This bill would give children brought to the U.S. at an early age and raised in this country the same access to tuition as their peers who were born here. Under this bill students who are not legal citizens or lawful residents would be able to receive scholarships, grants and financial aid. In 2012 the Department of Homeland Security created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA. DACA allows immigrants to be safe from deportation and to be eligible to work if they meet certain criteria such as being under sixteen before coming to the U.S., being younger than age thirty and having lived in the U.S. consistently for the past five years. Oregon has 130,000 undocumented immigrants, 10,000 of those are DACA participants. The Oregon State Legislature passed a tuition equity bill in 2013 which extends to DACA students. Unfortunately, the Trump administration terminated DACA. This bill responds to that action so that DACA students can continue to have the same access to in-state tuition and scholarships in Oregon. The Senate passed SB 1563 on February 19th with a 17-10 vote, and I voted yes on this bill. It now moves on to the House for consideration.

This was a proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution establishing an obligation of the state to ensure that every resident of Oregon has access to cost-effective, medically appropriate and affordable health care. Oregon does better at providing healthcare for its citizens than other states-approximately 95% of Oregonians have healthcare. I worked hard to support Measure 101 which helps provide healthcare coverage to Oregonians and the Oregon voters approved it this year. However, there is still room for improvement. The number one cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. is healthcare debt. Unfortunately, HJR 203 didn’t have the votes to pass out of committee. I will continue to work hard this interim and in the 2019 Legislative Session to support universal healthcare for all Oregonians.

This bill is very important to Oregon; it would detach Oregon from the Trump tax train that gives extra tax breaks to wealthy individuals and hurts services such as education and public safety. It would also help working families prepare for their children’s futures. Federal changes will impact Oregon’s revenue which funds public education, health and human services, and other important services. Remaining tied to Trump’s tax train would cost Oregon an estimated $81.4 million dollars in the current biennium. SB 1528 has the support of unlikely groups such as the Tax Foundation in Washington D.C., a popular think tank. By detaching Oregon from this tax plan, we can get back to boosting our middle class, as well as continuing to fund important public services that Oregonians depend on. The important thing to know about this bill is that if it passes, no individual or small business will pay a higher tax rate in 2019 than they will pay this year. This bill passed out of the Senate Finance & Revenue Committee on a party-line vote and is now in the House Committee on Revenue.  

SB 1562 passed the Senate on February 20th with unanimous support. It expands the statutory definition of strangulation to include applying pressure to the chest of the victim. It also increases the penalty for strangulation to a Class C felony when the victim is a “family or household member” or when it’s in the context of domestic violence. Strangulation is currently a Class A misdemeanor with a maximum jail sentence of 364 days and a maximum fine of $6,250. Under this bill the penalty would be elevated to a Class C felony with a five-year prison sentence and a maximum fine of $125,000 when the strangulation is witnesses by a child, the victim is under age ten, the person used or threatened to use a deadly weapon, the person has previous convictions for strangulation, assault or menacing, or the person knows the victim was pregnant. I supported this bill and am glad to have been able to see it pass the Senate. This bill now goes to the House for consideration.

This bill passed the Senate on February 22nd by a 16-13 vote. This bill is designed to keep guns away from abusers and stalkers. It is currently illegal for an individual to possess a firearm or ammunition if they have been convicted of a violent offense against an intimate partner or if they have a restraining order against them. However, the “intimate partner loophole” allows stalkers and abusers to legally possess firearms if they haven’t married, lived with or had children with their victim. This bill replaces the language in Oregon’s Unlawful Possession of Firearms statute from “intimate partner” to “family or household member,” which can include a sexual partner who hasn’t lived or had children with the victim. I voted for this bill and continue to support this bill because I believe it will help further keep firearms out of the hands of abusers and stalkers and protect Oregon women. The bill previously passed the House, and now goes to Governor Kate Brown for her signature.

This bill is related to the price of prescription drugs and requires that prescription drug manufacturers report annually to the Department of Consumer & Business Services regarding prices of drugs and costs associated with developing and marketing drugs. This bill has proposed amendments such as the dash twenty-three amendment. This amendment to the bill would increase transparency on prescription drugs by applying a task force that will review drug prices for the entire supply chain of prescription drugs including manufactures, insurers, distributors and others. The task force’s first report is due by November 1st to advance legislation for the 2019 Session. The task force is essentially delaying the base bill so that the base bill can be implemented and modifications can be made if need be. If the task force is unsuccessful then the main base bill will take effect. The Trump administration publicly announced that one of its main goals is to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, and the Oregon Legislature is committed to doing the same. I think the task force is a good idea to add on to the base bill which will be carried on the Senate floor this week.

This bill helps individuals create a first-time home buyer savings account with a financial institution to pay for the first-time purchase of a single-family residence. The document recording fee would be increased from $35 to $60 which would allow for more affordable housing and loans for housing. The increase in the recording fee is expected to generate $30.5 million dollars in the 2017-2019 biennium and $61 million in the 2019-2021 biennium. Twenty-five percent of these funds are allocated to assisting veterans and all the funds will be distributed between three different housing programs. I support this bill and hope to see it pass out of committee onto the Senate floor; it's currently in the Joint Subcommittee on Capital Construction.

This bill calls for an eleven member task force to address racial disparities in Oregon home ownership and to make recommendations to address these disparities. Four out of the eleven members on the task force will be Oregon residents who have suffered racial disparities themselves in housing situations. In Oregon, it’s clear that we have a housing crisis, as well as a problem with discrimination which dates back to the 1950s. 67% of non-Hispanic white Oregonians own houses, but only 34% of African American households own homes in Oregon. With the creation of this task force local experts will be brought in to look at these issues and begin to come up with solutions to address them. Furthermore, the budget for the 2017-2019 biennium should be able to fully fund this task force. This is a bill I believe in and will be co-carrying it on the Senate floor with my colleague Sen. Manning. It goes for a vote in the House on March 2nd.

HB 4111 clarifies fees for obtaining a Real ID driver’s license in Oregon. The Real ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 and requires that states comply with TSA-required driver’s licenses meaning that normal driver’s licenses and permits wouldn’t be valid at federal facilities. Oregon has been given an extension on the Real ID Act so that Oregon residents may still use their licenses and permits for identification at federal facilities such as airports and nuclear power plants. HB 4111 relates to when Oregon switches over to using Real IDs and clarifies the fees for obtaining one of these licenses when they become available. There is also an amendment to the bill which would allow those who legally have permits in Oregon a renewal of two years on their state-issued licenses or permits. This relates to DACA students who need permits to get to work or school. DACA stands for Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals and relates to children who were brought to Oregon as small children from another country. There are 10,000 DACA students in Oregon who are here legally and would benefit heavily from this bill. I support this bill and will be carrying it on the Senate floor on March 2nd.