By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
July 30, 2007

Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches, and Rep. Patti Smith, R-Corbett, have spent the past month readjusting to regular life after a hectic legislative session.

Metsger believes the work done by the Democrat-controlled House and Senate was the most highly productive in recent history. He said the session at the state capital in Salem was also the shortest since 1995, lasting 172 days.

“I think it was just an overall sensational session.” said Metsger. “We showed that we can come in, get the job done, and get out of there.”

Smith gives the session a mixed review. Several of her bills were signed into law, but Republicans lost ground in their battle to reform Oregon’s land-use system.

“The rewrite of Measure 37 (a property rights law) with the pending ballot referral is really meant to overturn the law, not fix it,” she said. “It doesn’t solve the underlying issues and certainly doesn’t end the litigation, so we really accomplished nothing.”

Metsger and Smith are pleased that a $2.5 billion budget surplus allowed an overall spending increase of 18 percent on education.

“This budget is a turnaround from years of large class sizes and cuts in resources,” said Metsger, co-chair of the interim Senate Commission on Educational Excellence.

“With this upturn in the economy, we can now provide Head Start for all eligible children and more vocational training opportunities.”

Metsger said schools have been given the go-ahead by the Legislature to collect fees from new construction. The money paid by developers is expected to generate $60 million per year statewide. School administrators can use the extra money to add classrooms as the population increases in their respective districts.

Smith questions why new fees were levied during a time of prosperity. She said more than 70 fees were increased this session for services provided by public agencies.

“We are asking people to pay more when the economy is good. Are we going to ask them to pay even more when a downturn comes along and budgets are tight?” she asked.

Metsger said repealing the corporate tax refund put more than $300 million in a “rainy day” fund for future needs. He said the Education Stability Fund brings the total savings to almost $1 billion.

Keeping the budget balanced will be one of Smith’s jobs during the 2007-09 biennium. She was appointed by House Speaker Jeff Merkley, D-Portland, to the Emergency Board.

“The E-Board is authorized to hold state government accountable for the budget bills we passed during the 2007 session,” she said. “This appointment is a tremendous responsibility, and I’m glad to be serving with my legislative colleagues.”

Improving highway infrastructure continues to be one of Metsger’s key concerns. He is seated on the Joint Interim Committee on Transportation and dedicated to connecting Oregon’s urban and rural communities to encourage commerce.

During the 2007 session he lobbied for $100 million in lottery bonds that could be used for air, marine, rail and public transport projects. Metsger also wrote a bill to serve as a roadmap for prioritizing projects and funding needs.

“Everyone knows we need to invest in our transportation system,” he said. “Oregon’s economy depends on it.”

Topping Smith’s achievement list is passage of her bill to help a Hood River family sue Merck & Co. Inc. for a Vioxx-related death. The anti-inflammatory drug is believed to have caused strokes and heart problems that claimed the life of Clyde Rowan in 2002.

Merck pulled the prescription drug off the market just months before Rowan died. Medical studies had determined that Vioxx, which targeted the Cox-2 enzymes that caused pain and dwelling, was responsible for thousands of deaths and disabilities.

However, Oregon law did not allow people to file claims for injuries sustained before Jan. 1, 2004.

Smith advocated to extend the time period for product liability cases arising from problems with Vioxx and similar drugs. She took on the cause so Clyde’s widow, Patricia Rowan, could take her case to court.

“It felt really good to be able to help Mrs. Rowan and others in the same situation seek justice for wrongdoing,” said Smith.