SALEM — Bill Hansell has a problem.

After three terms in the Oregon Senate, the Republican from Athena wrapped up his final legislative session March 7, coming away with wins on his two bills and two resolutions.

But he has to figure out what to do about his office at the Capitol in Salem.

The room is a veritable museum capturing his 12 years in the Senate. Framed copies of legislation he helped make into law adorn the wall opposite his desk. A section of another showcases gifts from the Marshall Islands, which he has affinity for. Memorabilia fills a bookcase, including a bobblehead of himself from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees for carrying key legislation that increased health protections for state corrections officers.

The room ran out of wall space a while ago. More plaques and displays lean against the front of his desk. All of it has to go.

And pictures and reminders of family and his dedication to his alma mater, the University of Oregon, hang on walls and stand on shelves. He joked that maybe he’ll rent a storage unit when he gets back home.

Hansell at 79 decided not to seek reelection. He is not endorsing any of the four candidates running to succeed him in Senate District 29.

From county board to the Senate

Hansell won eight terms as Umatilla County commissioner beginning in 1982 and with his last coming in 2010 when he was 65. Upon completion of that term, he would have been a county commissioner for 32 years.

“I’d already determined I wasn’t going to run for reelection,” he said.

David Nelson, a Republican from Pendleton, decided not to seek reelection to the state Senate and asked Hansell to seek the Senate seat for 2012. Hansell said he found that compelling for two reasons.

“No. 1, it was a four-year term, which I was used to that kind of cycle,” he said, as opposed to the two-year election cycle in the House.

He also knew no matter which chamber he sought, Republicans were in the minority. But there are 60 representatives — twice the number of senators.

“I probably would be able to have more influence quicker in a 30-member body than I would in a 60-member body,” he said. “And I believe that’s proven true.”

Building bridges to the other side

Hansell said being in the minority means any bills he introduces needs bipartisan support to pass.

“I need 16 votes, and I don’t have them within my own party. So that’s just part of it. … And you build friendships, relationships.”

Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Milwaukie, described Hansell as accountable, good and coming “from a place of kindness.” She also said Hansell was a “tremendously effective advocate for his district.”

The two grew to know each other on the 2015 Oregon legislative trade mission to China, when Taylor still was in the Oregon House. She and Hansell discovered they had a mutual appreciation for Diet Coke.

“If one of us saw a cold Diet Coke, we would buy two,” she said, one for each of them.

That grew into a friendship and working relationship.

Hansell and Taylor in the 2021 session co-sponsored SB 649, Bailey’s Bill, which became law and increased penalties for criminal sexual contact with an underage victim if the offender was the victim’s teacher. She spoke on the Senate floor this session in support of SB 1587, Hansell’s bill to provide children advocacy centers protection from lawsuits. The House and Senate approved the bill.

“He’s going to be missed,” she said.

Kayse Jama is a Democrat for Senate District 24, covering East Portland, Damascus and Boring. He won election in 2020 and entered the Senate in 2021 during the pandemic.

“I had to figure out where to build relationships,” he said, so he sought meetings with other senators.

“Sen. Hansell responded immediately,” Jama recalled.

The two conversed via video.

“Sen. Hansell said we may disagree on an issue, but you will never be my enemy,” Jama said. “That was really a profound statement and it still is with me.”

Lawmaking with a code

Part of Hansell’s ability to appeal to the majority party could stem from part of his political code.

“I don’t vote no, just to vote no,” Hansell said. “Every bill has a constituency. Every bill has a champion. Every bill is important to somebody. So for me, just to vote no on something because some person said something or whatever? Believe me, there’s a wide range of petty stuff that people won’t vote yes for. But I’m not going to poke people in the eye just to do it.”

He also explained he relies on “three Cs” to guide his political decisions.

“My first is my conscience,” he said. “What I feel is right — my beliefs, my personal integrity. Don’t ask me to support something that my conscience does not allow me to.

For the most part, he said, people have respected that

The second C is constituents.

“What and how does it affect the people that have elected me?” he said. “I don’t expect everybody to agree with everything I do in every vote. My own wife doesn’t do that. But what I owe my constituents. Is why I voted the way I did. I want to be able to articulate. ‘here is why I cast the vote.'”

The third C is the caucus.

That takes working as a team to get something done, he said, and is an essential part of the lawmaking process.

He said in the Oregon Senate he also found the golden rule still works.

“Let me treat others with respect and dignity and appreciation,” Hansell said. “You’re more likely to get it back. And even if you don’t get it back, it’s still the right decision to do.”

SALEM — An Eastern Oregon family might have one of the longest histories of honorary page service in the Legislature – three generations of youth from Oregon and now California.

“The honorary page program is unique. The young people actually participate in the floor session,” said Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena.

This year brought Hansell’s last legislative session before retiring. Eleven youthful relatives, including grandchildren and great-nephews/nieces, were pages at the Oregon Capitol in Salem during the five-week session.

While growing up, Hansell and his four siblings were pages. Then his children were pages when Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Pendleton, was in the Legislature.

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The six oldest of Hansell’s 11 grandchildren have done so. The other five are too young. The Senate’s Honorary Page Program is for students age 12 and older.

“The biggest reason my grandkids paged was their moms paged and wanted them to have the same experience, especially with Grandpa Bill,” he said.

When the Capitol is not undergoing construction, pages post the American and Oregon flags and staff the chamber gates. Just before a Senate vote, they go into the halls and shout, “Vote.” Pages also tour the Capitol and receive a certificate.

“Above all it is educational,” Hansell said. “They see and experience how their government operates.”

Hansell’s wife, Margaret, was a page during the tenure of Rep. Bob Packwood, R-Portland. Hansell was a page when his uncle, Stafford Hansell, was in the House. Sixty-three years later, Sen. Hansell posted the colors with Stafford’s great-grandson, Griffin Johnston.

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On another day, the senator carried the flags with grandson Ezra Hayes.

“History may have been made! Because Ezra was joined by his grandpa, and together we posted both flags,” Hansell wrote on Facebook. “We have no way of verifying, but it probably is the first time a sitting senator and grandfather, along with one of his grandsons posted the colors together. Regardless, it was one very special time for both of us.”

When his Senate term ends in January, Hansell will conclude 42 years in public office – 12 as a state senator and 30 as a Umatilla County commissioner.

— Dick Hughes, Oregon Capital Insider

Bill Hansell was a chief sponsor or chief co-sponsor on a number of significant bills during his three terms in the Oregon Senate. Below is a list of some of that legislation.

2013

Senate Bill 833 allows undocumented residents to receive a short-term, specially marked driver’s card if they have lived in Oregon at least a year and meet all other requirements to obtain a driver’s license, except for the ability to prove legal presence.

SB 835 gives protection to rodeos and prohibits treating rodeos less favorably than other organized exhibitions or events. The law also makes an offense for horse tripping with a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, $2,500 fine or both.

2017

SB 367 allows health care providers to disclose protected health information of an inmate in a correctional facility to a physician of an employee of that facility who is exposed to bodily fluids of the inmate if the inmate has tested positive for HIV, hepatitis B or C or other communicable disease.

SB 372, the “road kill bill,” allows the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue salvage permits for deer and elk that are accidentally killed in a vehicle collision.

SB 375 directs the Oregon Department of Transportation, the state Parks and Recreation Department and the state Travel Information Council to post informational materials on human trafficking at roadside rest areas. The bill also establishes funds for human trafficking awareness for ODOT and the state parks department.

2019

SB 290 makes farmers, ranchers and volunteers immune from civil liabilities resulting from wildfire fighting efforts.

2021

SB 315 gives governments the authority to block disclosure of all public records relating to the unmanned aerial systems ranges if the records create a competitive disadvantage. The law stemmed from the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range.

SB 649, “Bailey’s bill, increases penalties for criminal sexual contact with an underage victim if the offender was the victim’s teacher.

2023

SB 498 proves a tax exemption for operations worth up to $15 million for family farms, forest and fishing estates.

SB 864 provides that a person who voluntarily fights wildfire on private forestland is not civilly liable for injury to person or property resulting from good faith performance of firefighting efforts.

2024

These bills await the signature of Gov. Tina Kotek.

SB 1567 authorizes the Oregon Water Resource Department to implement a roadmap for sustainable water use and fisheries restoration through the Walla Walla Water 2050 Strategic Plan.