1. Abstract
This summer I worked at the Oregon Citizen
Representative office, which is a part of the
Governor’s office. I was the first line of
communication between the governor and the
constituent. My work there coincided with the end
of the Oregon Congress General Session, and so
I became well versed in the major bills that were
or might be sent to the Governor for signing. I
also worked with the policy advisors the Governor
had, and helped with communication between
constituents and the advisors. Other work there
included answering questions for constituents
and drafting policy letters for the office. This
internship helped me to understand the
connection between citizens and government,
and how the decisions made by high-level
officials can be influenced by average citizens. I
enjoyed helping make people’s concerns and
issues heard, along with helping them solve
issues they were having with the government, but
I do not feel that working as an intermediary
between government and constituents is
something I would like to do. It did give me more
of a clear view on how to get into government,
and what type of work I would want to do if I
joined the government.
Captiol
The Capitol building houses the Governor’s
office, the offices of his advisors, the House of
Representatives and Senate and the offices of
those who work there, along with Oregon State
Police offices.
Behind the Scenes in
Oregon
Forrest Kamperman
Grand Bargain
The Governor had many objectives for the
2013 session. All of his main objectives except
one were passed. The one that wasn’t passed
was the bill to provide more funding to schools
by increasing some taxes. In order to get
Republican support for the bill, PERS reform
was included in this package. This package
was a way to decrease future payouts by
decreasing the amount the cost of living could
increase. I watched the vote on the first of
these bills, which was officially defeated 15-15
in the Senate, and sent back to committee for
review, a week before the end of session. The
governor called a special session on
September 30th, where the Oregon Congress
discussed the details of the bill, still trying to
make a workable solution.
Major Bills and Events
-HB 3460- A bill requiring medical marijuana dispensaries to be regulated
more, was signed into law by the Governor
-SB 6- A bill that increases punishment for animal neglect and requires
animal rescue organizations to obtain licenses, passed by House and
Senate, not yet signed
-HB 2456- The Democratic half of the Grand Bargain, would increase
school funding by $100 million, is still on the floor, a special session was
called recently , mostly to discuss this bill and SB 857.
-SB 857- The Republican half of the Grand Bargain, it would limit
PERS(Public Employees Retirement System) cost of living increases, still
on the floor
-HB 3194- This bill was a public safety reform bill, which allowed for
reduction of certain sentences and allowed for more room for appeals, has
been signed into law by the Governor
-Salem Education Round Table- The governor held a round table on
education in Salem, where he first announced his plans for a special
session to try to pass SB 857 and HB 2456
-Emergency Conflagration Act- This act was invoked by the Governor on
July 20th because of fires in central and southern Oregon, as a way to help
those affected by the fires
Future Plans
After working at the Governor’s Office, I have
decided to look elsewhere next year. While I did
enjoy my time working there, and did learn a lot
about government’s inner workings, I do not feel
that I can be sure working in government is
something I want to do. While I am definitely not
ruling out working in Government, I am ruling out
working at a Citizen’s Representative Office.
Being the first line of contact between
constituents and the government is not
something I can see myself doing in the future. I
did make many good contacts this summer, I
definitely feel that it was a beneficial experience.