Oregon GOP Boycott: Most Bills Have High Reading Score
. The Republicans are boycotting because they feel the bill summaries are too difficult to understand.
Oregon Republicans who are blocking bills in the Statehouse about abortion, gun controls and gender affirming healthcare say that they're simply following an old law requiring bill summaries to be easily read.
State law from 1979 requires that you score at least 60 in a test called the Flesch Readability Test. This is the equivalent to a reading level of 8th or 9th grade. The test was developed in the 1940s by Dr. Rudolf Flesch. He is a psychologist from Vienna.
The scores range from 1 up to 100. 100 is the easiest score to read, and 1 is the hardest.
Most bills are written at a college level, regardless of the political party.
Here are some summaries of recent Oregon bills, along with their Flesch Readability Scores:
CONTESTED BILLS
House Bill 2005 It's about: Gun control measures that ban untraceable firearms, raise the minimum age for buying firearms such as semiautomatic guns from 18 to 21, and allow local agencies to restrict firearms on public property. Flesch Reading Score: 24 Reading level: College graduate Support: Democrat.
House Bill 2002 What is it about? Modifying protections of reproductive health rights in relation to gender affirming treatment. Flesch Reading Score: 14.2 Reading level: College graduate Support: Democrat.
BIPARTISAN HOUSE BILLS
House Bill 5019 What is it about? It's about appropriating money for housing purposes to state agencies. Flesch Reading Score: 17 Reading level: College graduate Support: Bipartisan
GOVERNOR-SIGNED BILLS: