2023 OR Legislative Scorecard
The following scorecard lists several key votes in the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 2023 and ranks state representatives and senators based on their fidelity to (U.S.) constitutional and limited-government principles.
This is our second state-level Scorecard; the selected votes may not be reflective of legislators' overall records. Their cumulative scores will change as we add more votes. Please check regularly for updates.
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House Votes
HB2004 refers to the people for approval a November 2024 ballot measure that would adopt ranked-choice voting for all state and federal elections.
The House passed HB2004 on June 25, 2023, by a vote of 34 to 17. We have assigned pluses to the nays because all attempts to enact ranked-choice voting should be opposed. This complicated, multiple-round, and unconstitutional method weakens election integrity by allowing a candidate to potentially win without genuine support from a plurality of voters. The scheme’s ballot casting procedures cause voter disenfranchisement by undermining each citizen’s right to vote and could deny them from being able to select the one and only candidate of their choice. In addition, the elections process in Oregon should be prescribed by the Legislative Assembly, and not be subject to popular vote via statewide ballot measure. Referrals directly to the people rely on a simple majority of voters to make statutory changes, making them insufficient safeguards from the “dangers of democracy” or “tyranny of the majority.” Article IV, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution, expressly guarantees to “every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,” which implies government limited to the ‘rule of law,’ as opposed to mere unchecked ‘majority rule.’
HB2002 proclaims that “every individual has a fundamental right” to “pregnancy termination services,” “sterilization services,” and “contraception,” while mandating health benefit plans to cover “gender-affirming treatment.”
The House passed HB2022 on June 21, 2023, by a vote of 35 to 12. We have assigned pluses to the nays because the care of human life—not its destruction—is the greatest responsibility of government. Oregon ought to forbid all methods of abortion and prohibit the practice of sex mutilation. No person has the right to kill or dismember a child using the pretext of “reproductive health services” or LGBTQ+ ideology. Both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution affirm the fundamental, God-given, and unalienable right to life and limb of every person. Therefore, each of the several States has a duty to defend the basic humanity of all its citizens, especially the preborn and minors.
HJM3 informs Congress that all applications for an “amendment convention” under Article V of the U.S. Constitution that were previously made by the Legislative Assembly are withdrawn and “null and void.”
The House passed HJM3 on June 13, 2023, by a vote of 36 to 22. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because efforts to call an Article V convention should be resisted. Instead of failing to uphold their oath of office and risking a constitutional convention, legislators in Oregon and the rest of the several States should “support and defend the Constitution,” as required under Article VI, Clauses 2 and 3, by acting to immediately nullify all unconstitutional federal laws. Whenever the federal government assumes undelegated powers, in blatant violation of the 10th Amendment, nullification of such acts is the proper remedy. Article V of the Constitution was designed to correct potential errors or defects in the Constitution, not to misconstrue or abuse its powers. The States can and must use Article VI to enforce the Constitution, rather than use Article V to change it.
SB93 alters the definition of “child abuse” to mean “any mental injury to a child," including “statements made,” that results in "severe harm" to the child’s “psychological, cognitive, emotional or social well-being and functioning.”
The House passed SB93 on May 31, 2023, by a vote of 39 to 17. We have assigned pluses to the nays because the legitimate powers of government extend only to acts of “child abuse” that are injurious (e.g., physical or sexual assault), which can be substantiated based on an objective standard using verifiable evidence. Not “any mental injury,” consisting of “statements made,” regardless of how “cruel or unconscionable” they may seem, is or can be considered criminal. It is not the duty of, nor would it be possible for, the government to right every “psychological, cognitive, emotional, or social” wrong. Nevertheless, many allegations of “child abuse” are either unfounded or false, and no parent or guardian should ever be reported, arrested, or lose custody of their child in the name of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)—a misnomer for social engineering. This bill is just another example of the serious threat to families from SEL and those who advocate for “best interest of the child” legislation modeled after the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. If it is not opposed in Oregon and elsewhere, it will have severe far-reaching consequences for parental rights and “due process of law” in America. Parental rights are among our “unalienable Rights” protected by the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment.
SB893 directs the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department (OHCS) to implement a "culturally responsive" policy framework "designed to provide support to specific populations" experiencing "homelessness or housing instability."
The House passed SB893 on May 9, 2023, by a vote of 45 to 13. We have assigned pluses to the nays because government is instituted to secure our individual rights, not to “prevent and end homelessness” in society or be “focused on reducing disparities” of property ownership between citizens on account of race or economic status. The U.S. Constitution, which was written to “promote the general Welfare” of all Americans, already protects each person’s “unalienable Rights” to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” affording everyone with the opportunity and dignity to feed, clothe, and house themselves and their family as expected—by meeting their own needs, through their own efforts, and using their own resources. Oregon has absolutely no business discriminatorily and unjustly providing "housing services" to any of its residents, particularly those who have little or no tax liability, at the expense of other hard-working people. It is not only immoral, but unconstitutional. The Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment make it clear that “No State” shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
HB3435 renames the “Oregon Prekindergarten Program” to the “Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten Program,” and provides that children are eligible to enroll in the program until they enter kindergarten, regardless of age.
The Housed passed HB3435 on April 11, 2023, by a vote of 47 to 9. We have assigned pluses to the nays because education is not the role of government. A child's education is the responsibility of—and a fundamental right of choice retained by—his or her parents. Moreover, this bill further expands the government’s monopoly on preK-12 education through a ‘cradle-to-grave’ type of taxpayer-funded program that seeks to displace traditional private preschooling in favor of state-sponsored universal preschooling. Its exchange of public subsidies for curriculum and other regulatory controls effectively turns all participating preschools into government preschools. Educational freedom cannot be obtained by forcing the citizens of Oregon to hand over more of their hard-earned tax dollars to support a compulsory, failing, and government-run school system, which violates their individual liberties under the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment.
