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A Message
From Representative
Whitsett
Happy 155th Birthday
Oregon!
Photo
Credit to
travel.nationalgeographic.com
The second week of
February brought the
legislature to the
end of individual
bill presentations
before the House
committees. After
Feb 14th,
all bills
originating in the
House of
Representatives were
either killed in
committee, forwarded
to the Ways and
Means, Rules,
or Revenue
Committees or passed
out onto the floor
of the House, for
passage or defeat.
Bills that passed
across the House
floor were sent onto
the Senate Chamber
for hearings over
the next week (Feb
16-22).
WATER INTERFERENCE
BILL
An entire two and a
half hour committee
meeting in
Agriculture and
Natural Resources
was dedicated to our
HB 4044,
which was the bill
regarding
determining, by
empirical scientific
evidence,
interference between
ground water and
surface water before
cutting off
permitted irrigation
well water by the
Oregon Water
Resources Department
(OWRD).
Over 130 Klamath
Basin farmers and
ranchers have been
threatened by the
OWRD to have their
irrigation ground
water wells shut
down as soon as
April 2014. This is
in addition to the
same ranches having
all of their surface
water called on, and
shut off, by the
Klamath Tribes (as
the newly
adjudicated senior
water right holder)
and the OWRD in
2013. The
adjudication
provides absolutely
no direct statutory
control over ground
water, but the OWRD
is trying to tie the
two water sources
(ground and surface)
together in an
attempt to gain
control over all of
the ranch and farm
lands (through their
water) in certain
areas of the Basin,
without going
through the process
of defining a
“Critical
Groundwater Area”.
OWRD does not want
to go through this
process as there
really is not a
shortage of ground
water in this
region.
Senator Whitsett and
I wrote
HB 4044 which
would require the
OWRD to provide
specific empirical
field science for
EACH well that they
are going to shut
down. This is in
contrast to OWRD’s
attempt to regulate
and shut down the
wells as a group,
from a very broad
regional computer
study.
The support from
Klamath County
citizens and the
agricultural
community was
remarkable. Many
dozens of letters,
e-mails, telephone
calls, and testimony
by individuals
traveling from a
great
distance were made
on very short
notice. Citizens
drove from as far
away as North Powder
at a distance of 350
miles one way to
speak for two
minutes each in
support of the
bill. Klamath
County ranchers, a
Klamath County
Commissioner
speaking on behalf
of all three members
of the Commission,
and members of the
Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association, the
Oregon Farm Bureau
and other
agricultural groups
traveled hours in
the terrible
snowstorm and I-5
shutdown to give
their extremely
limited minutes of
testimony. To view
written testimony
click here.
We would like to
thank the Ag
Committee Chair Witt
and the members of
the Ag and Natural
Resources Committee
for their choice to
make this bill one
of their three
committee bills for
the entire session.
Unfortunately,
HB 4044 was
killed before a vote
was taken by the
members. So it died
in committee, but
not before the
citizens had at
least a brief moment
to tell their
stories of hardship
and government over
regulation of their
private property.
The bill was opposed
by the Oregon Water
Resources Congress,
a tribal government,
and a host of
environmental
groups. The Klamath
Irrigation District
sent a letter
opposing the bill,
but two members of
the 5 member board
traveled to Salem to
support the bill and
talk about the split
vote by the
organization. In the
end, the
organization agreed
to an amendment
which alleviated
most of their
concern.
Click on picture to
view video (This
video is an hour and
6 minutes long)
Click on Picture to
view video (This
video is an hour and
22 minutes long)
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Senate Bill 1512
Tuesday found
SB 1512 (KBRA
Agreement In
Principle) pulled
from the Senate
committee, and dead
as well. There
apparently were not
enough votes in
committee to get it
to the Senate floor.
This bill was
relating to split
season water leasing
and other issues
related to the
Klamath Settlement
talks and the
Agreement in
Principle.
Click here to view
Senator and Rep.
Whitsett Questions
for Richard
Whitman (This video
is 58 minutes long)
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Methamphetamine Testing
Notification
Wednesday I provided
testimony for
HB 4065,
the meth testing
notification bill in
the House Committee
on Human Services
and Housing. An
amendment was added
at the bankers'
request to make the
bill only forward
acting (no
retroactive
activity) and to
remove the emergency
clause in order to
allow the banks,
federal government
and mortgage holders
to implement the new
law. I agreed to the
amendment and the
bill passed out of
committee and out of
the House of
Representatives on a
unanimous vote. To
view press
release
click here.
HB 4065 is
scheduled for a
hearing on Feb 19th
at 3:00pm in the
Senate Committee on
General Government,
Consumer, and Small
Business Protection,
chaired by Senator
Chip Shields of
Portland.
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Committee Speech on
HB 4065 - A
Click on the picture
to view the video
(This video is 25
minutes long)
House Floor Speech
on HB 4065 - A
Click on the picture
to view the video
(This video is 3
minutes long)
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Best Regards,
Representative Gail
Whitsett
House District 56
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Agriculture &
Natural Resources
Agendas:
Tuesday 2/11/14 Thursday
2/13/14
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Energy & Environment
Agendas:
Tuesday 2/11/14 Thursday
2/13/14
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Human Resources &
Housing
Agendas:
Monday 2/10/14 Wednesday
2/12/14 No
Meeting Friday
2/14/14
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