Riley Report: April, 2015 Edition

Chuck Riley Senator Header

April, 2015

Hello Friends,

This month I had the opportunity to meet with constituents representing a variety of causes including the Hemophilia Foundation of Oregon; American Federation of Teachers; Oregon Food Bank; Oregon State University; CAUSA; Oregon Public Health Association; Oregon Association of Realtors; Oregon Dairy Farmers; Alzheimer’s Association; Northwest Credit Union Association; as well as many individuals who were here to talk about specific bills addressing issues they are facing.

If you are ever in Salem, please sure to e-mail or call my office to a schedule time, or just stop by my office at the Capitol (S-303) – I am here working for you, and I would love the opportunity to meet with you.  If you are not able to make it to Salem, you can always contact my office by phone or e-mail and set up a time for a phone meeting with me instead.

Another option is to join me at an in-district event.  This coming Saturday, April 25th, I’ll be attending three of them.  I will be stopping by the “Comcast Cares” cleanup day at Council Creek in Cornelius at 9 a.m.  Then you will find me at Insomnia Coffee Co. in Hillsboro for my Constituent Coffee at 10 a.m.  And, in the afternoon, I will be back in Cornelius for the Children’s Day Celebration at Echo Shaw Elementary.  I hope to see you at one, or perhaps all, of these events!

Constituent Coffee

Please join your neighbors and me for a discussion about issues that matter to our community.  I will be at Insomnia Coffee Company this Saturday, April 25th from 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at their location on Baseline (5389 W Baseline Road, Hillsboro, OR 97123).  I look forward seeing you there!

You may have noticed that I have held Constituent Coffees in every city in District 15 except for Cornelius.  I have been trying to find a suitable location in Cornelius to hold a Constituent Coffee – so, if you have a good location to suggest, please reach out to my office and let us know.

Bipartisanship in Salem

I have heard complaints on the floor from my Republican colleagues that Democrats are steamrolling the legislative process this session.  However, while Senate Republicans have cried foul over claims of partisanship, the evidence clearly shows that bipartisan and unanimous votes make up the overwhelming share of this session’s work.

As the pie chart below illustrates, 96% of all bills passed so far this session were either unanimous (65%) or bipartisan (31%).  Just 4% of the bills that have passed the Senate this session had no Republican support.  And, only three bills – a mere 1.1% – split along party lines.  The remaining bills had at least one Democrat joining in dissent.

It’s easy to focus on just a few bills if you want to highlight a partisan divide, but the truth is we overwhelmingly work together to get things done for our constituents.  Unlike the gridlock in Washington, D.C., we truly are working together to get things done.

We have a lot of work left this session to balance our budget and take care of Oregonians who are struggling to get ahead.  I encourage Senate Republicans to work in partnership with their Democratic colleagues to find common sense solutions to the challenges that everyday Oregonians face in their lives.

pie chart showing 65% unanimous in blue, 31% bipartisan in red, and 4% no republican support in green

Legislative Highlights

We have officially passed the halfway point of the legislative session!  This marks an important shift here in Salem: as of Tuesday (4/21) all bills either moved out of their original policy committees or they “died” in committee.  If a bill “dies” it means it won’t be moving forward this session.

For some bills this means that they have been melded together with another bill and are moving forward under a different bill number.  For others it means that stakeholders are now meeting and deciding how to move their policies forward in a future legislative session.

Senate bills that made it out of committee ahead of this deadline are now either moving to the Ways & Means, Revenue, or Rules committees (which aren’t subject to the same deadlines) or they’re headed to the House chamber.  You can check on any bill’s current status, see who its sponsors are, what committee it’s in, and even read the text of the bill by visiting OLIS and typing in the bill number or keyword.

Snapshots

hemophilia foundation

It was so great to meet with members of the Hemophilia Foundation of Oregon and hear their stories.

 

 

 

 

march constituent coffee group picture

Thank you to “Hits the Spot Café” in North Plains for hosting my last Constituent Coffee, and thank you to everyone who was able to join me in good conversation.

Causa member presenting senator with a plaque

It was a pleasure meeting with Anastasia, who was in the capitol representing CAUSA this month. This cool plaque now sits proudly in my office!

The Oregon Public Health Administration asked me to speak with their members about how to effectively reach out to public officials.  Thank you for the invitation, OPHA!

sen. riley at a dais addressing people visiting from OPHA
sen riley sitting with several other senators and reps at black table for W&M meeting

I was proud to join my colleagues at PCC’s Rock Creek Campus to be a part of the community budget discussions.  The Ways & Means Committee has been holding community roadshows across Oregon this month to hear directly from our constituents about the budget.

Community Announcements

I want to extend a hearty congratulations to the Forest Grove Equestrian Team.  Forest Grove’s all-girl team is comprised of four sophomores and five freshman, and they are headed to the state championships!  We’ll be wishing them luck as they compete in Redmond May 14-17.

I would also like to congratulate Ellie Thornbrue of Century High School for being named Oregon’s female swimmer of the year for the second season in a row!  Century will definitely miss Thornbrue’s talent next year; she will be attending BYU in the fall.

As the weather warms up, our local farmers markets are opening.  The downtown Hillsboro market will be open from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays starting May 2nd, and the Orenco Station market is open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting May 3rd.

Congratulations goes out to the Rice NW Museum of Minerals for being named an affiliate of the Smithsonian!  This is only the second museum in Oregon to receive this honor, and this partnership has the potential to bring specimens and exhibits from the Smithsonian.

Hillsboro Police Department will be hosting a confidential document shredding event on Saturday May 2nd from 8 a.m. to 12 noon (or until the trucks are full).  A $5 donation is suggested, and a 3 banker box limit per person – this is a great opportunity to destroy identifying documents so you don’t fall victim to identity theft.

The Hillsboro Fire Department will be hosting a Veterans Employment Workshop on Saturday, May 9th at the Cherry Lane Fire Station from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with lunch included.  The workshop is free, but seating is limited.  To sign up for the workshop, call the Fire Department at 503-681-6166, or e-mail fire_dept@hillsboro-oregon.gov.

Stay in Touch!

We want to stay in contact with you!  If you are not already subscribed, please visit my legislative website and enter your email address into the “e-Subscribe” box at the right so that you never miss a newsletter.  You will also find me on Facebook, or you can follow me on Twitter to stay up to date with what my office is up to.  Or, you can always check the events calendar on my legislative website!

As always, I am here to serve you.  If there is something I can do to assist you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.

Sincerely,

Sen. Riley signature

Senator Chuck Riley

Senate District 15

email: Sen.ChuckRiley@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1715
address: 900 Court St NE, S-303, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/riley

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