Like Measure 111 (unfunded guaranteed health care), Measure 113 sounds like a good idea. We pay legislators to be in Salem and legislate; shouldn't we eject legislators who play hooky from the Capitol? Measure 113 would amend the constitution to disqualify from reelection any legislator who, in a single legislative session, misses 10 or more days when the legislature is meeting without having received permission or an excuse. The measure does not identify who grants permission or accepts the excuse.
The quirk behind Measure 113 is that the constitutional requirement for a quorum for the Oregon house and senate is not a simple majority (31 representatives, 16 senators) but two-thirds (40 representatives, 20 senators). A party in the minority that holds at least 21 house seats or 11 senate seats may bring the chamber to a halt by not showing up.
In recent years the republicans have been the ones who haven't shown up; the Democrats last staged a walkout in 2001 to protect redistricting. No one filed an argument in opposition. The measure is nevertheless bad policy, both because it does not say who gets to grant permission - the presiding officer? The house or senate by majority vote? The majority or minority leader? - and because it takes from the voters the right to boot their representatives. I don't favor walkouts, but I have seen legislators walk out not to avoid representing their constituents, but to carry out the wishes of their constituents. The voters, not the legislature, should decide whether an absent legislator is ill, lazy, or zealous.
Measure 114 is a common-sense gun regulation measure that requires gun buyers to take a gun safety course before acquiring a weapon, prohibits most off-the-books transfers of firearms, and prohibits magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Until I see a plausible argument that (1) gun owners need less training than alcohol servers and boat owners, and (2) there is a genuine self-protection reason for Oregonians to be able to kill more than 10 people at a time, I'm willing to add regulations that may reduce exsanguination. I vote YES on Measure 114.