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Dear reader,
As
my office and I continue to unwind from the chaotic nature of the short
session, we wanted to take a moment to reach out to update you on what transpired during the month of February. Despite the pleasantries
expressed at the beginning of the session, I had a feeling that with the passage of Measure 101, the majority party would come in with renewed vigor and
push hard for their aggressive agenda. To recap what transpired we have:
Working
for our Veterans: In this short session we were able to pass
several bills that expand opportunities and services for our veterans.
One
bill that I was particularly fond of was one I Chief Co-Sponsored with
Representative Mark Meek, HB 4098.
The bill mandates the state to compile information regarding apprenticeship opportunities for veterans in Oregon , and make it available to local and state entities that consistently interact with our
veterans (County Veterans Service Officers, the Employment
Department, the Oregon Military Department, etc...). This bill passed
unanimously out of both chambers!
The second bill I am proud to have
supported was HB 4035 which provides
tuition assistance to our service men and women serving in the Oregon National
Guard. Oregon was the only state in the country that did not provide any tuition assitance for individuals in the National Guard. Not only that, but our recruitment rate for individuals joining the guard is 50th in the nation as well. Through the hard work of long-time Representatives Gene Whisnant and Mike McLane we were able to remedy that through this bill. It requires the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to provide grants to members of the Guard who are attending our community colleges or public universities!
Finally, we were able to continue the funding
for the development of the Roseburg Veterans Home to the tune of the $10.7 million
that we fought for and maintained in the 2017 regular session. Not only that,
but we were joined in our efforts by
Representative Paul Evans through his House Veterans and Emergency Preparedness
committee and their work on HB 4038,
which ensures government oversight into the advancement of this project. This coupled with our continued involvement in the
“Southern Oregon Allied Health College” workgroup that was convened after
securing its inception in a budget note during the 2017 Long Session, should
ensure we are moving forward in providing this much needed service for our
veterans! I want to thank Douglas County Commissioner Tim Freeman for his dedication to this
project and his continued support for it, as it is a conversation he
started back when he was your State Representative. Without his contributions to this ongoing effort the Veterans Home project would not have had its funding renewed in 2017.
Working for our small businesses: Ensuring that our legislation promotes a healthy environment for our small businesses to flourish!
I was frustrated by how
many bills were put before our House Business and Labor committee! In a session
where each Representative was only allowed to draft 2 bills, each Senator 1
bill, and each committee 5 bills (a total of around 200 bills) our committee
had 29 bills assigned to it! That is about 7% of the bills for the whole session
in one committee. One of the bills that had some potentially devastating
consequences for our small sub-contractors in the state was HB 4154-B. While the bill has the noble
intent of protecting workers who are involved in a wage or benefits dispute with their employer, it created a “10 million dollar fix for a 1 million dollar problem.” You
can see my arguments against it in the video below:
 While we could not kill this bill in the house,
I am happy to report that after several conversations with individuals on the other side of the building, the Senate found reason and did not allow it to move
forward.
A bill I personally had drafted (HB 4107) has the intent of not only helping our physicians also receive compensation for the work they have done, but it begins to address the opioid crisis we face in this country. My bill ensures Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine receive payment in a timely manner from insurance companies that cover the procedure. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment is a procedure where a doctor manipulates the bones and muscles in such a way to alleviate pain (thus not having to prescribe an opioid).
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My greatest concern this session was the
complete lack of respect by the majority party for the intention voters had when
creating the short session. When Oregon voters created the short legislative
session, they did so with the intention of providing us a period in which we
could make small budgetary and policy changes. It was an opportunity to address
issues that had come up from legislation we had changed in the previous
long session. The ruling party, however has made it a time which they can rush through their aggressive agenda with little to no public voice! There were
many bills that my Republican colleagues and I would have probably voted for had the bills been given proper time to be discussed and modified to best avoid unintended consequences. That clearly was not the
will or the agenda of the majority.
Despite the best efforts of myself
and my colleagues in the Republican caucus, there were a few bills that were passed that
can have some damaging repercussions for many Oregonians. The one that concerns
me the most is the passing of SB 1528.
This bill would detach Oregon from the federal tax code, slashing some of the
tax breaks our small businesses were lined up to receive. This strips our small
businesses and small business owners of some much-needed capitol. The ruling party argues that it was not a "tax raising bill" because it would not raise the taxes paid by Oregon's small businesses. While it does not raise the taxes based on what the business paid last year, it does strip them of tax breaks they were going to receive this coming year because of the breaks given at the federal level.
There were a number of
surprises this session, most significantly the departure of Senator Kruse. I want to thank Senator Kruse for his 20 plus years of dedicated service to the people of Southern Oregon and Senate District 1.
The second biggest surprise for me was the fate
of the “Cap and Trade” bills HB 4001
and SB 1507. It was predicted that
if Measure 101 passed, the focus of the majority party would be to implement a
California-style Cap and Trade program which would cap the amount of carbon and
greenhouse gas emissions Oregon industries could produce. The concept eventually lost momentum as the session rolled on and eventually died because Senate Democrats could not manage to gather enough support in their chamber. Cap and Trade will certainly return in 2019.
I
want to open the floor and give the individuals who make the office run an
opportunity to express their thoughts on the session!
Hannah Heard (Legislative Aide):
"Court Appointed Special Advocates or “CASA” is a wonderful
organization made up mostly of local volunteer individuals whose sole goal and
mission is to befriend and advocate for the best interest of individual
children in the foster care system. The advocates investigate and assess a
child’s individual case so that they can recommend what the safest and best
permanent home is for the child to a child court judge. In 2017, the
legislature cut $518,464 from CASA’s 2-year budget and unfortunately only
restored $438,465 to that original budget level despite strong lobbying by
concerned citizens and individual legislators like my husband, Rep. Dallas
Heard. That is $79,999 less than the previous biannual budget in an era where
most State agency budgets have grown 10%+ per 2 year budget cycle. These
children need an advocate whose only concern is to advocate for what is truly
best for the child. Unfortunately, Governor Brown advocated for less important
budget asks such as $1,500,000. for a DAS “Carbon Policy Office” but did not
feel that the neglected children of Oregon rose to such a level of priority to
fully fund CASA. We can do better and the people of Oregon need to demand
better of the individuals who hold the levers of power, namely Governor
Brown."
Louise Bonn (Legislative Intern):
"Being born and raised in
Roseburg, Oregon, and now a student studying political science, I have been
fortunate in having the opportunity of interning at the State Legislature under
Representative Heard. I was able to observe the legislative process during the
short session in February, and gained a deeper understanding of how bills
impact different individuals and groups throughout the state. Having a passion
for education, I attended hearings and tracked bills in the Higher Education
and Workforce Development committees. Growing up in Douglas County facilitated
my efforts to assist Representative Heard in protecting and advancing the
interests of District 2, as I am familiar with the concerns and issues there.
Knowledge gained from my classes at George Fox was practically applied in
aiding constituents and in analyzing future implications and consequences that
certain bills would have especially on District 2, as well as on the entire
state of Oregon."
Nikolas Ruiz Anderson (Chief of Staff):
"This short session was a whirlwind! Of the 3 short
sessions I have worked, this one was by far the most challenging. It
picked right up with the intensity and hostility with which we ended the long
session, and it seemed that with 101 having passed, we Republicans were in for
a world of hurt. I am happy we could pass one of our bills and in doing
so, we are allowing for individuals to receive better treatment that will not
put them on highly addictive medication. I also really enjoyed working with
several other offices on both sides of the aisle to ensure THEIR issues
are being addressed as well. It has been a blessing to work for a legislator who is so highly respected by individuals on both sides of the aisle and in
both chambers. It really makes my job as Chief of Staff easier when offices
know when we are presenting information, we are doing it in a genuine and
honest manner. I have really enjoyed getting to better understand the needs of
our community down in House District 2, especially as it pertains to our
Veterans and our small business owners. I look forward to continuing our work
on the Allied Health College and Roseburg Veterans’ Home Projects and to
helping as many of our constituents as I can. If you ever have any questions or
concerns about things going on in our communities, do not hesitate to email us
or call our offices. I will do what I can to either get you the answers or put
you in touch with someone who can!"
We will be entering a period in which I will not be
able to send out another newsletter (due to House Rules governing conduct during an election), so as Nikolas mentioned, if you have any
questions about the material you read here or anything else that happened this
session, please send us an email and my office will get back to you as soon as
they are able. As always it has been an honor advocating on behalf of the needs of
our wonderful district! I feel blessed every day that you have chosen me to be
your Representative. With that being said, I wish you all the best and I look
forward to hearing from you all soon.
Yours Truly,
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