We’ve entered the fifth and final week of the 80th Oregon Legislature’s short session! It’s been a whirlwind up to this point. We’ve been focused on our remaining “live” bill for the session, which is a bill that would cut some of the red tape in the medical world and make it easier for physician assistants to practice in rural areas (effectively increasing access!). We’ve also been doing live, electronic town halls using Facebook--a great experiment that hopefully more legislators take advantage of in the future to increase access to the process. |
|
 |
Even though the short session itself has been largely positive for our office and provided great opportunities for residents of District 32 to participate in government--as many of you know, a dark shadow has been cast. Both the Senate and House Republicans walked off the job last week, repeating a stunt from last year that garnered both national and international attention. It’s the fifth such walkout in the span of a year, throwing into question not only the fates of many important bills, but the concept of democracy itself.
I believe it is essential that my constituents know what is at stake in this walkout, because there are a number of great bills that could meaningfully impact people’s lives that cannot move forward because we are constitutionally required to sine die on March 8th. I have used previous newsletters to highlight some of the bills we were considering; like HB 4079 addressing the inequity of our broadband network, or HB 4073 that would cap the out-of-pocket costs of insulin. Republicans walked away from all of these bills, choosing to let Oregonians continue to suffer rather than pass bills that would help them. The Oregonian has a great article, that talks about some of the other consequences of my colleagues walking off the job.
 |
|
One of the greatest tragedies of the walkout, in my opinion, is the death of the housing package being put forth by a bipartisan group of legislators. The package would have had a potentially tremendous impact on our communities that will now have to be put on hold in the middle of a housing crisis.
|
With 64% of people experiencing homelessness not able to find shelter, a recent study determined that we need 6000 new beds to meet this immediate need. This a crisis and this bill responds to it as such by clearing many of the road blocks in the siting and building of new shelters.
|
|
 |
This bill would study and make recommendations for a state-run rental voucher program, hopefully in the future allowing the state to assist in filling the gap between what housing cost and what people can afford.
 |
|
HB 4003
This bill would create the Racial Disparities in Home Ownership Task Force, which would seek recommendations for down payment assistance, homeownership IDA match, expanded capacity at OHCS, as well as provide education to those in the housing industry about the barriers to housing for people of color and how to overcome them.
HB 4015
This bill creates a pilot program to build accessory dwelling units (ADU) on properties owned by low- or middle-income homeowners.
|
HB 4039
This bill would strengthen the existing service system and assess future needs for unaccompanied homeless youth. Oregon has the highest rate of youth experiencing homelessness in the United States and spends 1/8th of what Washington State does. For every dollar that is spent on unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, it saves the state $4 in the future. Investing in these youth helps them to complete high school and therefore contribute more to the economy, as well as decreasing the risk of substance use and involvement in the criminal justice system. This is not only the right thing to do, it will save us money in the long run.
Even with a slowdown in session, we are still doing what we can in committees to serve the interests of Oregonians. On Friday, the House Committee on Health Care heard testimony from the Oregon Health Authority officials about what we should do to prepare for a possible risk of coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak in Oregon. You can watch a video of the testimony here.
 Dean Sidelinger, State Health Officer and State Epidemiologist, advised the public to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds often, especially after coughing or sneezing, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, cleaning surfaces often, and staying home if you are feeling sick. These low- tech solutions have been proven to help prevent the spread of infections. Governor Brown has also convened a coronavirus response team that will meet regularly to ensure that we have a coordinated response.
 OHA also encourages people to get a flu shot. There is no COVID-19 vaccine yet, but if we can reduce the number of people who get the flu, it will free up hospital resources that may be needed if there is a COVID-19 outbreak. Senator Merkely launched a website too, www.merkley.senate.gov/coronavirus, to help people find resources related to COVID-19.
 211info, the statewide social and community services information and referral line, has partnered with the Oregon Health Association to provide an information hotline for Oregonians looking for additional information on coronavirus. The information line is available 7 days a week from 8 am to 11 pm. If you are looking for information on coronavirus symptoms, prevention, transmission, treatment, travel health, and other related issues, it can be found by calling 211 or 1-866-698-6155 to talk to a Community Information Specialist or by visiting: https://www.211info.org/corona-virus.
Cannon Beach Historical Center and Museum 9 a.m.-10 a.m.
1387 S Spruce St, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Rockaway Beach City Hall 1 p.m.-2 p.m.
276 S Hwy 101 Rockaway Beach, OR 97136
Gaston Community Library 5 p.m.-6 p.m.
116 Front Street Gaston, OR 97119
As many of you know, I donated a kidney last October. Ever since, I’ve become very passionate about living organ donation, especially after learning during that process that over 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney. While deceased donation is an option and I would encourage everyone to sign up as a deceased donor--the truth is, we need more living donors, and the organ from a living donor is much more likely to be successful.
I was contacted by a District 32 resident Brenda Orevac recently, whose husband Greg is in need of a lifesaving donation. I wanted to highlight his story here to put another face to a name of someone in need of a kidney--someone right here in our local community. His story was first featured on KOIN back in January 2019, and can be found here.
Though Greg is just one of over 100,000 people in this country in need of a kidney--he is one of our neighbors. If even just one person stepped forward who would be interested in possibly entering a paired donation exchange, it could be one step closer to helping save Greg’s life.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1432
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-285, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.TiffinyMitchell@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mitchell
| 
