First week of March Newsletter!

Jack Zika

This week's update..

Hello Friends,

I want to thank all those that weathered the snow and ice, to attend the Cap-and-Trade Roadshow hosted by Central Oregon Community College, last Saturday. It was important for the committee to hear all the different concerns and opinions from Central Oregonians. Some of the takeaways from the meeting was, the overall concern that many had about increasing costs and the effects on agriculture and Central Oregon families. The cap and trade program could increase natural gas bills by up to 65%, and increase gas taxes by 16-cents. These increases would cause a large economic strain on all Central Oregonians.

With the rent control bill now state law, we have received numerous legal questions, regarding landlord-tenant laws. On March 22nd, the Oregon Association of REALTORS will be hosting a live webinar where they will be answering various questions surrounding Rent Control. This is an unprecedented piece of legislation that could drastically affect Central Oregon's Housing Market. I highly encourage those who might be impacted by the law to attend the webinar. For more details, please click here

The Ways and Means Joint Committee also introduced the "2019-21 Co-Chair Balanced Budget" plan to address some of the State's structural deficit for the biennium. Some of the proposals are to first reduce wasteful spending by establishing priorities and realistic goals. While the plan calls for more money into our rainy day fund, our priorities must include protecting k-12 education for our Central Oregon students. The plan will rely on on known resources, not proposed, to further reduce our debt and balance our state's budget for the next biennium. I will watch this plan closely over the next few weeks and months to see its hopeful implementation. 

Last week, the affordable housing pilot project bill for Redmond passed with zero opposition in the House. The bill is now in the Senate and I will keep you all updated as this bill progresses. 

Lastly, on Wednesday, the state funeral was held for Secretary of State, Dennis Richardson. It was a beautiful service, where people from both parties, spoke about his amazing life and character. It was a reminder, that we are all Oregonians, regardless of our party affiliations. Secretary Richardson was the ideal public servant, who put Oregonians above politics. He will be dearly missed. 

If you have any questions or comments, please call us at 503-986-1453 or email at rep.jackzika@oregonlegislature.gov. 

Yours truly,

 

Representative Jack Zika

House District 53

Presiding floor

I had the honor of presiding over the floor session as Speaker on Wednesday. It was a great experience and appreciate Representative Paul Holvey for helping me out! 


Zika family

I loved having my family here in Salem for the week while I was working at the Capitol! 


Jon lutz

Dr. Jon Lutz from Bend came to visit me as part of the Oregon Medical Association's lobby day to discuss public health issues and other health-related matters. Thank you for making the drive over! 


Richardson photo

On Wednesday, The House Republican Caucus said goodbye to a friend and colleague. You will be missed, Secretary Richardson.

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1453
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-387, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.JackZika@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/zika