April Newsletter

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We have now passed the halfway mark of the 77th Legislative Session and I wanted to let you know about some recent bills on which I’ve had the privilege to testify. These are just a few of my priorities this session and I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure their passage.

House Bill 2700 is what we call our “Aggie Bonds” bill. This bill aims to help up and coming farmers who may have trouble qualifying for loans. This would allow banks to utilize private activity bonds on which the interest is exempt from federal taxation, and allow banks to issue low-interest rate loans for qualifying farmers. Farmers can then use these loans to buy agricultural property and equipment and to expand their operations. Helping small farms and farmers thrive is vital to growing our economy here in Marion County and continues to be an industry I want to help support.

I have also had the pleasure to work with Marvin Sannes, who you may recognize as a former candidate for this district from my 2010 and 2012 re-elections.  I want to credit Marvin with helping to better educate me on the nature of addiction.  We have combined our efforts and had drafted House Concurrent Resolution 16 which defines addiction as a disease. We need to move away from incarceration as a solution and instead focus our energies and funding on treatment and getting at the root causes of addiction.  We simply can’t afford to build more prisons and put more addicts in jail after they commit crimes. Marvin’s efforts have advanced this cause greatly and I am thankful for his friendship. 

Lastly, and in partnership with a class at South Salem High School, I am pleased to introduce my first official priority bill of the session - House Concurrent Resolution 28. This resolution designates September 5, 2014, as Saxon Day! This will recognize South Salem High School's tradition of excellence in the 60 years since its founding in 1954.  After testifying, this bill passed out of the House Committee on Rules with unanimous support.  I am very proud to represent the Saxon community and to have South Salem High School in the heart of my district.  I look forward to honoring this special school and the many people who have walked its halls over the years.  I hope you will join me in celebrating their many achievements.

In addition to these recent bills, I am pleased to share that Representative Kevin Cameron (R-Salem) and I will be hosting a bi-partisan telephone Town Hall on Wednesday April 17th at 7:00pm.  Constituents will receive a phone call with the option to stay on the line and participate in a question and answer session with myself and Rep Cameron.  If you want to make sure that you get a call to participate please send me an e-mail at Rep.brianclem@state.or.us or call my office (503) 986-1421 and we would be happy to add you to the list. 

I’m so honored to represent you in the Oregon Legislature.  Please stay in touch!