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March 27, 2020
Dear Neighbors and Friends:
I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well, staying healthy, and looking out for your neighbors and friends.
The new federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (yes, it’s The C.A.R.E.S. Act) has now passed both chambers of Congress and been signed by the President. More on it below. As I mentioned yesterday, legislative and executive staff are in the middle of analyzing it and working with federal partners to get a better sense of how quickly its provisions will be deployed and what the state will need to do to fill in the gaps.
Some of us met with the Governor today (via phone) to talk about when she might call a special session of the Legislature, and what actions would be needed. The short answer is that it’s too early to tell. Until we have a better understanding of the gaps in the federal legislation, we won’t know exactly what is needed in a special session. The Governor is committed to calling us into session only when (a) we know exactly what financial assistance is needed from the state and (b) it is clear that any actions taken are supported by both the Democratic and Republican caucuses.
Another reason for her reluctance to call us into session is that our state budget outlook is not yet clear. The Governor has told state agencies to control their spending and be prepared for eventual cuts. That’s the prudent thing to do right now.
We do know that the economic downturn is going to severely reduce our state revenues and thus the ability of the state, cities, and counties to keep our basic social safety net intact. We need to have a better understanding of revenue losses—and potential budget cuts—before we commit to spending additional state dollars from our reserves. Unlike the federal government, state and local governments are obliged to balance their budgets and not rely on debt.
So, the upshot is that it may be at least another week before the Legislature comes together for a session. After a lot of discussion and legal analysis, it’s looking increasingly likely that we will not be able to vote remotely and at least 2/3 of us will need to attend in person to have a session. This is troubling for several reasons. And it’s partly why the Governor is not going to call us into session until she absolutely needs to.
TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
- OHA has reported that 98 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID-19, another big increase that puts our total numbers at 414.
- The number of test results continues to rise each day. Today’s numbers reflect an increase of 1,655 test results from the day before, bringing the total test results so far to 8,924
- The number of Oregonians who have been hospitalized with symptoms is now at 102, an increase of 12 from yesterday.
- We are now getting daily reports on the number of Oregonians with symptoms who are currently in hospital. That number for today is 91.
- The number of deaths in Oregon now stands at 12, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
- We are now getting reports on hospital bed and ventilator availability on a daily basis:
- 360 ICU beds are available statewide (reduction of 2 from yesterday).
- 2294 non-ICU beds are available statewide (increase of 101). This increase is due to a combination of new emergency beds coming online, the addition of beds that were previously uncounted, and beds freed up because patients have been discharged.
- 715 ventilators are available statewide (increase of 31).
- We are also now getting a new daily statistic:
- COVID-19 Patients On Ventilator: 37
- I wrote the other day about SERV-OR, our statewide volunteer network. It was reported today that SERV-OR has registered 49 new healthcare volunteers in the last 24 hours, with 223 pending review.
- As I mentioned the other day, the deadline for Americans to change to REAL ID drivers licenses has been extended beyond the original October 1 deadline. We now have the new deadline, October 1, 2021—a full year later. Oregon is still on track to be able to issue the new licenses this July.
- And finally, here is a graph showing the current trajectory of positive test results and deaths in Oregon. The big ramp-up in positive cases is connected to the increasing number of test results, but we likely won’t see a leveling off of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths until the new social-distancing requirements have been in effect (and are being followed) for at least another week:
You Can Now Directly Access the “Daily Situational Status Report”
Much of the information that I shared with you in the above section came from today’s “SitStat Report,” a document sent out to legislators each day. OHA is now making this information directly available to the public, likely around midday or early afternoon, which is a great service.
To see it, go to the OHA's COVID-19 page. Go to the section titled “Situation in Oregon,” then to the section “COVID-19 Cases in Oregon.” At the bottom of that section, you’ll be able to click on and see that day’s “Situational Status Report.”
OHA has also posted at that same location two documents that I’ve already shared with you: the disease modeling study and the report from the Joint Task Force for Health Care Systems Response.
The C.A.R.E.S. Act and Small Business
The CARES Act is designed to provide relief for American workers, families, and businesses. Here is a nice graphic (sorry for the small print) showing the big picture:
As we analyze its various components, one of the areas that’s drawing particular attention is how it is treating the small businesses that need help desperately. Here is a summary of the different benefits that small businesses will be able to draw on. They are many, and it will be important to get clarity soon on how small businesses will be able to access and make best use of them. I know that our local SBDCs (Small Business Development Centers) will be critical in this respect, but there are a number of other organizations inside and outside of government that will be important navigators. I’ll have a list of those resources soon.
Joint Legislative Committee on Coronavirus Response Submits Recommendations
The Joint Committee Co-Chairs have sifted through the suggestions, discussions, and prioritizations submitted by legislators and committee members and turned them into a set of recommendations to the Senate President, Speaker of the House, Republican leaders, and the Governor. You can find them here. Many of their priorities involve actions that actually don’t need legislative action—the Governor can accomplish them under her emergency authority via executive orders. Her staff is currently working with legislative staff to better understand which of these emergency priorities will require the Legislature to meet and pass legislation.
Workers Must Be Paid What They Are Owed
The current economic downturn is definitely hammering many small businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector. Many, many workers are losing their jobs. Fortunately, the new federal legislation includes a big increase in the benefits that laid-off workers can expect. But that doesn’t absolve employers of paying their workers the final amount of what is owed them. They need to be able to get by until the federal support begins to arrive.
That’s why it’s been troubling to hear of some restaurant and tavern owners, including some favorites in my district, short-changing workers in their final paychecks. I recognize and understand their difficulties, but paying their workers for work performed is their legal obligation.
The Bureau of Labor and Industries just issued an advisory today, warning employers of this legal requirement.
Workers who believe they haven’t been paid what they are owed are advised to keep any documents they have, such as pay stubs, work schedules, or other information. Workers can make a claim with BOLI on their website or at the email address provided in the advisory.
State Agencies Issue Temporary Rule to Deal with the Emergency
As you can imagine, this pandemic is creating a number of unique conditions that many agency rules were not designed to handle. Under normal conditions, regulatory agencies and the commissions that oversee them are required to go into a lengthy, very public process in order to change their rules.
We are not under normal conditions right now, and so the normal process cannot work. Therefore, agencies have the ability to quickly issue temporary rules that go into effect immediately and last for a limited amount of time. To extend these rules, they’ll eventually have to go through a regular rule-making process.
In some cases, these temporary rules are actions that the agencies were working on anyway and were intending to go through a regular rule-making process, but the expedited need has led them to speed up the process temporarily in order to meet the immediate need. In other cases, they will be actions that were not contemplated but are necessary to meet the immediate need or to complement new federal actions.
I’ve already given you the new temporary rule from the Employment Department allowing people to get benefits as a result of situations caused specifically by response to the coronavirus. The rule was just updated today. You can expect further changes to these rules very soon as a result of the federal C.A.R.E.S. act (e.g., self-employed workers are now covered).
Not surprisingly, the Oregon Health Authority has issued a number of temporary rules recently to deal with the new situations, e.g., making it easier for providers to use telemedicine to treat their patients and still be paid for their time. Here is a link to the OHA’s temporary rulemaking page, where you can see all of their recent rule changes.
Oregon Health Authority Gets Federal Waivers for More Flexibility
In a briefing this afternoon, legislators learned that OHA has applied for, and been granted, temporary “1135” waivers from the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services for a number of federal requirements for the Oregon Health Plan. As soon as the President declared a national healthcare emergency two weeks ago, states were able to apply for these waivers and many have.
The waiver gives OHA added flexibility with respect to timelines, use of medical professionals with licenses and certifications from other states, ability to provide care in emergency sites, ability to pay for care for members who are stuck out of state, and streamlining of enrollment for those who’ve lost their employer-provided medical insurance. Additional waivers will be on the way to accommodate additional challenges.
AND FINALLY,
Here again are some resources that you will find useful:
If the above links are not providing you with answers to your questions or directing you to the help that you need, please consider me and my office to be a resource. We’ll do our best to assist you or steer you in the right direction.
Best,
 Senator Michael Dembrow
District 23
email: Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
web: www.senatordembrow.com
phone: 503-986-1723
mail: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301
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