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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 78th
Legislative Session got off to a fast start this month. Over 850 bills were introduced
in the Senate and 1,600 in the House. In the committee I chair, we have over
100 bills under consideration. On
average, nearly 4,000 bills are introduced in an odd-year session and just
under 1,000 become law.
This
session I serve as chair of the Senate Committee on Business and
Transportation, and as a member on three committees: the Senate Committee on
Education, the Senate Rules Committee and the Joint Committee on Implementing
Measure 91. We have a full workload in all the committees, and I look forward
to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make Oregon a
better place.
Already
this session I have had the privilege to carry Senate Bill 324 as it passed the
Senate floor. SB 324, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, calls for companies to
gradually reduce carbon pollution from their gasoline and diesel fuel by 10%
over 10 years. Transportation fuel use is the largest source of carbon
pollution in our state and there are other options available. As a result of the bill’s passage, entrepreneurs
will be incented to develop other fuel options and Oregonians will have more
access to a variety of fuels, creating a more diverse, affordable, healthy and
stable fuel mix.
I have
several priority bills that I am working to pass this session. House Bill 2639,
co-sponsored with Representative John Lively, would grant free bus passes to
secondary school students residing within the service area of Lane Transit
District. Senate Bill 615 would address a growing problem in Oregon, and
nationwide: less than one-third of near-retirement households are meeting retirement
savings targets for their age. This bill would establish the Oregon Retirement
Savings Board, which would develop and make available a retirement savings plan
for all Oregonians lacking access to a plan at their workplace.
While it may sometimes seem that the Legislature is mired in
partisan bickering, the Senate joins together on a daily basis to pass bills that
make the state of Oregon a better place to live. Earlier this session we
unanimously passed legislation creating the Pacific Northwest Manufacturing
Partnership Advisory Committee (PNMP), a consortium dedicated to accelerating
the resurgence of manufacturing in the region. It will focus on facilitating regional
collaboration among the manufacturing sector by working with relevant education
and research institutions. This week, the Senate passed Senate Bill 188 on a
30-0 vote. The bill cracks down on so-called ‘revenge porn,’ making it a crime
to share intimate images without the consent of the person in the image.
Stay Informed
To keep you
informed of the latest from the State Capitol throughout 2015, and especially
during the 78th Legislative Session, I plan to send updates via
electronic newsletters, as well as hold a number of town halls with the two
state representatives that share my senate district. My first town hall,
co-hosted with Representative John Lively, will be this Tuesday, March 3rd at 6 p.m. at the Thurston Grange
Hall (6022 Thurston Rd., Springfield). In the meantime, I encourage you to
stay connected with the issues that are most important to you by using Oregon
Legislative Information System (OLIS), a new bill-tracking system available
online. OLIS provides up-to-date information on every bill and legislative
committee, even testimony presented by citizens. To access OLIS, go to
www.leg.state.or.us or simply type “Oregon Legislature” into your online search
engine.
Keep in Touch!
Your feedback is incredibly important,
and I want to hear your priorities for Senate District 6 and Oregon. My contact information is listed at the bottom of this newsletter, feel free to call or email me to weigh in on the issues you care about.
You can also
follow along during the Legislative Session by liking my Facebook page!
Lee Beyer
State Senator
Dist. 6 - Central Lane & Linn Counties
Yours truly,
Senator Lee Beyer
Senate District 6
email: Sen.LeeBeyer@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1706
address: 900 Court St NE, S-419, Salem, OR, 97301
website: hhttp://www.oregonlegislature.gov/beyer/
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