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Committee advances bill limiting Adjutant General assistance to DOD calls that would leave Oregon unable to respond to statewide emergencies
Summary
House Bill 3954, which restricts the Adjutant General’s role in assisting Department of Defense calls of Oregon National Guard members except for specified purposes and when the Guard remains capable of responding to statewide emergencies, was advanced to the House floor with amendments and a due-pass recommendation.
House Bill 3954 was advanced to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation after the House Committee on Rules adopted the dash-3 amendment. The bill, as presented by committee staff, prohibits the Adjutant General from facilitating or allowing communication between the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Oregon National Guard members or units for the purpose of calling the member or unit into active service unless the active service is for specified purposes; it also prohibits allowing a call into active service if doing so would render the Oregon National Guard incapable of responding to a statewide emergency. The original draft included a provision to suspend and dismiss an Adjutant General who violated the prohibitions; the dash-3 amendment removes that punitive provision.
Committee testimony discussed questions about whether National Guard leadership had taken a position on the measure. Representative Paul Evans, who identified himself in the record as representing House District 20 and described lengthy personal service in the Oregon National Guard, told the committee that the Guard and its leaders “by definition cannot have a position on a political issue” but that there had been dialogue with National Guard leadership and that the Adjutant General “asked for this change, through the governor’s office.” Evans said the Adjutant General “was appreciative of the amendment” and that he “cannot say he's for it. I cannot say he's against it.”
Vice Chair Pham moved adoption of the dash-3 amendment; the amendment was adopted and Vice Chair Pham moved the bill as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Evans was recorded as the floor carrier. The committee recorded no fiscal or revenue impact for the measure.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about Guard posture and the balance between policy-making and execution; Representative Evans emphasized the distinction that “we make policy, they execute.” The committee record shows adoption of the amendment and advancement to the House floor; no additional implementation directives or statutory cross-references were recorded in the work session excerpt provided.
