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Votes at a glance: Senate passes measures on medical-debt reporting, foster-family reporting, Walla Walla water pilot
Summary
On April 23 the Senate cleared several bills on final reading, including SB 605 removing medical debt from credit reports, SB 741 requiring foster-family cost and capacity reporting, and SB 761 authorizing a Walla Walla Basin pilot; vote tallies are listed below.
The Oregon Senate advanced several measures on Wednesday. The chamber completed third reading and final passage on a set of bills that members described as addressing consumer-credit fairness, improving child-welfare data and enabling a limited water-leasing pilot in the Walla Walla Basin.
Senate Bill 6 05 A — medical-debt reporting: Sponsor Senator Shemia Campos said the bill does not forgive medical debt but would prevent medical debt from being reported to credit agencies, remove existing medical debt from credit reports and stop reporting for specialized health-care credit cards. Proponents argued medical debt is frequently involuntary, often the result of emergencies, and can unfairly penalize people seeking housing, employment and affordable credit. Senator Patterson and others said the change would improve access to loans and housing for people recovering from illness. The Senate declared SB 605 A passed on final reading; the clerk recorded the final tally as 18 ayes on the floor.
Senate Bill 7 41 A — foster-family compensation and reporting: Senator Kathleen Gelser Blueen described the state child-welfare system's retention and support challenges for foster ("resource") families and noted that a full compensation model to reach 90% of the USDA cost-to-raise-a-child estimate would be expensive. The amended bill requires the Department to report biennially on rates, the number of certified homes and related data so the Legislature can better measure required funding. The Senate declared SB 741 A passed on final reading; the recorded floor tally was 28 ayes.
Senate Bill 7 61 A — Walla Walla Basin: Sponsor Senator Noah Nash said the bill continues collaborative work among the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, the State of Washington, irrigators and Oregon Water Resources by creating a pilot program to allow more flexible in-stream leasing for perennial crops such as orchards and vineyards. The Senate declared SB 761 A passed on final reading; the recorded floor tally was 28 ayes.
Other measures and housekeeping: The Senate also carried over a set of remaining measures to the April 24 calendar and noted messages and committee reports. Several first- and second-reading items were announced earlier in the session. For complete floor debate and the full roll-call lists, consult the Senate journal and the official roll-call record.
Votes at a glance
- SB 605 A (medical-debt reporting): declared passed; floor tally recorded as 18 ayes; outcome: approved.
- SB 741 A (foster-family reporting and rate study): declared passed; floor tally recorded as 28 ayes; outcome: approved.
- SB 761 A (Walla Walla Basin pilot for in-stream leasing): declared passed; floor tally recorded as 28 ayes; outcome: approved.
The Senate also passed other measures earlier in the session; a separate article covers SB 10 32 A (aerosol duster restrictions) and SB 9 26 A (utility wildfire-liability limits), which received extended floor debate.
