Lonesome Me

For people who don't read comments to blog posts - and you really should as they are both interesting and informative - I was properly corrected for an error I made in my previous post "The Soul of a Man". This correction has been up several days, but seems to have been lost on more a few people. Here is the correction.

Oregon's constitution does not have a pocket veto. The Governor has 30 days to either sign, veto, or ignore a legislatively passed bill. The effect of signing or vetoing is pretty obvious, especially when the Legislature is adjourned. HOWEVER, if the Governor chooses to ignore a bill, it becomes law after 30 days or on the effective legislative date of the bill. Oregon does not pattern its executive after the US President, which was my error. With that out of the way, we can return to the primary point of my previous post.

All constitutional mechanics aside, the rumors still persist that the Governor may well veto SB 897. I've heard this rumor from multiple, independent sources. They could be wrong, of course. OPRI's lobbyists and OPRI itself continue to express optimism that this bill will be enacted by the Governor. Nothing would make me happier than to see it go into law, given the devastating effect its absence has had on the lives of some PERS retirees.

So, for those of you out there gloating that I've gotten the constitutional mechamics wrong, I fully admit that this was one area in my education (which was in California) that was weak. But, being wrong about the mechanics doesn't change the central point of my message.

Please, if you have not already done so, write or email the Governor soon to indicate your desire for him to sign this very necessary bill. It contains some important safeguards for future retirees so they don't end up in the predicament Kay Bell found herself.