Rep. Greenlick unleashes wave of Nanny State Bills…again

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon

No one works harder at advancing Nanny State bills than State Representative Mitch Greenlick. His common theme is to have Oregonians surrender personal liberty and responsibility in exchange for intrusive government bureaucracy and new criminal laws.   Here are a few at an early glance…

Greenlick wants adults to require doctor’s permission to obtain tobacco by making it a controlled substance (HB 2077). Imagine how long the lines at the local pharmacy will be and how long seniors will have to wait in these lines to get their life preserving medicine because Greenlick’s law will explode prescription requirements and turn our pharmacies into something like an old-style Russian bread line. Then of course he wants to tax tobacco with additional higher taxes (HB 2275) so as to punish any doctor who dares write a permission slip.

Greenlick wants drivers to obtain a permit to use studded tires (HB 2277) that comes with a hefty $500 fine. He then wishes to tax those studded tires (HB 2278) just in case you do get a permit.

Greenlick wishes to extend the failed Westside Commute boondoggle train from Wilsonville to Salem (HB 2338). Well, we suppose this train which has under-performed and at over-cost to taxpayers would not be a successful government project unless you double down on failure by spreading the financial misery with other taxpayers across the state.

Greenlick wishes to remove local control of health decisions by creating 8 regional health care authorities (HB 2348).  Because consumers, businesses and even local governments cannot be trusted with their own health care decisions. Here is the description

“Establishes eight regional public health authorities. Transfers responsibility for public health services in each county to regional public health authority with jurisdiction for county, regional public health administrator, regional registrar and regional medical examiner, from local, county and district entities and officers.”

Greenlick is also trying to (as it appears) to merge Washington and Clackamas County into one massive Multnomah Super County (HJR 2). Something he tried in previous Sessions. I guess one outcome could be that the Multnomah bureaucratic big-brother model would be pushed upon its neighbors into one super-giant-mega size bureaucratic government machine pending voter approval.   Notice how Greenlick is making it easier for governments to get bigger but not allowing people the freedom to leave  to form their own smaller counties.

— We cannot help but feel that the sacred nature of our personal liberty and freedom get diminished when politicians toy around with far-reaching measures to take our freedom of choice away – even if these laws never become enacted.

(Note: Some of these newly released bills still under analysis).