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Legislature convenes supplemental session
February 05, 2010
The Oregon State Legislature convened on Feb. 1, 2010, for its month-long supplemental session. It opened with a flurry of activity—overriding the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 897 requiring the Public Employees Retirement System to verify and guarantee retirement benefits, allowing more PERS retirees to buy health insurance benefits, allowing all eligible service to be credited toward retirement and allowing a retiree to occupy the board position designated for a PERS member.
The House Education Committee passed and sent to the House floor for a vote:
- House Bill 3660, regarding online education. A product of the Online Education Task Force, this bill imposes requirements related to budget and accounting systems, tracking of student progress, administrator and teacher qualifications, student and school records and notification of enrollment and withdrawal. The bill directs the State Board of Education to develop and recommend to the Legislature in September a governance model.
- House Bill 3628, ensuring that Mandarin language instruction be available to public school students.
- House Bill 3686, removing the prohibition against religious dress by teachers in public schools.
The Senate Education Committee heard:
- Senate Bill 987, a technical fix removing the sunset on pilot education service districts, allowing existing pilots to organize as shared governance.
- Senate Bill 1033, requiring all schools to have an automated external defibrillator.
On February 8, the Legislature will receive a quarterly revenue forecast, analyzing whether state revenue is rising, falling or staying level. Updates will be sent @OSBALegislative on Twitter.com.