Oregon lawmakers, staff and legislative agencies press Ways and Means for year‑round funding for LA‑2 positions

The General Government Subcommittee held a public hearing May 1 on House Bill 50 16 and related legislative staffing requests, with lawmakers, legislative staff and the legislature’s service agencies urging funding to retain year‑round LA‑2 positions and bolster agency capacity.

Why it matters: Legislators and staff said volatile part‑time staffing disrupts constituent service, raises turnover and reduces the legislature’s ability to oversee agencies and develop policy between sessions. Legislative Council and the Legislative Policy and Research Office (LPRO) told the committee their workloads and responsibilities have increased and outlined specific position and technology requests intended to preserve institutional knowledge and meet demand.

Representative Mark Gamba of House District 41 opened public testimony by saying the staffing issue “in some ways seem[s] really small and insignificant, and in other ways are actually kinda pivotal,” arguing that insufficient staff pushes legislators to lean on lobbyists and limits the time members can spend digging into policy. Multiple other legislators — including Senator Deb Patterson (District 10), Senator Floyd Prozanski (District 4), Senator Lou Frederick (District 22),…