Testimony of Sal Peralta on SB 1083 to the Senate Committee on elections and Ethics, (remarks as prepared for delivery)

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Madame chair,

Distinguished Senators, my name is Sal Peralta. I am speaking here today as chief petitioner on Initiative Petition 3 (2010), as the owner of a business that works on initiative petitioning, and as an Oregon elector.

I have been following the Secretary of State's implementation of the various rules and regulations that pertain to Oregon's Initiative and Referendum system.

The Oregon Legislature is considering bills to severely restrict the initiative process and make it far more difficult for grass-roots groups. No wonder. The legislators want to increase their own power by reducing the power of the people to legislate on their own.

The testimony of Dan Meek on the first bill to receive a hearing is below. Contact your legislators and oppose this bill.

You can send an email to all members of the Oregon Senate by sending it to orsenate@oreg.net.

You can send an email to all members of the Oregon House of Representatives by sending it to orhouse@oreg.net.

The House Committee on Elections, Rules, and Ethics held hearings. At each hearing, the public was suddenly confronted with a massively amended bill, prepared by the Committee in private. This undermined the public hearing process, because no one could prepare correct testimony.