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Friends,
Here we are, after months of hard work and many long hours spent preparing for the first day of the 2015 Legislative Session! I want to take this opportunity to share a few highlights from the last several weeks with you, and provide you with some excellent resources for keeping up with important legislation during session.
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On January 23, I joined many of my colleagues - including Representative Jeff Barker and Commissioner Brad Avakian (left) - at the Planned Parenthood Annual Luncheon in downtown Portland. Keynote speaker Leslie Kantor was inspirational!
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On January 28, I visited the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center in Hillsboro, and heard from Executive Director Serena Cruz Walsh and CEO Gil Muñoz (pictured at right) about the great work Virginia Garcia is doing to provide high quality health services. Together, their clinics serve over 38,000 patients in Washington and Yamhill counties, many of them uninsured. They provide essential services on a sliding scale, meaning no one is turned away for the inability to pay. Virginia Garcia is an excellent organization, and a vital part of our community.
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 Finally, on January 31, I joined Representative Joe Gallegos and Senator Chuck Riley at Manaia Coffeehouse and Island Grill in downtown Hillsboro to meet with constituents. It was a full house!
Thank you so much to everyone who came to talk with me about their priorities. In order to be a good Representative, I need to understand what issues are important to you, and you gave me plenty to think about.
Here are just a few of the issues we discussed:
- Transportation: gas prices and bridge repairs
- Education: early learning and graduation rates
- Agriculture: encouraging technical education and agritourism
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Saturday, February 7: Join us at noon at BJ's Coffee in Forest Grove (2834 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove, OR) for an opportunity to share your concerns with me in an informal setting. I'll be there until 1:30pm.
Tuesday, February 10: I will be speaking at the Cornelius Citizen Participation Organization's (CPO) February meeting. The meeting starts at 6:30pm, and is held in the cafeteria of the Free Orchards Elementary School located at 2499 South Beech Street, Cornelius, OR 97113.
As the 2015 Legislative Session begins, I wanted to take a moment to inform you of the many ways you can interact with the Legislature (outside of getting my newsletter, of course)!
Tracking bills and important issues
The #1 best resource is the Legislature’s website, where you can see what’s happening on any given day in the Capitol, navigate to any member’s page, and read about bills that have been introduced in both the House and the Senate. You can also go straight to the Citizen Engagement page for background on how ideas become law, the role of the Legislature, and more information about the Legislative Process.
If you are looking for a specific bill or information about a subject area, you can also go directly to OLIS. The Oregon Legislative Information System, or OLIS, is an interactive tool that allows you to search for bills by number, text, and sponsor. You can also search for bills from previous sessions, if you are interested in a bill or concept’s history.
You can also use OLIS to keep up on what is happening in individual committees. From the committee search, you can navigate directly to a page that tells you who is on that committee, what the meeting schedule is, and all of the bills assigned to that committee. For example, I am on the Education Committee, which can be found here.
Committee hearings and floor sessions are also available online. You can listen to the audio or watch the video of previous meetings here. During session, you will also be able to use this service to watch hearings and floor meetings streaming live in real time.
Visiting in person
Oregon’s State Capitol building is the people’s building. Members of the public are always welcome to come to Salem to visit with or lobby legislators. You can also arrange to take a tour of the Capitol building by calling 503-986-1388 (please note tower tours are weather permitting and do not start again until June 1).
We would love to see you or your group in our office in Salem. If you are interested in visiting us, please give my office a call at 503-986-1429 with as much notice as possible, so that we can prepare any necessary materials or request a room for us to meet in.
Corresponding with your Representative and Senator
Of course, if you are just looking to get in touch with me, please feel free to write me via email, send me a letter at our address below, or call us any time at 503-986-1429. If you are not sure who your Representative or Senator is, check out this neat tool. Just enter your address and it will show you their information, including email and phone number.
I am so excited to have you along with me for this amazing journey during my first term as State Representative. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you over the coming months. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns you’d like to share.
Best,
Susan
 Representative Susan McLain
House District 29
email: Rep.SusanMcLain@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain
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