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The
79th Oregon Legislative Session is underway with the first floor
session happening on February 1st. The session has already been
characterized by many as one that will be marred with conflict and potentially
crisis. Instead, I think that this session will provide legislators and the
citizens of our great state an opportunity to solve the major issues that are
hurting Oregonians. Oregon is facing significant obstacles to budgetary
sustainability, rebuilding the middle class, and educational excellence, and I
am working hard to be a part of the solutions that will make the lives of every
Oregonian better.
Public Employee Retirement System
 The Senate
Workforce Committee, of which I am vice-chair, has already held its first
informational hearing on the Public Employee Retirement System and we will hear
more from them in coming weeks as we look for ways to address increasing budget
pressure from PERS in a fair, legal, and efficacious manner. PERS has a significant
impact on the money available for education, public safety, and other
government services. While the Oregon Supreme Court has overturned some of the
previous PERS ‘fixes’, we have been working closely with legal experts and PERS
administrators to find solutions that will pass legal muster while creating
significant savings to free up resources for services that have faced damaging
resource constraints. The Oregonian ran an article last week detailing the
desire of legislators to tackle the PERS issue. It is important for folks from
every walk of life and on both sides of the political aisle to come together to
solve this crisis because the future of our state is at stake.
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Stopping Human Trafficking
Earlier
this month, we observed Human Trafficking Awareness Day which is meant to raise
awareness of the scale and impact of human trafficking in the United States. I
am proud of the work that we have done here in Oregon to increase the
availability of information about human trafficking and to craft legislative
solutions to stopping women and children from becoming victims of this terrible
trade. Nita Belles of Bend, who runs In Our Backyard a non-profit tasked with
ending human trafficking, has worked tirelessly with me and other legislators
to develop legislation to combat the trafficking of human beings. This year,
Nita has been working with Sen. Bill Hansell to develop legislation(SB 375) that will place human trafficking information in Oregon’s rest
areas in order to provide travelers and truck drivers with the information and
resources they need to identify and report instances of suspected trafficking. Nita
has also been working on site at the Super Bowl venue with hundreds of others
to help stop trafficking that has been associated with the event.
Dementia Care
 On Jan. 31st,
I attended the Oregon Health Care Association’s Quality Summit on Advancing
Quality Dementia Care. The summit focused on improving caregiving, treatment,
and patient quality of life. It was great to meet with folks to learn more
about what we can do as legislators to improve the lives of families impacted
by Dementia.
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Head Start
It was
great to meet with folks from Head Start in Central Oregon. It is always
powerful to meet with folks that are passionate about improving the lives of
others, especially children. |
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Privacy Rights
This
session, I have introduced legislation that will require law enforcement
agencies to obtain a warrant in order to track individuals cell phones with few
exceptions. Senate Bill 571 addresses the use of cell-site simulators which
mimic cellular phone towers and are used to obtain location data and other
identifying information without the consent. 13 states have similar laws and 6
others are considering adopting laws protecting citizens from unwarranted use
of cell-site simulators. I am committed to protecting the 4th Amendment privacy
rights of Oregonians who should not be subject to unreasonable searches and
seizures of their personal information and devices. Currently, Oregon law is
outdated and does not take into account the rapid changes in technology that
have occurred and will continue to occur.
Best Regards,
 Senator Tim Knopp
Senate District 27
P.S. Check out Senator Knopp's New Clips below.
Legislative Preview
Legislators must dig in or face long session - 01/27/2017
New year presents tremendous bipartisan
opportunity (Opinion) - 01/04/2017
PERS
A to-do list for the Legislature - 02/01/2017
Oregon lawmakers to consider money-saving PERS
proposals - 02/02/2017
Oregon lawmakers to consider money-saving PERS
proposals - 02/02/2017
PERS debate returns to Oregon Legislature - 01/11/2017
Oregon Legislators tackle PERS, budget, roads - 02/01/2017
PERS reform hearings start Oregon legislative
session - 01/31/2017
PERS cuts necessary to relieve state deficit - 01/25/2017
Local legislator proposes PERS changes - 01/14/2017
PERS finance issue demands fast action - 01/22/2017
Privacy
Bill would make police get warrant before
tracking phones - 02/01/2017
Editorial: Require warrant for cellphone
monitoring - 01/17/2017
Oregon bill would prohibit warrantless
stingray spying, hinder federal surveillance program - 01/14/2017
Taxes
Editorial: Sen. Tim Knopp right to increase
hurdle for tax hikes - 01/14/2017
Editorial: One good and one bad change for
Oregon’s kicker - 01/18/2017
email: sen.timknopp@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1727
address: 900 Court St NE, S-309, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/knopp
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