Land and Conservation and Development to convene work group to examine strategies for expanding early learning and care facilities in this state. Unnecessary and the market expands itself according to the needs.
64. HB 2802: Establishes pilot program at Portland State University and Eastern Oregon University to enhance hiring of public university students by nonprofit organizations. Unnecessary spending. It is not the government business.
65. HB 2915: Prohibits retail pet store from offering to sell or selling dogs or cats. Illogical and it is not the government business.
66. HB 2931:Directs State Department of Agriculture, in consultation with Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, to establish cannabis reference laboratory to support enforcement of cannabis regulation. Unnecessary, the rules in the books are already too much.
67. HB 2991: Directs Department of Early Learning and Care to commission independent study regarding barriers to attaining high quality early childhood workforce. Wasteful spending and the government need to stop its useless interfering in the market.
68. HB 3028: Prohibits employer from requiring employee to use vacation, sick or annual leave for time spent by employee as appointed member of state board or commission. It violates the employers rights and adds more regulatory costs.
69. HB 3144: Directs Department of Education to develop and implement statewide education plan for students who are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The department itself needs to be abolished. Regardless it creates a plan based on race. Unacceptable.
70. HB 3198: Establishes Early Literacy Success Initiative. Unnecessary spending of taxpayers money.
71. HB 3201: Requires Oregon Business Development Department to provide financial assistance to support broadband access, affordability and adoption. It expands the welfare state and adds more to the exploded budget.
72. HB 3223: Allows Oregon Board of Dentistry to require applicant for certification as dental assistant to pass written examination. Unneeded government intervention. Additionally, it is not the government role.
73. HB 3235: Creates refundable child tax credit, calculated based on number of dependents of taxpayer that are qualifying children with respect to taxpayer and are under six years of age at close of tax year. It is an expansion of the welfare state.