On Thursday, my father Bill, oldest son Reagan, daughter-in-law Caitlyn, and grandson Oliver came to the Capitol to join me for our floor session. 

Oliver was the star of the show on his first trip to the Capitol and had the chance to meet many of my fellow legislators. Thank you to my colleagues in the Senate for your warm welcome to my family. Having four generations of Knopps on the Floor was a special moment that we will always cherish. 

On Monday I testified in support of SJM 11, which would urge Congress to require candidates for federal offices to disclose their federal tax returns to appear on the ballot. 

I sponsored this legislation because I believe we must create a more transparent election process to regain the trust of voters and to protect our democratic processes. It's not only important to me that wealthy individuals running for elected office are transparent with their taxes, but also individuals who have become wealthy while holding public office. You can watch my testimony on the bill by clicking the image to the right.

Wednesday was one of my favorite advocacy days of the session: OSU Day.

We were greeted by Benny the Beaver and the OSU drum line on the Capitol steps to start off the day. After the Beaver Rally, OSU had displays set up to show all of the different programs the university offers, their current research, and why higher education is so important to our State.Thank you to all who participated in making it such a great day. Go Beavers!

During OSU Day, I had the pleasure of meeting with OSU Cascades students again to discuss funding for a Sudent Success Center on campus.

Among them was Lynnea Fredrickson, who was recently named the 2019 Bend Chamber of Commerce Young Hero Woman of the Year. Lynnea joined me on the Senate Floor for our votes so I could formally recognize her accomplishment and allow the Senate to extend courtesies.

Once again, congratulations Lynnae. Keep up the great work advocating for your fellow Cascades Students!

HB 3310, or the Oregon Voting Rights Act, would put processes in place to ensure school district, educational service district, and community college board elections are all in accordance with the National Voting Rights Act.

I'm a firm believer that all politics are local, which makes ensuring equal access to local election processes crucial for our democracy. Everyone benefits when local leaders are from and understand their community. I'm proud to be a chief sponsor of this legislation so we can work to remove all barriers from local leaders who want to step up for their community and represent their interests in local office. 

After months of work from my colleagues and myself, Redmond will officially be taking part in a pilot program that will create hundreds of new, affordable housing options. Thank you to Rep. Zika, Rep. Helt, Speaker Kotek for working with me on this and the Governor for recognizing its importance and signing it into law. You can read more about the bill and the housing options it will create by clicking the image to the right.

On Friday, I attended the Capital YMCA's annual Good Friday Prayer Breakfast. Former Oregon State Baseball Coach, Pat Casey, was the keynote speaker and shared moving stories about his time coaching and mentoring his players at Oregon State.

His lessons around leadership, personal accountability and character were inspiring and helped explain how he had so much success at OSU. Thank you to the YMCA, Coach Casey, and the sponsors of the event for the great opportunity to come together around faith during Holy Week.