Greetings Friends,
Here is my second newsletter. It has been a busy month for both myself
and staff. We have some great news to share and important updates for
you.
Earlier
in the month, Senator Mark Hass, Representative Jeff Barker and I
hosted a town hall meeting at the Beaverton Library. We heard from
residents from across our districts about the need to increase
revenue to prevent cuts to vital services that Oregonians need. Thank you
to all that attended. We hope to do more of these events as the
session progresses.
Start of Session Town Hall
HB
2644
If
you follow me on Facebook you probably noticed a few
posts from Monday when I carried my first bill on the floor. It was a great learning experience - taking a concept from the first step all the way through committee, working on amendments
and taking it to the floor.
House Bill 2644 made a simple but critical change to existing state law.
The bill ensures that Vitamin K is administered to newborns by the
most effective means available. Vitamin K is needed for the formation
of blood clots to prevent catastrophic brain and intestinal bleeding.
Once we are a little older we can absorb Vitamin K from the foods we
eat, but newborns initially lack this ability and need the supplement.
The bill passed 56-1 and has been sent to the Senate
Healthcare Committee. More updates to come on this as the bill makes its
way through the Oregon Senate.
HCR
19
IIn last month’s newsletter, I shared a Willamette Week story about my
bill to make Marion Berry Pie the state pie of Oregon. It’s still
getting a fair amount of attention. The overwhelming majority of it is
positive. Here’s what the. Corvallis Gazette-Times said recently,
“Normally,
we have little patience for these silly measures that often show up
at the start of the session — legislators call them "cats
and dogs," because they run around underfoot until somebody
spays or neuters them — but this is not a silly measure. This is
serious business. The Legislature should pass this resolution and
give the marionberry its rightful place in the pantheon of Oregon
delicacies.”
There
will be a public hearing on HCR 19 on March 30th
between 3-4:45 pm in the House Rules Committee. You find out more
about the progress that day here.
HB
2862
Another one of my bills, HB 2862 will be having a public hearing on March 28th in the House Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee
In 2009, the Oregon Nurses Association, the Northwest Health Foundation,
and the Oregon Center for Nursing lobbied
the legislature to pass the Oregon Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment
Program. This program was intended to help Oregon nurses interested in
becoming nurse educators pay for their teaching degrees. The need for
nurses has never been greater in our communities and we need experienced
and qualified teachers to teach the next generation of nurses.
This nurse loan program was funded once at $200,000, but never funded
again. With HB 2862 this important loan program will be funded this year
at $350,000.
I had the great pleasure of participating in the Washington County
Budget Listening session at Beaverton High School. The Beaverton Valley
Times covered the event and you can read more about it here. If you've sent comments or testimony to my office they will be
forwarded on to the full Ways & Means Committee. You can still
e-mail comments and testimony to me at: Rep.SheriMalstrom@oregonlegislature.gov
The legislative life!
My staff and I recently visited the Oregon Historical Society's giant
archival warehouse, aka ‘the Vault". The Society's Executive Director,
Kerry Tymchuk led the tour for new legislators and staff and other
interested guests. The tour was an opportunity for us to see some
amazing pieces
of Oregon history that OHS is preserving for future Oregonians; and
for Kerry to explain OHS's value to Oregon. I'm also proud to say that
Kerry is a constituent and fellow resident of
House District 27. I love seeing constituents share their passions with
our greater community.
Here I am with the first car ever built in Oregon
Next
Constituent Coffee is Saturday April 15, 2017 8:30am-9:30am Ava Roasteria, 4655 SW Hall Blvd, Beaverton, Oregon. Please come and share with me what's going on in your neighborhood and what you want me to know about legislation down in Salem.
In this section of our newsletter we will discuss interesting things about House District 27.
With the weather improving, I wanted to be sure that you were
aware our district has some wonderful parks and trail systems.The
Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District offers amazing opportunities, often minutes from our own homes to get out and enjoy the district.
The
Fanno Creek Trail on the eastern side of the district starts in
Garden Home, crosses west towards HWY-217 and then connects with several
segments and parks that allow you to bike and walk from Garden Home
through Beaverton and Tigard to downtown Tualatin. On the western side
of the district, you will find the
Westside Trail. This trail will eventually go from the PCC Rock
Creek Campus to just south of Barrows Rd. In our district the trail
crosses Hart Road, travels south pass Sexton Mountain Elementary
School and eventually crosses Scholls Ferry Rd. and ends at Barrows
Park.
I hope you will take advantage of these amazing parks and trails!
  Capitol Phone: 503-986-1427
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-280, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.SheriMalstrom@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/malstrom
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