End of Session Report

 

 

Senator Richard Devlin

 
Senator Richard Devlin
 
D-Tualatin, District 19

Phone: 503-986-1719    900 Court St. NE, S-211 Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: sen.richarddevlin@state.or.us    Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/devlin
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sendevlin

 

Dear friends and neighbors,

As many of you know, earlier this month the 2014 short legislative session adjourned with a balanced budget that protects Oregonians’ priorities including education, services for seniors, public safety and much more.

The 2014 Legislative Session is the second short session we have held after Oregonians voted to move from biennial to annual sessions in 2010, and - for the most part - the short session went as intended. A primary reason behind moving to annual sessions was to give legislators the ability to adjust the budget to reflect changes in revenue forecasts, changes in caseloads and changes in federal law.

Although the ability to balance the budget was a driving force behind the need for annual sessions, the short session was never intended to be restricted to budget issues alone. Instead, legislators were limited to introducing two bills during the 2014 session. 

Many policy bills introduced during these short sessions are too complex or controversial to be properly evaluated and acted upon during the restricted time-frame. While there are benefits to having sessions in even-numbered years like 2014, I am not convinced that voters approved enough time for legislators to properly address complex issues. This is why I introduced SJR 201, which proposed lengthening the Constitutional limit on the short session in even-numbered years by 10 days and shortening the long session in odd-numbered years by a corresponding 10 days.

I did not push for final passage of the bill because I believe this is an issue that requires more than one session of work, and I felt that it was important to dedicate one of my two bills to ensuring that this conversation began this session. Finding the right balance of length between these two sessions is critical to setting up Oregon legislators to be more effective during each annual session.

Below you will find an overview of other important legislation from the session that may impact you and other Oregonians.


Dislocated Worker Training Program (SB 1527)
SB 1527 creates a Dislocated Worker Training Program to enable unemployed and underemployed engineers and industry professionals in bioscience and manufacturing traded sector industries to be reemployed in Oregon. 

Crop Donation Tax Credit (SB 1541)
SB 1541 reinstates the crop donation tax credit program in order to encourage food producers to donate fresh foods to charities by partially offsetting the cost of donation. 

Statewide Public Guardianship Program (SB 1553)
SB 1553 creates a statewide public guardianship program to serve the needs of vulnerable adults without the capacity to make personal, medical, and financial decisions.  The program will provide public guardian and conservator services for persons without relatives or friends willing or able to serve as guardians or conservators and without the financial resources to obtain private guardian or conservator.

Law Enforcement Response Protocols for Seniors (SB 1577)
SB 1577 requires law enforcement agencies to have response protocols – often referred to as a Silver Alert – in place for seniors who go missing, especially those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. 

“Aspirations to College” Community College Grant Program (HB 4116)
To increase the number of underserved, low-income, and first generation students attending community college, HB 4116 directs the Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (CCWD) and Higher Education Coordinating Commission to jointly establish a grant program for the purpose of distributing money to community colleges to increase enrollment among these populations of students. The bill appropriates $750,000 to CCWD to support the program.

Grants to Improve Student Achievement (HB 4117)
HB 4117 directs the Department of Education to make grants to improve student achievement in certain schools that are high poverty and low performing.  These grants will provide additional resources to these schools to create summer programs that will add at least 60 hours of learning time for more than 5,000 of Oregon’s most vulnerable students.

Scholarship Opportunities to Children of Reserve Officers (HB 4120)
HB 4120 expands scholarships for children of public safety officers killed or injured in line of duty to include children of reserve officers and volunteer firefighters killed or disabled in line of duty in honor of slain Oregon City Reserve Officer Robert Libke.

As the Co-Chair of Ways and Means, I was on the frontlines of the legislature’s efforts to re-balance Oregon’s budget. This session, we prioritized the most critical services that vulnerable Oregonians and middle class families rely on, and ultimately produced a balanced state budget. This budget maintained our commitment to funding public schools, meeting other needs in education, and made precise and measured adjustments to public safety and human services that will not result in any significant reduction of services.

We also made some modest, targeted investments in priority programs. Among these are:

  • Career and Technical Education: $2 million
  • Emergency Housing and Homeless Assistance: $2 million
  • Dislocated worker training program: $250,000
  • Oregon Crime Victims Law Center: $135,000
  • Underserved low-income student grants: $750,000
  • Breast/Cervical Cancer Screening: $270,000
  • Support for low-performing Title I schools: $500,000
  • Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Helps small and mid-sized manufacturers achieve increased productivity and profitability): $750,000
  • Long-term care and treatment program for children (Education funding for children in residential and day treatment programs): $1 million

Sincerely,

Signature

Senator Richard Devlin
Senate District 19

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