Institutional studies
An independent account of how Oregon exercises power, how its institutions developed, and what the evidence shows about their operation.
2017–2026 · procedure baseline: February 2026 · Working paper
Who can move a proposal forward, and what evidence shows how that authority was used?
Following a proposal requires more than its final vote. This reading connects the Senate’s rules and the legislature’s staff structure to the 2017 transportation record, then identifies the evidence needed to explain practical influence and later delivery.
Read the studyTransit funding from July 2023 through June 2025, with history from 2017 · Working paper
What did Oregon’s transit fund pay for, and who decides how it is spent?
When Tillamook’s dialysis clinic announced its closure in 2024, patients faced trips to other towns for treatment. The local transportation district used state transit money to help get them to care as far away as Lincoln City and Forest Grove, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. That money came from a fund lawmakers created in 2017.
Read the studyMarch 27, 2000 · with the February record and later litigation · Document-based working paper
How did PERB allocate 1999 earnings, and what does the surviving record establish about the choice?
Dawn Morgan moved the final 20% Tier One allocation, Steve Bjerke seconded it, and the minutes record unanimous passage. The packet shows the alternatives, disagreement over the reserve, and the limits of the surviving vote record.
Read the studyThese are model-assisted working papers. They have not received independent human review. The wider research outline identifies the work needed for the full account.
The wider investigation
Available readings are linked under each topic. Research outlines describe work still to be done.
Part 1
Who can schedule, amend, advance, or stop a proposal?
Follow referrals and committee decisions through documented episodes.
2007–2026; distinguish House, Senate, joint committees, and each session’s rules.
Which people and places are represented in the record, and which are not?
Connect offices and participation to specific decisions without inferring influence solely from geography.
2007–2026; dated districts and institutional roles; public testimony is not a population survey.
How do time, staff, expertise, and continuity relate to the work assigned?
Study workload and staffing at the office and committee level.
2007–2026; authorized, funded, and filled positions kept separate.
How are legal commitments connected to revenue and spending authority?
Trace the difference between a forecast, appropriation, obligation, receipt, and expenditure.
Begin with HB 2017 and follow 2017–2026 changes by fund and accounting stage.
Part 2
Which historical choices established the institutions now exercising power?
Keep separate sovereign authority, constitutional design, and later practice.
Indigenous governance and treaties; provisional, territorial, convention, and state records through 2006.
How did the institution’s calendar and supporting capacity develop?
Follow the historical changes behind today’s division of work.
Statehood–2026, with detailed modern comparisons from 2007.
How did constitutional and statutory changes alter fiscal choices?
Connect a change in the rule to the decisions and responsibilities it affected.
Historical amendments and litigation, followed into 2007–2026 budgets.
Part 3
Who was responsible for delivery, with which resources and deadlines?
Compare commitments with subsequent administrative records.
STIF and highway preservation, 2017–2026; no generalization to other services without evidence.
How do reports and audits lead to legislative consideration and follow-up?
Reconstruct the sequence from a reporting requirement to a subsequent decision.
2007–2026; begin with transportation reporting duties.
Which decisions depend on more than one government or agency?
Connect legal authority, money, and delivery across institutional boundaries.
Transportation first; state, local, tribal, and federal responsibilities remain distinct.
How does the system respond to evidence, emergencies, turnover, and conflict?
Investigate different mechanisms without treating all conflict as the same phenomenon.
2013 special session, 2019–2023 quorum disputes, 2021 redistricting, and contrasting episodes.
Part 4
What is known about alternative arrangements under comparable conditions?
Present source-grounded, unranked comparisons with explicit objectives and constraints.
Only for defined questions; historical Oregon alternatives and selected external cases.
Which mechanisms recur across transportation, schools, health, and housing?
Build mechanism-specific source bundles while preserving differences among services.
Expand after source and accounting reconciliation in the initial studies.
Published September 27, 2026. Historical edition through August 31, 2026; study baseline dated August 31, 2026.