February 22, 2013 - Oregon State Bar

MINUTES
BOG Public Affairs Committee
Meeting Date: December 6, 2012
Location:
Oregon State Bar, Tigard, Oregon
Chair:
Steve Larson
Vice-Chair:
Hunter Emerick,
Members Present: Steve Larson, Tom Kranovich, Michael Haglund
By phone:
Patrick Ehlers, Maureen O’Connor,
Others Present: Theresa Kohlhoff, Caitlin Mitchell-Markley
Members Absent: Hunter Emerick
Staff Members: Susan Grabe, David Nebel, Kateri Walsh
ACTION ITEMS
November Minutes. Approval of the November minutes was set over for a regularly scheduled
meeting.
INFORMATION ITEMS
Court Funding Coalition update. The committee discussed current developments and next
steps moving forward. The OSB will focus its energy on a two-tiered strategy: in the short term
targeting key legislators for the 2013 session; and in the long term, developing a statewide task
force and initiative to educate the public and build support for the court system.
The general action plan includes 1) development of a backgrounder on the OJD budget and
talking points which will be distributed to the board in the next day or so 2) refinement of the
message according to the NCSC report 3) work with the MBA to retain a PR firm to develop
vignettes for the webpage that show how courts intersect with people/ the community, and
that align with leadership’s priorities of consumer protection, human services and education 4)
Build coalition with managing partner roundtable and business groups 5) and Create a standing
advisory task force of public officials to deliver the message to the public.
Grassroots effort. The committee expressed interest in revitalizing the bar’s grassroots
network for the 2013 session. Although labor intensive, this type of local networking can be
very effective once mobilized. Public Affairs will start to gather names of volunteers when
updated legislative information is available. Due to the election and redistricting, information
for the 2013 legislative districts will not be available until after the January 14.
February Legislative Reception. The committee discussed a limited CLE program (30
minutes) for the reception where the President of the bar would host the event and showcase
Chief Justice Balmer speaking on the State of the Courts.