What a difference a Democratic majority (or even a tie) makes.

Unlike North Carolina (R House, R Senate), Tennessee (RHouse, R Senate), Wisconsin (R House, R Senate), Arizona (R House, R Senate), Michigan (R House, R Senate), and Missouri (R House, R Senate), which have all voted to cut unemployment benefits, the Oregon legislature (Tied House, D Senate) voted to extend them. Last week marked the start of the Oregon Emergency Benefits program, which provides the unemployed with an additional six weeks of benefits.

Huffington Post’s Arthur Delaney has the details: 

People laid off through no fault of their own are eligible for up to 99 weeks of aid in 25 states. But last month, Oregon lawmakers gave the long-term unemployed an additional six weeks of benefits. That means that in Oregon, where the unemployment rate stands tall at 10 percent, so-called "99ers" -- people who've burned through all 99 weeks without finding work -- can now theoretically become "105ers."

…For those who receive maximum aid, the benefits cycle like this: The state initially provides up to 26 weeks and the federal government provides the rest through two programs. The first is Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides up to 53 weeks of benefits broken into four "tiers," and the other is the Extended Benefits program, which provides the final 20 weeks. (Recent efforts to provide more weeks of federal benefits have stalled.) The programs can combine to provide fewer than 99 weeks depending on a state's unemployment rate.

Compare this to the cuts Republican-controlled legislatures have been making to unemployment benefits:

At the same time Oregon is taking steps to increase aid, other states are effectively cutting it. Several are allowing the federal Extended Benefits program to expire by choosing not to update the arcane "trigger" used to determine a state's EB eligibility. A high unemployment rate is one condition; the other is that the rate must be 10 percent higher than in either of the two previous years. When it reauthorized the federal unemployment benefit programs in December, Congress invited states to modify their triggers to encompass an additional previous year, since unemployment rates in most states have risen dramatically from what they were three years ago but have held relatively steady over the past two years.

North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin let the program die on April 16, and the Arizona State Legislature has adjourned for the year without taking up the issue. Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. are expected to "trigger off" EB come May.

Lawmakers in Michigan and Missouri acted to preserve EB, but at the same time they cut state benefits to 20 weeks, making them the only states that provide fewer than 26 weeks for newly unemployed people. Twenty weeks will be all that remain once the federal programs expire in January, unless Congress decides to reauthorize them, which is an open question.

So while Republican-controlled state legislatures are busy union busting, pushing birther bills, fighting the nonexistent threat of sharia law, or authorizing the use of gold as legal tender, Democratic state legislatures are actually helping people.

When singer and Greek resident Louise du Toit wrote to Oregon Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) urging him to oppose a GOP-sponsored bill that would weaken environmental protections in the state, she probably didn’t expect her voice to carry much weight overseas.

But she certainly didn’t expect the sheer boorishness of Sen. Ferrioli’s answer:

"Are you kidding? Why do you expect that input from [European Union] residents make any difference at all to me? I'll be supporting Dr. Whitsett's bill (he is a VETERINARIAN). By the way, perhaps I should be writing to EU ministers to stop bailing out Greece. Clearly it has become a haven for morons.

"Go Away!"

Ferrioli clearly never gave a second thought to his behavior, because he later sent a second email to du Toit:

"You are delusional if you believe US elected officials will bow to activist pressure from outside our borders," he fired back. "Let your friends, family and fellow Europeans in their thousands write passionate emails. We will ignore them."

And in yet another email he began proudly forwarding around the state capitol, this time (apparently) to a Portuguese citizen:

"I regret to inform you that as a citizen of Portugal, your input on any issue under consideration by the Oregon State Legislature is no of interest to me."

Surely Sen. Ferrioli is aware that the U.S., Greece, and Portugal are all free countries, and all of our respective citizens have the right to express our political views to whomever we choose. Should all nations’ citizens expect their views to carry equal weight in an Oregon state Senator’s deliberations? Probably not.

But consider this: While Sen. Ferrioli was wasting his time (time, by the way, that’s paid for with taxpayer dollars) sending emails trashing Greece and Portugal, soldiers from both nations were in the field helping to fight our war in Afghanistan. Some have even died there, along with hundreds of other EU citizens.

What does that have to do with wolves in Oregon? Nothing, really. But it’s one way to show how Sen. Ferrioli’s attitude – that the rest of the world exists only to be ridiculed or ignored - is childish and immature to the core.

Next time, Senator, have some class.

Friday's edition of The Rachel Maddow Show (featuring guest host Chris Hayes) featured a discussion of attempts in Texas to defraud and confuse those voting in state legislative races in Texas, as well as the critical nature of those down-ballot races this year because of redistricting. Oregon state Rep. Jefferson Smith (HD 47) fielded questions on the subject and discussed his own efforts to promote voting.

The President’s health reform law is going to save thousands of lives and make coverage more affordable for millions of Americans. It also left some good, progressive ideas on the table. But with the reform bill now law, Democratic state legislators are already stepping up to put those ideas into action.

Colorado, Maine, and Maryland have all passed bills to reinforce or speed up key planks of the federal reform plan, like the prohibition on charging higher premiums for women or the ban on lifetime caps on benefits. Meanwhile Oregon, which created the Oregon Health Authority last year to study ways to improve the affordability of health care, is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the federal reform plan.

But states like Connecticut and Vermont are preparing to go even further. Connecticut will be continuing its SustiNet project, a state-administrated health plan overseen by a board of experts reporting directly to the Legislature. The Vermont Senate has given preliminary approval for a bill requiring the Legislature’s Health Care Reform Commission to develop three separate plans for implementing universal health care, including one plan that creates a state-run public insurance option.

Even before the President’s plan passed, Democratic state legislators were at the forefront of health care reform in America. But now that we have health care reform on a national scale, expect states to continue pushing the envelope – finding new ideas and offering bold solutions.

And expect Democrats to continue leading the way.

A two-year-old Oregon program is making significant progress promoting renewable energy production and energy conservation. At the same time, the success of the program is tearing down one of the most persistent, Republican-peddled lies in the rural West: that clean energy and environmental protection are somehow threats to rural livelihoods.

As Oregon’s program is proving, clean energy and rural prosperity actually go hand-in-hand:

"Renewable energy and efficiency are more prevalent in agriculture," [renewable energy specialist Stephanie] Page said. "A lot of folks have completed projects already, but as energy prices go up, more people will look for opportunities."

On the energy efficiency side, operators have found ways to save through more efficient irrigation, greenhouse heating, lighting, pump and motor operation, and even milk cooling in dairies. On the renewable energy side, operators have harnessed solar, wind, small hydroelectric, and geothermal energy sources. Some producers have pursued biofuels. In many cases, the energy saved or generated on the farm is being used to run the operation. In other cases, a surplus of energy is used to provide power for others. What works best for an individual farmer or rancher depends on the type of operation and, to some extent, the tax liability. Accessing tax credits can make these kinds of projects worthwhile.

"Oregon has some of the best incentives in the country," said Page, who credits the 2007 State Legislature for adopting a comprehensive renewable energy package.

Among the programs available to producers is the Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit, which provides a 35 percent credit for energy efficiency projects, a 50 percent credit for renewable energy projects, and a pass-through option for businesses that don't have the tax appetite to use the credit themselves.

As states expand their small-scale renewable energy programs across the country, we’re learning that rooftop solar panels are only the beginning, especially in rural America. Some of the most exciting opportunities involve agricultural production, which uses scores of energy-intensive (or energy-producing) processes that can be re-thought and harnessed. Oregon is leading the way and proving that renewable energy is more than a pet project for urban progressives – it’s also a money-saving tool that’s helping more and more farmers stay in business.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way:

The Legislature on Thursday put an end to the need for uninsured Oregon children to depend on safety net clinics or emergency rooms for health care.

A health reform bill that cleared the Legislature will provide health coverage for 80,000 uninsured children and an additional 35,000 uninsured low-income adults and put the state on a path toward covering all of its more than 600,000 uninsured residents.

"It is a great day for kids," said Cathy Kaufmann, policy director for Children First for Oregon, which has been lobbying fora decade to insure all children. "To finally cross that finish line is truly phenomenal."

The plan, one of Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski’s legislative priorities, funds the effort through a tax on private insurance companies and providers. Despite the cost, and despite a recession-induced budget crunch, legislators felt the move was a good value for the state because it unlocks nearly $1 billion in federal matching funds for healthcare – an amount several times higher than the required state investment.

In a further effort to protect Oregon taxpayers from rising health costs, the Senate also voted to create the Oregon Health Authority, with a mandate to explore efficiency and cost-cutting measures across all state health programs. As we’ve discussed previously, state-level health reforms are already saving some states hundreds of millions of dollars, and the new Oregon Health Authority will (hopefully) lead the way to similar savings in Oregon.

Both bills are now waiting for Governor Kulongoski’s signature.

Private charities are needed now more than ever in these tough times – they help millions of families facing every sort of hardship, but the recession has choked off many of the donations that keep charities running. State governments, facing huge budget shortfalls of their own, are in no position to fill the gap, but Oregon legislators have found an innovative way help without costing taxpayers a dime.

The Oregonian explains:

Nonprofits whose real property is exempt from taxation will have a lot less paperwork next year, thanks to a bill that recently cleared the state Legislature.

The organizations will no longer have to list personal property assets as part of their application for tax-exempt status, eliminating the annual Confidential Personal Property Return on tax-exempt property.

The article goes on to profile one local charity which lost $30,000 on administrative costs needed to prepare its property disclosure forms – money that could have done a lot of good in the community. The Democratically-controlled legislature voted unanimously to repeal the disclosure requirement, a move that won’t cost the state anything because the property is already tax-exempt.

The bill now awaits action by Governor Kulongoski.

On the first weekend after the November election, Dave Hunt effectively became the Speaker of the House in Oregon. He was endorsed unanimously by his caucus, and because of his work to ensure electoral success, Democrats control 36 seats in the chamber -- a supermajority.

Hunt officially assumed the post in mid-January, promising to focus on the economy and continue to promote education, health care, and renewable energy. While lawmakers in Oregon must address an estimated $800 million budget deficit, he is confident that the legislature has the capacity to meet the challenge.

In one of his first acts as Speaker, Hunt announced a plan to freeze a scheduled increase in lawmaker salaries -- a move that trims $4.3 million from the budget of the legislative branch. Already this month, the legislature has passed a $175 million statewide stimulus package which focuses on school construction and infrastructure improvements.

Before becoming Speaker, Hunt was the Democratic Majority Leader, a post he held from 2006 until this year. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the DLCC and is serving in his fourth term in the legislature.

Outside the legislature, Hunt is the executive director of the Columbia River Channel Coalition and the Association of Pacific Ports, which works to promote trade and job opportunities. From 2002 to 2003, he was the National President of American Baptist Churches USA -- the youngest person to head the organization in its history. He previously served as a Congressional staffer for a decade, working for three different members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Heading into Election Night, Oregon was a state that we were watching closely.

A switch of just one seat would have left the Oregon House of Representatives tied and two seats would have given the Republicans control.

Tonight, Democrats have a lot to celebrate.

It looks like we've made a net gain of eight seats, which gives us a new super-majority in the lower chamber.

Earlier this year, I wrote about how Democrats in Wisconsin and Oklahoma are fighting for insurance coverage for autism.

In the Oregon House, Democratic Rep. Chris Edwards, a freshman, is also working hard on this issue. Edwards, whose young son has autism, has been chosen to lead an autism project work group in preparation for the 2009 session.

He was also a sponsor of a key health coverage bill during the 2007 session, HB 2918. This legislation prohibits a health plan from denying various therapies to children under 18 solely because of a developmental disorder like autism. The governor signed the bill on July 31, 2007.

The Eugene legislator is a member of the House’s Five Under 35 group which has established an ambitious legislative agenda that includes support for such key bills as the Family and Medical Leave measure (HB 2575) and the Protecting Children from Online Predators bill (HB 3515).

Edwards is a great example of how young Democratic lawmakers are energized and fighting for a strong legislative agenda for working families.