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2015 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
It was the best of times…it was the most challenging of
times…
By many accounts, it was a very unusual session, one that came
to an end on Monday, July 6th, when we adjourned sine die. Within a
month of our opening ceremonies, Governor Kitzhaber had resigned and was
replaced by the Secretary of State, Kate Brown.
The leadership in both Chambers took ownership of an aggressive agenda
that did not always sit well with the members, ruffling feathers and causing
increased stress to a process that is designed to provide for orderly debate. As a rural legislator, I found it challenging
to make sure that my constituents’ voices were both heard and respected, and it
caused me to split with my caucus on more than one occasion.
In spite of the uphill battle, I managed to pass more than 10 pieces
of legislation, one of my most successful sessions ever. And overall, I believe that the end product
of this Legislature is one that we can be proud of because it focused on
restoring real opportunities for Oregonians in every part of our state. I would like to take this opportunity to
share some of our accomplishments…
At the top of the agenda, was reinvesting in our public
schools, from kindergarten through higher education. Here’s what that looks like:
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A $7.4 billion investment in K-12 means stable
budgets for most school districts while also funding full-day kindergarten
throughout Oregon for the first time. This
is a $1 billion boost over the last budget.
·
$35 million funding for Career and Technical
Education, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education (CTE/STEM)
in our high schools.
·
Increased funding for Oregon Opportunity Grants
and a new tuition waiver program for qualified community college students.
·
$700 million to help fund our colleges and
universities.
We were also keenly aware that Oregonians are still trying
to get back on their feet from the recession, so here are a few examples of how
we sought to support job creation and our local economies:
·
$175 million bonded investment for seismic
upgrades to K-12 schools throughout Oregon, and an additional $125 million in
bonds to help school districts fix outdated, dilapidated and hazardous
facilities.
·
$90 million investment in Oregon’s transportation
infrastructure to increase mobility and safety, and strategic investments in
multimodal transportation through the ConnectOregon program.
·
$50 million in grants and loans in rural Oregon
to meet water storage needs, maintain grazing lands, improve sage grouse
habitats and build a market for Western Juniper.
Getting people back to work is one part of the equation, but
this session we also looked for ways to support our working families and expand
their opportunities:
·
Strategic investments in Employment Related Day
Care and the Working Family Child and Dependent Care tax credit so that parents
will have access to quality, affordable childcare.
·
A landmark investment in affordable housing
construction to help meet our housing crisis.
·
Sick leave that will allow most workers to
accrue a reasonable number of paid sick days each year.
·
The Oregon Retirement Savings Accounts program
that will allow everyone the opportunity to save for their retirement.
We also managed to pass a range of bills to improve the
health and safety of our communities.
Here are just a few examples:
·
Significant investments in mental health care,
alcohol and drug treatment, and housing for Oregonians impacted by mental
illness or addiction.
·
Pharmacists will be able to prescribe and
dispense birth control medication and insurance companies will be required to
cover up to 12 months at a time.
·
The Oregon Toxic Free Kids Act will require some
manufacturers to incrementally phase out dangerous chemicals from kids’
products.
·
The statute of limitations will be doubled for
first degree sex crimes from six to twelve years.
·
We improved the state’s capacity to respond to
accidents involving trains carrying hazardous materials, a critical issue for
District 31.
As you can imagine, this is just the tip of the legislative
iceberg. In the coming weeks, my
newsletters will focus on some of this session’s challenges, particularly my
efforts to make sure that legislation helpful to rural Oregon gets a fair
shot.
If you have specific areas of interest that you would like
more information on, please contact my office and I will do my best to research
the issue and get back to you. I intend
to stay in touch with a monthly newsletter, and I will be making my way around
the district during the interim to listen and learn. As always, I look forward to our
conversations. And don’t forget to check
out my Facebook page – there’s always something happening! Thank you for reading my newsletter, and I
hope you all have a wonderful summer!
Yours truly,
Representative Brad Witt
House District 31
 The Close of the 2015 Legislative Session on the House Floor. I'm on the bottom left of the image, my desk is close to the back right corner of the house floor.
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Hope to see you this weekend in Rainier! The weather should be perfect and the entertainment is always great. Good work volunteer coordinators, this is always a great weekend of family fun!
Click the flyer to visit their website for more information.
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email: Rep.BradWitt@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1431
address: 900 Court St NE, H-374, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/witt
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