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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This week we are in the home stretch of the 2019 Legislative Session, with one month remaining until the constitutional Sine Die – or end of session – on Friday, June 30th. Last week, on Friday, May 24th House and Senate policy committees held their final public hearings and work sessions on legislative concepts and are now unable to move legislation forward. Now, only bills in the Rules, Revenue, or Ways and Means Committees are permitted to pass bills, although some policy committees, including my own, are continuing to hold informational hearings, as we tie up loose ends and hear potential ideas for the 2020 Session and beyond.
As we prepare for the interim, I will continue to serve on the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Opioid Policy Fellowship, joining legislators from across the country to work on solutions to the omnipresent opioid crisis.
Since our last newsletter there has been movement on a number of critically important policies. This month, the Oregon Legislature finally delivered on our promise to make significant investments in Oregon’s schools through the Student Success Act (HB 3427).
It is widely known that Oregon’s K-12 schools have been chronically underfunded for 30 years. Huge class sizes, low graduation rates, gaps in mental health and other needed services, and too little instruction time reflect years of insufficient and unstable funding. It’s not only our students who are suffering – local businesses and communities across the state are impacted too.
By leveraging a 0.57% tax on businesses that do more than $1 million in commercial activity, while reducing personal income taxes to account for projected increases in prices, the Student Success Act will provide new funding to support critical services for our children, including:
- Mental and behavioral health support;
- Full funding of career and technical education (Measure 98);
- Smaller class sizes;
- Increased access to high quality preschool and early childhood programs;
- Universal access to school meals; and
- Restoring programs like art and music
To protect these investments, the Oregon Legislature also took action on the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) unfunded actuarial liability. My vote in favor of SB 1049 was the most difficult decision I’ve been faced with in the Legislature.
As a Tier I PERS retiree with over 35 years’ service as a nurse, pension benefits for public employees are an issue of great personal concern to me. We must honor all contracts made and preserve all benefits already earned in the PERS system. But we also cannot turn a blind eye to the $26 billion unfunded actuarial liability and the corresponding unsustainable explosion in employer contribution rates.
Ultimately, I feel this bill is necessary to fill the hole caused by investment losses in the Great Recession. Before the unprecedented private-sector market losses of 2007-2009, Oregon PERS had $1.10 in assets for every dollar in liabilities. The subprime mortgage meltdown and subsequent international financial crises wiped out that surplus.
Not passing SB 1049 would have caused local government contribution rates to increase to over 35 cents of every budget dollar next year. SB 1049 will hold down employers’ contribution rates and keep public employers from cutting necessary staff, services or programs. You can read my full vote explanation here.
My office priorities this legislative session have focused largely on improving access to health care and improving health outcomes. Five of my priorities (see below) have already passed both chambers of the Oregon Legislature, and we are working towards passage of HB 3273, the Drug Take Back Program, SB 526 to provide Universal Home Visiting, and SB 543 to empower our communities to establish Children’s Service Districts.
Our priorities that have passed both chambers of the legislature:
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HB 2220: Authorizes dentists to prescribe and administer vaccines;
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HB 2510: Designates October 9 of each year as PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day
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HB 2563: Establishes Newborn Bloodspot Screening Advisory Board in Oregon Health Authority.
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HB 2660: Ensures that janitorial and maintenance have access to unemployment insurance when they are unexpectedly laid off.
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HB 2682: Protects Oregon cyclists by clarifying in statute that bicycle lanes continue through intersections.
There are a number of important concepts that remain to be considered this legislative session, but arguably the single most important bill to come will be HB 2020 – The Clean Energy Jobs bill.
The Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction has heard public testimony over the past several months from Oregonians in Salem, Springfield, Medford, Baker City, Newport, The Dalles and Bend. This, combined with over a year of public hearing and research have brought us the final product, which passed the Joint Carbon Committee earlier this month. As long as the federal government fails to lead on climate policy, the states must fill in the gaps.
I look forward to supporting the Clean Energy Jobs Bill, because I believe it will help Oregon reduce our carbon footprint, provide jobs for Oregonians in the clean energy economy, while providing other states a blueprint to follow.
In addition to HB 2020, the Oregon Legislature is also poised to pass Paid Family Medical Leave (HB 3031), which would provide working families in Oregon with up to 12 weeks of paid leave to take care of family members or welcome a new child. The United States lag far behind other developed, industrialized countries in providing leave to families, and HB 3031 will help bring Oregon in line with Washington DC, California, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, all of which provide paid leave.
 I had the chance to meet with several constituents at Ava’s Rotisserie in Beaverton. The discussion focused on work I have been doing this session as well as concerns brought forward by constituents who attended such as – the national popular vote, transportation spending, kicker revenue and higher education funding.
One of the big issues discussed was the passage of the Student Success bill and the impact made by the Republican Senators walkout. Student Success provided a much needed boost to Oregon schools and I was proud to provide my support for it on the House floor. However, the bill was stalled in the Senate due to the Republican caucus’ walkout. Constituents were concerned as to what leverage Republican members have in both chambers to stop such important legislation from passing. This question allowed me to explain the importance of “quorum” and the many ways bills can be stalled despite having the votes to secure passage. But, the House Democratic caucus remains firm to hear and pass important legislation despite attempts to slow the process down, even if it means having weekend and evening floor sessions in Salem.
I was also able to hear concerns about the environment, mental healthcare and the state song. Oregon has been a leader in the country for establishing environmental protections and I look forward to seeing the final proposal for the big cap and trade bill, HB 2020. As a former public health nurse, I also understand our community’s concerns about mental health care access and am continuing to work and propose bills that can deal with this issue upstream effectively and respectfully. Lastly, we had a constituent come and discuss her concerns with the Oregon State Song. For those in our community who are not aware, our current state song is a strong reminder of where we were as a state and not where we want to be in the present or the future. Amy Shapiro has been particularly intent on changing that history and I am fully supportive of this endeavor and will continue to support this in the future.
Once again I have enjoyed listening to everyone who attended this month’s constituent coffee! I encourage all my constituents to attend in the future even if you do not have any particular questions in mind. This is a great opportunity for me to further connect with the district members and understand what issues are most on people’s minds
As always, thank you for the opportunity to serve as your State Representative,
Sincerely,
 Rep Sheri Schouten
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1427
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, HS-XXX, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.SheriMalstrom@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/malstrom
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