End of Session Newsletter

Hello Friends,

I hope this End of Session Newsletter finds you well. The Legislative Short Session ended on Saturday, March 3rd at 4:54 pm, and more legislation moved on that final Saturday than many of us would have liked. I'm sending this End of Session Newsletter out a little earlier than I had planned, as we have a Rule of the House, the "Blackout Period", that begins at midnight. This "Blackout Period" rule is, "The fundamental effect of the rule is that, when the member’s name appears on the ballot for any office, you may not use state resources during the blackout period for legislatively initiated mass communication." So this will be my last Newsletter to you until after May 15! 

I do however encourage you to Click Here so that you may be directed to my Legislative Website, where you can find previous Press Releases and Newsletters on work for our residents, their industries and communities. 

My work on my four committees kept me extremely busy this last short session. Those committees are: Vice Chair - Economic Development & Trade, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Energy & Environment, and Early Childhood & Family Support. I have also been busy as the House Republican appointed by the Governor to the State's Opioid Task Force, and we have moved a piece of Legislation forward that will assist with the PDMP (Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, that Senator Kruse previously established through Legislation) and tighten the PDMP. I know many of you have reached out with concerns and I appreciate your correspondence. This will not inhibit you from accessing your medication, as many are in need for pain management. We are also starting a peer support pilot program that I have discussed in previous newsletters. 

I'm also your House Republican State Delegate to PNWER (Pacific Northwest Economic Region) and we continue to work on economic growth opportunities for our region. This work also continues with my role as Chair of the Oregon-China Sister State Relations Council's Southern Oregon China Connection. Many of you may remember my calls for Public Hearings on the devastating wildfires the ravage southern Oregon and across our state last summer. I appreciate Agriculture & Natural Resource Committee Chair Clem for fulfilling my request and holding multiple public hearings. I also appreciate Senator Baertschiger's experience and advocacy on these critical issues as well. To that end and rather than a Task Force that I called for in my request, we created a bicameral and bipartisan Fire Caucus. We held meetings during legislative days leading up to session and held 7 am weekly meetings during session. I appreciate Senators' Baertschiger and Johnson, as well as their staff for all of their time and commitment with our Fire Caucus. Many of you will remember my direct work with Jim Wheeler, President of Global Supertanker Services, during the Chetco Bar Fire. That work continued and I'm happy to report that there will be a call-when-needed contract signed before our next fire season so that we will have this new tool in our arsenal to protect our residents and communities.  

Global Supertanker Services President Jim Wheeler and I in your Capitol Office. I am happy to report that the details of the "Call When Needed" contract are being discussed and that we will have this amazing tool at our disposal when needed during the next fire season. I appreciate ODF Director Dougherty and his agency staff for their work and diligence on this critical issue. Having this tool for use will be a great resource to assist in protecting life and property for our residents. We also continue to press for needed forest management reforms for more active resource management as the primary driver in mitigating catastrophic wildfires across our state and promoting rural Oregon jobs.

2018 Passed Chief Sponsored Legislation

HB 4118 Good Neighbor Authority - Federal Forest Management

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/HB4118

Description:

Expresses state policy regarding pursuit of projects under Good Neighbor Authority Agreement. Requires Governor to review terms of Good Neighbor Authority Agreement. Instructs signatory state agencies to work with federal land management agencies to prioritize projects. Requires Governor and Federal Forest Working Group to jointly develop recommendations for goals of Good Neighbor Authority Agreement. Establishes deadline for Governor or designee agency to report recommendations for goals to Legislative Assembly. Allocates lottery funds to State Forestry Department for supporting development, planning or implementation of priority projects on federal forestland under Good Neighbor Authority Agreement. This bill will assist in creating more access to manage our timber resources, creating jobs and growing industries for our rural Oregon communities. The Bill will also aid in forest management projects within the Wildland-Urban Interface to protect life and property from wildfire.

HB 4124 Land Use - New Tools for Rural Oregon's Land Use

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/HB4124

Description:

Allows county governing body, upon remand of matter from Land Use Board of Appeals to county, to have planning commission or hearings officer conduct hearing and make decision regarding lands designated under statewide planning goal addressing agricultural lands or forest lands. Requires county governing body to review planning commission or hearings officer decision and take one of three specified actions on decision. This bill will allow more tools for our County Commissioners to use regarding land use decisions and will help our residents, communities and the industries that support them.  

SB 1550 Food Fish - Seafood Tracking 

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/SB1550

Description:

SB 1550 looks at tracking the location of seafood caught and if there is a bio toxin issue discovered in one location; such as domoic acid in crab, product data can be tracked to check nearby locations for similar bio toxin issues. If one is not found, closures can be localized and much smaller, rather than larger area or coast wide closures. This legislation will also allow for more flexibility in evisceration orders, while keeping the public safe and helping our fishing industries continue to be successful. Our crab fishers are struggling and so are their families. With the delay in the opening of the Crab Season due to elevated levels of domoic acid, and now with the regional closure off southwest Oregon, our fishers are being hit extremely hard and this bill couldn’t come soon enough for them. Please Click Here for more information on the bill.

Some 2018 Passed Sponsored Legislation

HB 4035 Oregon National Guard Tuition Assistance 

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/HB4035

Description:

Requires Higher Education Coordinating Commission to provide tuition assistance for grants to qualified members of Oregon National Guard to attend community colleges or public universities. I had the honor to work with some of our amazing Oregon National Guardsmen and women recently during the Chetco Bar Fire. Their assistance was critical to the safety of residents and their property. Oregon is one of the only states that does not provide some assistance with higher education and I'm happy to support these men and women who work in some of the worst conditions for the public health and safety of our residents. 

HB 4005 Controlling Prescription Drug Pricing  

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/HB4005

Description:

Requires prescription drug manufacturer to report annually information to Department of Consumer and Business Services regarding prices of prescription drugs and costs associated with developing and marketing prescription drugs. I am a market driven individual and support the free market system, but all too often the drug manufacturers increase the cost of prescription drugs for no market driven reason. These increases hurt our seniors, Veterans and families. This bill simply says that if there is a spike in a price for a prescription drug, the company has to clarify why there is such a drastic increase. It's a good bill and will hold drug manufacturers accountable for dramatically increasing the price on prescription drugs on our residents. 

SB 1557 Military Active Duty College Assistance   

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/SB1557

Description:

Requires community colleges, public universities and Oregon Health and Science University to provide certain rights to students ordered to federal or state active duty for 30 or fewer consecutive days.

HB 4098 Veteran Services and Apprentice Training Opportunities 

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/HB4098

Description:

Directs Department of Veterans' Affairs to develop written material regarding apprenticeship opportunities and provide material to certain agencies, county veterans' service officers and veterans' organizations for distribution to veterans. Directs department to provide annual training to county veterans' service officers and veterans' organizations regarding apprenticeship programs and federal and state education benefits. As a huge Veteran advocate and former County Commissioner that supervised the Veteran's Service Officers, I am extremely pleased with this bill and the assistance it will bring our County VSO's and the Veteran's they support. 

HB 4056 Scholarship Program for Children of Deceased or Disabled Public Safety Officers

Link to Bill:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2018R1/Measures/Overview/HB4056

Description:

Distributes civil forfeiture proceeds to scholarship program for children of deceased or disabled public safety officers. Modifies criteria for scholarship program to receive the funds.  

Other Legislation & Resources 

HB 4038 - Directs Director of Veterans' Affairs to study progress of establishment of Roseburg Oregon Veterans' Home. I appreciate that we are moving forward on this important project and once completed, this Roseburg Oregon Veterans’ Home will continue our part to insure broader Veterans services for our region.

SB 5702 - Carries forward and sets aside the over $10 million dollars in resources that were acquired by former Representative and now County Commissioner Freeman, to be used for the Roseburg Veterans' Home project. 

We were successful in acquiring the needed additional $1 million dollars to combat and treat the Sudden Oak Death disease that is aggressively spreading in Southwest Oregon. Set aside for ODF to request when needed, these additional resources will bring the funding to the recommended level by the Sudden Oak Death Task Force that I began and Convene. I am grateful to all that assisted with this process and my colleagues for their support. 

We were successful in acquiring $20 thousand dollars for needed public access and trail maintenance within and around the Chetco Bar Fire. I look forward to working with State Parks and the Curry Citizens for Public Lands Access on these future projects.

We were successful with increasing the $600,000 dollars in bonding by an additional $42,194 t dollars for the Port of Brookings-Harbor for infrastructure repairs and maintenance of the Port. 

The greatest amount of work during this last Legislative Short Session was work on crafting and moving HB 4109 that assisted in stopping the majority party’s punitive push on a carbon tax, that would have negatively impacted rural Oregon and our residents, greater than any other in the State. (The majority party’s carbon tax had an estimated .15 cent a gallon gas tax and would have increased utility costs) I spent considerable time and attended all the workgroup meetings on the carbon tax during the interim.  My HB 4109 focused on the stored carbon in our abundant forests, that continues to be released because of wildfire, disease and decay, due to the lack of management of our timber resources on federal land. We are blessed to grow the best solar powered carbon capture and sequestration engines in the world. Using sunlight to scrub greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere to produce oxygen, with a byproduct that is the most resilient building material in the world, wood. Relationships with colleagues are critical within the Capitol and I was able to garner bicameral bipartisan support on my legislation that looked to active forest management of our timber resources, promoting forest health and habitat, while mitigating wildfire, creating jobs and sequestering carbon for generations through wood products. HB 4109 would provide the needed supply for our wood product industries; such as CLT and Mass Timber (DR Johnson and others need) in combination with our aggregate and steel industries, to grow and support our rural Oregon economies and their residents. This is a true bridge of the rural-urban divide, all while growing more carbon sequestration engines that use less water and sequester carbon at a greater rate. We were successful in that the Democrats were not able to get the votes to move their Carbon Tax, in the face of and support for our Healthy Forests & Rural Job Innovation through Carbon Sequestration (HB 4109) and coordinated pressure from our business community. I and others testified on numerous occasions and we were prepared to use my legislation as our House Republican Minority Report if the Democrats attempted to move their Carbon Tax. With that, both the majority party’s carbon tax legislation and my Healthy Forests & Rural Job Innovation through Carbon Sequestration Legislation were in committee together upon the Sessions adjournment on March 3rd.

We were however, unfortunately not able to stop SB 1528, the Small Business Tax. This is one example of some of the majority party’s attack on small business and their circumventing of (in many of our opinions) state law. This is a tax and does increase revenue. State law outlines it should then need a 3/5 majority vote (which did not happen) and must originate from the House (which did not happen). We must support our Republican colleagues around the state to stop these continued attacks on small business, rural Oregon the Democrats out of control spending! 

Click Here for a link to my comments on these attacks on our small businesses. 

So proud of these young men at Pacific High School. Oregon State Champions!

I have been a long time supporter of our CASA volunteers and am very appreciative of their dedication to our most vulnerable youth. Thank you to you all.

My continued appreciation to our Veterans for their service to our communities. I appreciated the honor of being your Guest Speaker at a number of your statewide events and meetings. It is a privilege to serve you as your State Representative.

It is a privilege and honor to work for you as your State Representative. I again encourage you to CLICK HERE to be directed to my Legislative Website, where you can read more about my work on behalf of our residents. Thank you and God Bless. 

Yours Truly,

Representative David Brock Smith 

Together, We Will Build a Better Oregon

House District 1
Curry, Coos, Douglas & Josephine Counties
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1401
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-379, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.DavidBrockSmith@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd