salem -- during the three-day organizational session that ended wednesday, the oregon house and senate introduced 1,623 bills and resolutions that run the gamut from the seriously serious to the seemingly silly.  other bills  of interest  here are some highlights of legislation introduced this week in oregon's 2011 legislature:  house bill 2250:  would require the state parks and recreation commission to try for an agreement with portland parks and recreation to acquire forest park.  house bill 2749:  would create offense of driving while drowsy.  house bill 2140:  would require anyone younger than 18 and living in clackamas, multnomah or washington county to complete traffic safety education course before obtaining a provisional driver's license.  senate bill 4:  would require school districts to ensure that physical education or recess time is available each school day for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.  senate bill 7:  would create income tax credit for creation of new employment positions.  senate bill 130:  would add green, yellow and red bicycle signals to list of traffic control devices.  senate bill 503:  would suspend cost-of-living raises, filling of vacant positions and out-of-state travel for state government workers through june 30.  lawmakers return feb. 1 to begin the real work of slogging through legislation and plugging a $3.5 billion hole in the next budget. the bills that await them suggest oregonians will hear much debate about taxes. it also appears that lawmakers are ready to take on public employee compensation and retirement and to consider fairly radical reforms to the state's k-12 public schools and universities.  some measures introduced this week are repeats -- there are a few bills drafted every session for symbolic or political reasons, but they don't usually get a hearing. among them this time:  , which would allow oregonians to pump their own gas and  , which would designate english as the state's official language.  there are also a number of bills aimed at breaking questionable habits. for example,  would make it illegal to carry a child younger than 6 on a bicycle or in a bicycle trailer.  proposes a $90 fine for those who drive with an animal on their lap.  got your attention? here's a look at other pending action:  of border collies and classical music  every session, there are bills that seem cute and easy, but spark a big fight.  this year's nominee is  , which would designate the border collie as the state dog.  after criticizing a bill last session that named the dungeness crab the official state crustacean,  r-john day, admitted he's feeling kind of sheepish about introducing his border collie bill.  a constituent asked him to submit the measure, ferrioli said, noting that even he thinks the chances are slim.  how, he asked, do you convince the dachshund owners that the border collie should be the state dog?  and then there are measures that appear frivolous, until they're explained.  would require trimet to broadcast classical music at max light-rail stations in high-crime areas.  we shouldn't let the fear of looking silly get in the way of a good idea, said rep.  a portland democrat and the bill's sponsor.  piped-in classical music has helped reduce robberies, drug calls and vandalism in florida, london and tokyo, smith said.  here in oregon, he said, a test last month at the max station at 162nd avenue and burnside saw crime down 41 percent compared with december 2009.  max safety is a big issue in my district, smith said. we don't have any money for anything and this is, perhaps, the most cost-effective safety idea in the world.  it's your money  former gov. ted kulongoski urged legislators to change the kicker tax law last year, but they didn't want to go there -- especially with an election coming up. but sen.  , a portland democrat and chair of the senate finance and revenue committee said the 2011 legislature must commit to kicker reform.  there are a number of kicker bills. some propose to divert any income above the state's expected forecasted revenue into a reserve account rather than returning it to taxpayers. others would keep all or part of the kicker for individual taxpayers but funnel the corporate kicker into state savings.  lawmakers also may revisit measure 67, a controversial proposal raising the state's corporate minimum tax. it passed during the 2009 legislature and was endorsed by voters last january but has continued to leave a sour taste in the business community.  proposes an alternative method of assessing the corporate minimum while  would repeal measure 67 outright.  schools: raising the grade  a number of bills take direct aim at improving public school performance. among the most dramatic is  , which would prohibit schools from allowing a student to leave third grade if he is not reading at or above a third-grade reading level.  you want to intervene on problems early and get them taken care of rather than shuffling students along, said  , a wilsonville republican who was named co-chair of the house education committee this week.  democrats have their own ideas about reform, too.  twin bills,  and  , designate the governor as the state's superintendent of public instruction as opposed to the separately elected state superintendent of schools.  , a eugene democrat and legislation sponsor, says the ultimate responsibility for oregon's schools ought to rest with the top elected leader.  the idea isn't a new one, he said, but this is the session for making significant changes.  --
oregon legislature introduces more than 1,600 bills before taking a break until feb. 1