By Jody McNannay
Oregon Bio actively participated in or monitored 34 of the more than 3,000 legislative measures introduced during the 2011 Oregon session, which came to a close on June 30. The primary focus centered on achieving the goals identified by Oregon Bio’s Legislative Priorities, approved by the Government Affairs and Advocacy Committee (GAAC). In some cases, the proposed measures had direct impact on Oregon Bio; in others, they addressed broader issues affecting Oregon Bio members.
According to Jack Isselman, Oregon Bio’s legislative lobbyist, “A dozen or so (measures) commanded the preponderance of Oregon Bio’s advocacy during the (2011) session.”
Testimony for Senate Bill 5528 increases lottery/general fund
The successful passage of Senate Bill 5528, which contained the budget of the Oregon Business Development Department, is just one example of how Oregon Bio’s advocacy (providing joint testimony before the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development) paid dividends for members. Joining with legislative partners to pass this bill, Oregon Bio’s efforts resulted in a lottery/general fund increase of over 22 percent. Given the $3.5 billion shortfall at the beginning of the session, this was an impressive success that resulted in $2.8 million in continued funding of the Oregon Translational Research and Drug Development Institute (OTRADI), a GAAC top legislative priority.
Senate Bill 219 leads to economic development incentives
Oregon Bio also advocated strongly for Senate Bill 219, which sets aside $4 million for the creation of new economic development incentives through the establishment of the Oregon Business Retention and Expansion Program, another GAAC priority. Attention will focus on assisting high-growth, less capital-asset-dependent businesses, such as those in the life sciences industry. The program will offer forgivable loans to encourage businesses to expand and locate in Oregon, in turn helping to create high-wage, high-skill jobs in the state.
SB 219 also included $2 million for the SBDC Network, $1 million for the Credit Enhancement Fund, $400,000 for the Oregon Trade Promotion Program and $300,000 for the continuation of Grow Oregon, the economic gardening pilot program.
House Bill 3017 extends sunset dates
Oregon Bio actively participated in the effort to pass House Bill 3017, a key economic development bill. Passage of this bill, number 7 on the list of GAAC priorities, extended the sunset date of the Enterprise Zone program (except for the purpose of specified corporate excise or income tax credits), which has been used successfully by Oregon Bio members for employer recruitment and expansion.
House Bills 2100 and 3507 successfully enacted
Two bills that were successfully enacted and may well prove interesting to Oregon Bio members in particular are House Bill 2100 and House Bill 3507. HB 2100 establishes a Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee to perform the functions of the Drug Use Review board, which was abolished.
House Bill 3672 extends two critical sunset dates
As is often the case when dealing with legislative measures, the demise or review of a measure can be 
significant. In the case of HB 3672, which proposed to extend the sunset date for both critical income tax credits and key enterprise zone-related tax credits, the measure’s importance lay in which industries were allowed to retain or extend their sunset date. Oregon Bio’s advocacy was successful in extending the sunset dates for the two credits that were most important to the organization. Both the e-commerce overlay in enterprise zones and long-term rural enterprise zone had their sunset date extended to January 1, 2018. A third credit, the Qualified Research and Development, or R&D tax credit, demanded the attention of Executive Director Dennis McNannay, the Oregon Bio staff and several member companies. Though seemingly fated to sunset entirely, this credit, which allows businesses to receive a tax credit for qualified research expenses, was ultimately extended. Though there was a reduction in the maximum amount of the credit, the joint efforts of the measure’s advocates resulted in a victory for Oregon Bio.
House Bill 3507 authorizes grants for economic development
On a slightly more transparent note, passage of House Bill 3507 authorizes the Oregon Innovation Council to make grants and loans from the Oregon Innovation fund to Oregon growth businesses advance innovation-based economic development in Oregon.
Senate Bill 5528 and House Bill 2879 focus on international markets
Both Senate Bill 5528 and House Bill 2879 focus on business beyond Oregon’s borders. SB 5528 increased support for the Oregon Trade Promotion Program, which provides Oregon companies with tools to explore entering international markets. Through extension of the Grow Oregon Council, HB 2879 facilitates business access to international markets. HB 2879 also offers market research and additional support for businesses.
Ongoing work planned for legislative agenda
On May 24 th , Oregon Bio and Software Association of Oregon hosted the “Investing in Oregon-Improving Access to Capital for Oregon Companies at the State Capitol. Although the event was well attended by representatives of Oregon Bio companies, the Governor’s Office, the Treasurer’s Office and state legislators, one fact remains clear: Oregon has yet to enact the meaningful incentives that are needed to help early and mid-stage businesses gain access to the capital they need to grow and remain in Oregon. Recognizing this, Oregon Bio is already considering the possibility of introducing legislation in 2012 or 2013 that will address this issue.
Fortunately, a great deal of effort and time was spent laying the groundwork for these efforts. With the assistance of both GAAC (particularly Jennifer, Sandra, Dianne and Jack Isselmann) and key industry members, Oregon Bio successfully engaged in meetings with 18 Oregon state legislators. According to Executive Director Dennis McNannay, “Our focus was on members in leadership positions or those viewed as industry opinion leaders. In almost all cases, these legislators and their staffs were very open to our message—which I believe resonated well.”
In an effort to further expand Oregon Bio’s message, Dianne Danowski Smith and Dennis McNannay gained greater access to members of the congressional delegation when they participated in a legislative fly-in. “In all but two cases,” McNannay explained, “we met directly with the congressional Representative or Senator and staff. As with the state representatives, these efforts will gain momentum over time if we can continue this effort.”
Rather than resting on successes achieved in 2011, Oregon Bio is already planning how it can follow-up on the successful passage of several beneficial measures and the protection of key programs. By building on the well-articulated goals and strategies developed during the 2011 Oregon Legislation session, McNannay believes the advocacy agenda developed this year “will continue to pay dividends as we move forward and build momentum on a year-to-year basis.”
Jody McNannay (jmcnannay@gmail.com) is a freelance writer and photographer. Regardless of the medium, delivering a clear, compelling message that considers the audience as well as the content is the essential part of communication. Whether the final product is a strategic plan, news release, marketing collateral or technical publication, Jody has worked to maximize the impact of the message. Previous clients include Oregon Episcopal School, the American Hanoverian Society and a variety of software organizations.