Lee Beyer (b. June 4, 1948) is a Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate, representing District 6. Beyer was first elected to the chamber in 2010. Beyer is running for re-election in the primary on May 15, 2018. The general election will take place on November 6, 2018.
Beyer previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1991-1998. In addition, he served on the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
Beyer earned a B.S. in Management from the University of Oregon in 1974. His professional experience includes working as a management analyst with the Oregon Executive Department, as a business advisor to the City of Eugene and as an executive director of Metro Partnership Inc. Beyer served in the U.S. Air Force.
Former Chair, Business and Transportation Committee, Oregon State Senate
Member, Council of Utility Commissioners
Former Member, Education Committee, Oregon State Senate
Member, Juvenile Crime Prevention Commission
Member, Juvenile Task Force Subcommittee on Teen Runaways
Former Alternating Chair, Legislative Administration Committee, Oregon State Senate
Former Member, Marijuana Regulation Committee, Oregon State Senate
Member, Oregon Energy Planning Commission
Member, Oregon Global Warming Commission
Member, Oregon Progress Board Benchmark Evaluation Task Force
Chief Executive Officer, Oregon Public Utility Commission, 2001-10
Member, Oregon Public Utility Commission
Former Member, Oregon State Capitol Foundation Committee, Oregon State Senate
Former Member, Rules Committee, Oregon State Senate
Former Co-Chair, Transportation Preservation and Modernization Committee, Oregon State Senate
Member, Springfield City Planning Commission, 1978
Member, Health Care Committee
Member, Joint Committee On Carbon Reduction
Alternating Chair, Joint Committee On Legislative Administration
Co-Chair, Joint Committee On Transportation
Member, Joint Committee On Ways and Means
Co-Chair, Joint Subcommittee on Human Services
1. Abortions should always be legally available.
- X
2. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only when pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal only when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer
5. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
6. Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and parental notification requirements.
- No Answer
7. Prohibit the late-term abortion procedure known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- No Answer
8. Support "buffer zones" by requiring demonstrators to stay at least 15 feet away from abortion clinic doorways and driveways.
- X
9. Other
- No Answer
10. Should Oregon government funding be provided to clinics and medical facilities that provide abortion services?
- No Answer
1. Public employment
- Yes
2. State contracting
- No Answer
3. College and university admissions
- Yes
4. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- X
2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- No Answer
3. End parole for repeat violent felons.
- X
4. Expand the use of the death penalty for additional circumstances relating to murder.
- No Answer
5. Support the death penalty for juveniles convicted of aggravated murder.
- No Answer
6. Oppose the death penalty.
- X
7. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
8. Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community.
- X
9. Increase state funds for programs which rehabilitate and educate inmates during and after their prison sentences.
- No Answer
10. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
11. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- No Answer
12. Strengthen penalties and sentences for sex offenders.
- X
13. Support mandatory minimum sentencing laws as created by the passage of Measure 11.
- No Answer
14. Prosecute juveniles who commit murder or other serious violent crimes as adults.
- No Answer
15. Strengthen penalties for property crimes.
- X
16. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X
3. Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice.
- No Answer
4. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
5. Abolish Oregon's Department of Economic Development.
- No Answer
6. Eliminate the Oregon Lottery's video poker games.
- No Answer
7. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators.
- No Answer
2. Encourage private or corporate investment in public school programs.
- X
3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- No Answer
4. Favor charter schools where independent groups receive state authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- No Answer
5. Support sex education programs which stress abstinence.
- X
6. Support sex education programs which stress safe sexual practices.
- X
7. Increase state funds for school construction and facility maintenance.
- X
8. Increase state funds for hiring of additional teachers.
- X
9. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- No Answer
10. Abolish bilingual education in public schools.
- No Answer
11. Support Oregon's 21st Century Schools Act and the new Certificate of Initial Mastery and Certificate of Advanced Mastery.
- X
12. Other
- No Answer
1. Require the use of cleaner burning fuels in order to prevent pollution.
- No Answer
2. Support "self-audit" legislation which creates incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution.
- X
3. Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented.
- X
4. Require the state to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land.
- No Answer
5. Provide funding for recycling programs in Oregon.
- No Answer
6. Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
- No Answer
7. Suspend participation in unfunded, federally mandated environmental protection legislation.
- No Answer
8. Restructure the electric utility industry to allow consumers to choose their power company.
- X
9. Support current urban growth boundary laws.
- X
10. Support the "Three Sovereigns Plan" which establishes a state, federal, and tribal coalition to coordinate salmon recovery in the Northwest.
- X
11. Support state authority in deciding land-use matters.
- No Answer
12. Support ban on clear-cut logging.
- No Answer
13. Other
- No Answer
14. State environmental regulations should not be stricter than federal law.
- Undecided
1. State Senators and Representatives
- Yes
2. Governor
- Yes
3. Do you support easing the current term limits for State Senators and Representatives?
- No
1. Individual
- Yes
2. PAC
- Yes
3. Corporate
- Yes
4. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
5. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- Undecided
6. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- No
7. Would you vote to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring an annual balanced federal budget?
- No
8. Do you support using vote-by-mail for all elections?
- Yes
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.
- No Answer
2. Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer
3. Maintain state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- X
4. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer
5. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens.
- No Answer
6. Favor allowing citizens to carry concealed firearms.
- X
7. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
- No Answer
8. Hold gun owner legally liable if a child obtains a gun for use in a crime.
- No Answer
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide tax incentives to small businesses who provide health care to their employees.
- X
2. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care, through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary.
- X
3. Support the Oregon Health Plan which ensures state-funded basic health care to Oregon citizens.
- X
4. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer
5. Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.
- No Answer
6. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer
7. Guaranteeing medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer
8. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase state funding for programs to prevent teen pregnancy.
- X
2. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X
3. Increase state funds to provide child care to children in low-income working families.
- X
4. Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support.
- X
5. Favor banning smoking in public places.
- No Answer
6. Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day.
- X
7. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X
8. Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans and job training and placement.
- No Answer
9. Support the current "Death With Dignity Act" which legalizes physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.
- X
10. Other
- No Answer
11. Do you believe that the Oregon government should include sexual orientation in Oregon's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes
12. Do you believe that the Oregon government should recognize same-sex marriages?
- Undecided
1. Agriculture
- Maintain Status
2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase
3. Education (Higher)
- Greatly Increase
4. Environment
- Maintain Status
5. Health care
- Greatly Increase
6. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase
7. Transportation infrastructure (highways, roads, bridges)
- Slightly Increase
8. Welfare
- Maintain Status
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Alcohol Taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Capital gains taxes
- Maintain Status
3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
4. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status
5. Gas taxes
- Slightly Increase
6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Maintain Status
7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Maintain Status
8. Property taxes
- Maintain Status
9. Other
- No Answer
10. Do you support implementing a state sales tax?
- No
11. Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
- No
12. Refund to state taxpayers
- X
13. Fund public education
- No Answer
14. Other
- No Answer
1. Maintain the 2-year limit on welfare benefits.
- X
2. Maintain the requirement that able-bodied recipients work in order to receive benefits.
- X
3. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
4. Provide tax incentives to businesses who hire welfare recipients.
- X
5. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X
6. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X
7. Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home.
- No Answer
8. Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare.
- No Answer
9. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer
10. Require that unwed mothers under the age of 18 attend school and live with a parent or guardian (if possible) to receive benefits.
- X
11. Other
- No Answer
Please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- My top two legislative priorities are: 1. Increase education funding -- K through higher Ed, and2. Increase support for child abuse and juvenile violence prevention services.With the increased revenue coming into the state treasury because of an improved economy and reduced expenditures from slowing growth in our prison populations, these priorities can be addressed without new on increased taxes.
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper