2017 SJR 34: Proposal for controls on administrative rules

What SJR 34 Does

Senate Joint Resolution No. 34 was sponsored by Senator Knopp.  The bill proposes to add a Section 5 to Article III (Separation of Powers) of the Oregon State Constitution which would demand that the Legislature can block Administrative rules that meet certain criteria until such time that the Legislature approves the rule.  After approval, the rule would automatically be revoked after 6 years, and I assume there is nothing that would prevent re-approval.  We have seen similar proposals for allowing the Legislature to get involved in Executive branch business here and here.

My View

This proposal is clearly flawed and serves, I feel, only as a symbolic political document that truly was never intended to go anywhere.  In this proposal the mechanism for prohibiting rules is not spelled out in any way.  Second, if you look at the criteria in subsection (2), these are quite subjective and would lead to wrangling no doubt the first time someone proposed to use this provision.  Third, the writers would have included re-approval in the sunset clause if they had been serious.
The other proposals linked above definitely had more merits that this bill.