Legislative Briefs
Community college boundaries
What it does: Oregon’s 17 community colleges offer educational services to the communities within the boundaries of their district and may levy property taxes to fund that purpose. House Bill 3120 (2013) gave the Higher Education Coordinating Commission control over the process to change community college boundaries. House Bill 2090 would revise the process of changing a community college district boundary to increase procedural clarity and ease of public access. Most importantly, it would create time limits for submission petitions, modify the process for conducting public hearings during the process, require that elections may only occur if funding is appropriated by the Legislature and align the process with the state aid funding model for community colleges.
What’s new: The House Education Committee held a public hearing Jan. 28. There was no opposition to the measure.
What’s next: The bill will likely be scheduled for a work session in the future.
Youth suicide prevention
What it does: In 2014, House Bill 4124 mandated the development of a five-year Youth Suicide Intervention and Prevention Plan. The Oregon Health Authority worked with interested parties from across Oregon to adopt strategic objectives to develop and implement a plan for preventing suicides among Oregon youths 10–24 years of age. House Bill 2381 would change the age limitation to include children younger than 10.
What’s new: The House Health Care Committee held a work session Jan. 28 to move the bill to the House Behavioral Health Committee without recommendation.
What’s next: The bill will likely be scheduled for a public hearing in the Behavioral Health Committee in the near future.