PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Hard to believe all of the following is happening in the arena – state government – where I made my living for almost 40 years, 15 as a government executive and 25 years as a lobbyist.

But, here is a summary of what I rate as “bad news.”

DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY:  The department has so mismanaged its two-year budget that it is heading to the Legislature to get relief, which means an infusion of cash.

So, if approved, this means that mismanagement will be rewarded.

Back in the day when I was in state government, this would never have happened.  First, the managers of a state agency would have been expected to manage their budget, except for real emergencies such as, in this case, an unexpectedly brisk fire season.

Second, a state agency would never be allowed to head to the Legislature – or, between legislative sessions, to the Emergency Board – for a bailout.  The “never be allowed” point refers to the fact that the governor would have to approve all forays to the Legislature, not this kind of Forestry Department venture.

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES:  The Department has so mismanaged one of his major assignments – running the foster care system – that the governor has found it necessary to create several task forces to oversee the department’s functioning.

For me, the best approach would be to expect Department managers to do their jobs to protect foster kids and, if they cannot, find new ones who could perform.

Foster care mismanagement has gone on for several years now – and it’s unconscionable.

STATE TRAVEL AGENCY:  Speaking of questionable management decisions, a recent Secretary of State audit showed that pay rates for the director and other managers of Oregon’s travel bureau are among the highest of any state agency, even though Travel Oregon’s top brass oversee a much smaller staff and budget.

Since 2012, the audit showed, managers’ salaries ballooned by 76 per cent.  As of June, the state paid the CEO $381,624, including a car and cellphone allowance, up 129 per cent from approximately $167,000 a decade ago. Further, the Oregon Tourism Commission has since granted a 3 per cent raise.

I am all for state government managers getting paid for their hard work, assuming it’s hard, but these salaries appear way out of line.

THE LEGISLATURE ITSELF:  The short legislative session – something that occurs in the even-numbered year after voters approved it several years ago – was supposed to deal with emergencies, such as adjustments to the two-year state government budget halfway through it.

With credit to my friend and blogger, Dick Hughes, here is a summary of beyond-the-pale actions in Salem:

• Late Thursday afternoon, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee passed the climate change bill, Senate Bill 1530 with major changes — a 177-page amendment posted Wednesday evening, only a day before the vote.
• The “safe storage” firearms bill, House Bill 4005, drew passionate testimony on both sides, although few people talked about how the bill actually would work. Advocates had introduced a major amendment about two-and-a-half hours before the hearing, but they struggled with explaining how the details would work in real life.
• House Judiciary Committee Chair Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, added an informational meeting on HB 4005 this week so members could ask questions of a legislative lawyer. The discussion lasted only 25 minutes before Sanchez moved on to other bills.
• Also on Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee shipped Senate Bill 1538 to the Senate Rules Committee — on a party-line vote, without ever holding a public hearing on the measure. The bill probably is dead, although nothing is certain until the Legislature adjourns.  SB 1538 would allow governments to prohibit anyone, including holders of concealed handgun licenses, from carrying firearms in such public buildings as schools or the State Capitol.
• Senator Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, was gracious to the dozens of people who were allowed one-and-a-half minutes each to testify Saturday on SB 1530 (the climate change bill) at the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. More than 130 people asked to testify during the three-hour hearing.   Can you imagine driving to the Capitol from throughout Oregon for the chance to talk for 90 seconds, if at all?
• In another example, a Senate committee held hearing last week on a bill to allow church parsonages on rural land. It occurred on the same morning as the Timber Unity rally, which drew thousands of people — and loud, horn-blaring trucks — to the Capitol to protest the climate change bill.  Public testimony on SB 1555 — the only item on the agenda — was limited to three minutes per person.

These examples remind me of a sad chapter in my past.  When I was dealing with health care issues as a lobbyist for Providence Health & Services, the chair of the House Health Care Committee had managed to hire a staff analyst who would do only his bidding, with, apparently, no responsibility to honor normal legislative processes.

The worst case came when a huge amendment – more than 200 pages – was printed only a few minutes before the hearing where it was to be voted upon.  There were not even enough copies for those who would be interested.  Lobbyists didn’t know anything about it.  Neither did their clients.  And, worse, neither did the public.

To me, these are examples where legislators, faced with tight time frames, are working too fast and, thus, limiting public comment on important, not to mention controversial, issues.

If it were up to me, I’d do either of two things:  Scrap the short sessions as an experiment that didn’t work, or return to the original limits on what can be done in only 35 days in Salem.