March Newsletter

 

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Senator James Manning Jr.

Friends and neighbors in Senate District 7,

We have reached the end of the 2020 short legislative session here in the Capitol.  I worked hard this session to pass critical legislation for the people of Oregon, addressing the high cost of healthcare,  discrimination in all forms, the use of dangerous chemicals, and access to quality education.  However, many efforts of mine and of my Democratic colleagues to deliver these much-needed changes were derailed when Republican elected officials chose to walk away from their legislative duties.

The current make up of the Oregon State Senate is 18 Democrats and 12 Republicans.  By statue two-third or 20 Senators are required before the Senate Floor can open to conduct legislative business. The Republican's walkout left us two short of the required 20 Senators and denied a quorum. 

Because of the Republicans' walkout we could not vote to provide critical disaster relief for the suffering Oregonians of Pendleton as they recover from the recent devastating flooding, to invest in Emergency Services and transitional housing, shake alert system to prepare for the inevitable Cascadia earthquake and tsunami, a Vietnam War Memorial on Capitol grounds, revamping our public defense services, protecting Oregonians from high insulin prices, funding for the downtown riverfront project, and much more. 

Based solely on their opposition to one single bill, Republican lawmakers chose to deny their constituents, my constituents and every Oregonian the benefits of these and other bills by shutting down our state government. Every Oregon elected official gave an oath to the US Constitution and to the Constitution of Oregon. Voting on every bill is an obligation of that oath. I have voted against bills, which is a requirement of my oath of office, and lost but I never ran away from my responsibilities as a duly elected official.

Still, while Republicans took taxpayer-funded vacations, I continued doing the work my constituents elected me to do.  As a member of the Joint Emergency Board I will meet with legislative colleagues on Monday to provide critically needed funds to combat COVID-19 coronavirus, relief for the people in Pendleton, and other immediate needs.

The following bills I chief sponsored would have been put to a vote had Republican lawmakers had been present:

*While reading this newsletter, when you come across blue text that is underlined, that means there is a hyperlink. If you click on the blue text, you will be redirected to the topic that is hyperlinked*

SB 1564 (Established product stewardship for mattress)

SB 1565 (Establishes rates of compensation to be paid by Oregon Liquor Control Commission to distillery retail outlet agent for distilled liquor retail sales by agent)

SB 1566 (Extending Oregon Promise to out-of-state foster placements)

SB 1567 (Relating to arbitration awards)

SB 1569 (Establishes State Board of Towing within Department of Transportation)

SB 1573 (Modifies procedure for expunction of certain juvenile records)

HB 4003 (Authorizes assistance to homeownership program access to persons of color)

HB 4065 (Relating to driving privilege suspension for failure to pay fine)

HB 4103 (Allows cities and specified counties to designate certain highway speeds)

HB 4107 (Relating to discrimination)

HB 4109 (Prohibits aerial spraying of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos)

HB 4110 (Grace periods for paying certain health insurance premiums)

HB 4160 (Relating to the success of underrepresented students)

HJR 202 (Proposes amendment to Oregon Constitution relating to obligation of state to ensure access to health care

 

The following are bills of which I co-sponsor that would have been put to a vote had Republican lawmakers been present:

SB 1540 (Requires certain student loan servicers to obtain license)

SB 1568 (Modifies protective proceedings to permit vulnerable youth

SB 1577 (Requires Department of Revenue to issue license to qualified retailers of tobacco products and inhalant delivery systems)

HB 4005 (Relating to secure firearm storage)

HB 4076
(Establishes Task Force on Age Discrimination)

HB 4083 (Modifies criteria for erecting roadside memorial highways for deceased veterans, POW, or unaccounted for)

HB 4102 (Relating to managing the utilization of health care)

HB 4108 (Relating to salary under PERS)

HCR 204 (Commemorating centennial of Oregon ratifying the 19th amendment)

 

Upcoming Events

 

Universal Health Care Taskforce

On March 30, 2020, the Universal Health Care Taskforce will meet from 9:00am to 12:00pm in Capitol room 343 where we will appoint the Taskforce Chair, Vice Chair, and welcome all task force members.  This meeting is open to the public.

 

Joint Legislative Town Hall

When: Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Time:   6:30 p.m.
Where: Roosevelt Middle School (500 E 24th Ave., Eugene)

 

Community Coffee's

I will be announcing my in-district Community Coffee's each month in email updates.  These are opportunities for me to hear from you, my constituents, between legislative sessions.

How to Find a Bill

If there is a bill you are hearing about either in the news or elsewhere, finding it is easy.  The Legislature has a great tool available to you at https://www.oregonlegislative.gov.  From this page, you can access bill information by clicking on the Oregon Legislative Information System OLIS icon in the menu bar.

Once inside OLIS, you will see a summary of the day's events, including hearings, floor sessions and other Capitol events.  You also will see a menu at the top right with an icon for "Bills" which is a great place to start.

You can search for bills by the bill number.  If you do not know the bill number, you can search by keyword text or by the bill's sponsor.  Both House and Senate bills can be searched for by hovering over the results.  Then you can read the bill summary to help narrow it down to what you are looking for.

Senator James I. Manning Jr represents North and West  Eugene, Bethel, River Road, Santa Clara, Junction City, and Lancaster in the Oregon State Senate.

He is currently serving in his fourth Legislative session.

Committees: