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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Thank you for re-electing me to serve as your state senator. I
am honored to represent Senate District 24, which includes East Portland and
north Clackamas County.
This historic week, I'd like to take the opportunity to welcome Governor Kate Brown whom I have worked with closely since she first come to the legislature in 1991. I look forward to working with her to stand up for everyday Oregonians.
This 78th Legislative Session, my priorities are to
bolster education funding from early childhood through university and
improve transportation safety and efficiency.
Education
As a
retired teacher and co-chair of the Ways and
Means Sub-Committee on Education, my top priority is to stop
teacher layoffs and reduce class sizes so all Oregonians have access to quality
education. From strengthening nutrition programs to bolstering funding for
technical and healthcare programs at community colleges, I am working to make
sure that every student has the access to the resources they need to learn and
become a productive member of society.
 To strengthen funding for our schools, I am sponsoring SJR 2 which would amend the Oregon Constitution to transfer excess personal income tax revenue (Oregon’s “Kicker Law”) to the Education Stability Fund, if it is passed by Oregon voters in the next general election. The Senate Education Committee held a public hearing February 12th on SJR 2—watch my testimony on the right.
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Transportation Safety and Efficiency
As a member of the Senate Business and Transportation Policy Committee and Ways and Means Sub-Committee on Transportation and Economic Development, I'm also working to improve transportation safety and effectiveness, and keep impaired drivers off our roads.
 Traffic Safety – As a longtime public safety advocate, I have introduced two bills (SJR 3 and SB 13) to reinstate sobriety checkpoints in Oregon to deter drinking and driving. Thirty-eight states including California and Nevada allow law enforcement to stop cars to check for sobriety. Often used on holidays when more drunk driving accidents occur, the checkpoints are announced ahead of time to deter impaired drivers from taking to the road. If the legislature passes this bill, Oregon voters will decide the final outcome in the next general election. Check out my interview with KGW.
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Transportation Funding – From transferring wheat from Eastern Oregon to shipping goods from the Port of Portland, Oregon’s transportation infrastructure is critical to our state’s economy. I look forward to working with the House to draft a balanced transportation package (likely a gas tax and/or auto registration fee increase) which will be used to improve our highways, bridges, transit, and bike/pedestrian trails.
Stay in Touch
Throughout the legislative session, I’ll be sending you regular updates about the work going on at the Capitol here in Salem. To keep track of specific bills’ progress, you can use the Oregon Legislative Information System. You can also follow along by visiting my website or liking my Facebook page! Additionally, I encourage all my constituents to visit my office in the Capitol. Please feel free to stop by and say hi, or give us a call beforehand and I would be happy to host you on the floor of the Oregon Senate!
As always, your feedback is incredibly important to my work in the Capitol. To quickly let me know what is most important to you, just take this survey. Please feel free to contact my office with any questions, comments, or concerns. Just contact me at 503-986-1724 or Sen.RodMonroe@state.or.us.
Best regards,
 Senator Rod Monroe
Senate District 24 – East Portland and North Clackamas County
email: Sen.RodMonroe@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1724
address: 900 Court St NE, S-409, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/monroe
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