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Dear friends,
As Veterans Day approaches, I want to take a moment to honor the men and women who have served our country.
To all our service men and women and their families who have sacrificed: Thank you!
More than 325,000 veterans call Oregon home. Veterans are our friends, family members, neighbors, and coworkers. I believe that Oregon has a responsibility to support our service men and women, and their families, especially as they return home and prepare to enter the workforce. I'm proud to say that in the 2016 Legislative Session, my colleagues and I passed a number of bills to help veterans and their families. These bills are listed below.
For more information about veterans programs, resources, and stories here in Oregon, please see the Veterans' Affairs Advisory Committee's "We Are Oregon Veterans: 2016 Annual Report to the Governor."
Below you will find information on:
- 2016 Session: Legislation Supporting Veterans
- Area Veterans Day Events
Thank you for joining me in honoring our veterans and their service to our country. As always, feel free to share your comments, questions or concerns with me by phone, mail or e-mail.
2016 Session: Legislation Supporting Veterans
Oregon's veterans have made many sacrifices serving our country. These new laws help us honor their service by providing veterans with greater opportunities and resources:
HJR 202 - Funding for Veterans Services: This resolution referred a measure to the November ballot to dedicate 1.5 percent of lottery funds to outreach services to connect Oregon's 350,000 veterans to federally funded services like health care, housing assistance and mental health services.
SB 1524 - Improving Ease of Access to Medical Marijuana for Veterans: Under current law, individuals with valid medical marijuana cards are required to see a physician annually to maintain their eligibility. This legislation creates an exception to this requirement for 100 percent permanently disabled veterans, removing an unnecessary barrier by ensuring that these former service members don’t have to complete this process annually.
HB 4143 - Predictability and Stability for Oregon Renters: Military veterans are much more likely to become homeless than other Americans. This legislation provides more predictability for Oregon renters with month-to-month tenancies by prohibiting landlords from increasing rent during the first year and requiring at least 90-day notification for any rent increases after that. By stabilizing rent within the first year of a tenancy and providing more notice for tenants in month-to-month rental agreements prior to rent increases, HB 4143 will allow individuals and families reasonable time to plan around their housing expenses — a meaningful protection for all Oregonians, and especially for veterans who may be disproportionately vulnerable to housing instability.
For a listing of bills from 2015 that the Legislature passed to help veterans and their families, please view my Veterans' Day 2015 e-alert.
Area Veterans Day Events
Communities throughout Oregon will once again host ceremonies, parades, and special gatherings to honor America's military veterans and commemorate Veterans Day, celebrated on the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For a listing of events far and wide, click here.
For the first time since its construction, the Oregon WWII Memorial on the state Capitol grounds (at the corner of Court and Cottage streets) will serve as the location for the Statewide Veterans Day Celebration. This one-hour program starts at 3 p.m. November 11 and features guest speakers, patriotic music, posting of the colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, "The Star Spangled Banner," and more.
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