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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Tomorrow, June 24th, my colleagues and I will convene in Salem to address several different issues facing our state. Broadly, the legislation we will consider falls into three categories: Coronavirus Emergency Issues, Police Accountability, and Economic Recovery. Below you will find links to all of the bills that have been drafted so far. These bills will be subject to change and some of them already have amendments proposed. Additionally, there are more concepts that are still being drafted, but that are on the list for possible consideration this week. You can find that complete list here, remember that this list and the concepts listed are still subject to change. You can watch the Public Meetings from yesterday and today on the Oregon Legislative Information System, this is also the best place to watch Special Session proceedings and learn more about the proposals.
Click on this image to watch, listen and learn more about Joint Special Session Committee
Police Accountability
LC 49 / SB 1604: Prohibits an arbitrator from reinstating an officer judged to have committed misconduct, where the employer followed the guidelines agreed upon through collective bargaining.
LC 78 / HB 4207: Creates a statewide database of police officer disciplinary proceedings, so that problem officers can be identified and prevented from being hired elsewhere in the state.
LC 79 / HB 4201: Requires that instances of death or serious injury caused by police officers to be investigated and potentially prosecuted by the state Department of Justice.
LC 80 / HB 4205: Creates rules requiring police officers to intervene to stop another officer from engaging in an act that is illegal, unethical, or violates rules or policy.
LC 81 / HB 4208: Prohibits law enforcement from using tear gas, long range acoustic devices, or sound cannons
LC 83 / HB 4203: Prohibits police officers from using force that limits the ability of a person to breathe, including but not limited to choke holds.
COVID Emergency Issues
LC 45 / HB TBD: Omnibus COVID response bill. Includes a number of response elements, including some that are included in stand-alone bills.
LC 85 / HB 4204: Creates temporary limitations on the ability of lenders to enforce foreclosures during the pandemic.
LC 90 / HB TBD: Prohibits residential and commercial evictions up to 90 days after the emergency period has ended.
Economic Recovery and Other Needs
LC 7 / SB 1602: Memorializes an agreement between environmental organizations and timber companies creating restrictions on and notification of pesticide use.
LC 51 / SB 1605: A number of fixes related to foster youth placements, including out-of-state placements.
LC 53 / HB 4204: Technical fixes to the Corporate Activities Tax passed last year.
LC 62 / HB 4209: Grant/Loan Program for Eastern Oregon workforce development/economic development.
LC 39 /SB 1603: Expands access to broadband via a service charge on cell phone plans.
LC 43 / tbd: Provides more flexibility for Transit providers, especially important in the midst of this pandemic. Potential amendment would also provide immunity for expired drivers license credentials.
LC 52 / SB 1606: Clarifies the rights of those with disabilities to receive equitable medical care, including the right of a person with a disability to have a support person present.
LC 66 / SB 1607: Extends for one year small school district grants and school district funding for foreign exchange students.
LC 74 / HB 4206: Creates state meat processing inspection program to address disruptions due to outbreaks in very large national meat processing plants.
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Mask Requirement: Starting tomorrow, face coverings will be required in all indoor public spaces in Washington, Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Polk, Hood River and Lincoln Counties. This requirement is vital to ensuring we keep our communities and economies healthy. Face coverings in indoor spaces will help us reduce the spread of the virus, allowing more businesses to reopen and stay open! It is up to all of us to protect our community!
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- The requirement to wear masks does not apply to people with disabilities that prevent them from wearing masks, children under 12, or people with a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask.
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Sheriff’s 2019 reporting: Last week I was able to meet with Hillsboro Interim Police Chief Coleman, Rep Janeen Sollman, Sheriff Pat Garrett, and BIPOC advocates and community leaders from across the county. This was an important conversation about the current state of policing and public safety in Washington County, law enforcement relationships with our Black and Brown neighbors, and areas where short, medium and long term change are needed. There is a lot of work to be done, but I was honored to be part of the conversation, and glad to see our law enforcement leaders listening to BIPOC leaders from our community. After the meeting, Sheriff Garrett shared this 2019 report regarding officer conduct and investigations. I encourage anyone interested in these issues to review the report, and I appreciate this transparency effort from Sheriff Garrett.
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Coverage for Telehealth: The State of Oregon has reached an agreement with several health insurance companies to continue providing expanded telehealth options through at least Dec. 31, 2020. The agreement follows guidance issued by the Department of Consumer and Business Services and the Oregon Health Authority in late March requiring health insurance plans of all types to provide coverage for multiple telehealth platforms at the same rate as an in-person visit to limit in-person health care services. This means health insurance companies will continue to provide coverage for expanded telehealth services for Oregonians and pay for these services at the rates they established during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement applies to several private health insurers and Oregon Health Plan, but does not apply to self-insured plans. Visit the Division of Financial Regulation’s COVID-19 telehealth page for frequently asked questions and additional information. For more information on insurance and financial topics, visit the COVID-19 consumer site.
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Protecting Nursing Home Residents: AARP livestream event on June 24 at 1:00 pm. Please register today and also share. The overwhelming number of COVID-19 deaths in Oregon have occurred in congregate care facilities. Oregon has not done enough testing of residents to ensure their health and safety. Come learn how you can be an advocate and raise your voice so we can make a difference.
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National Numbers:
- Confirmed Cases: 2,302,288 (up 26,643 from yesterday)
- Deaths: 120,333 (up 410 from yesterday)
- These national numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can view their national and state by state data here.
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Oregon Status Report: Oregon now has 7,274 total cases (confirmed and presumptive) of COVID-19. Today we have 191 new confirmed and presumptive cases. Tragically we have had a total of 192 Oregonians die from COVID-19. Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 1,120 cases. You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
Table showing Oregon case, testing and demographic data, link to more information
- The Oregon Health Authority recently provided a Public Health Indicators Dashboard to enable communities across Oregon to monitor COVID-19 in the state.The dashboard, which will be updated weekly on Thursdays, provides a transparent report that presents complex epidemiological data in an interactive, easy-to-understand way on a state and county level.
Below is an update on the claims progress in processing claims for unemployment insurance. We are starting to see real progress on the number of claims processed in the regular/traditional UI system. However, around 70,000 PUA applicants are still waiting for their claims to be processed. I know that progress on these claims is being made at far too slow a pace, and I am working with my colleagues and the department to find creative ways to speed us along. To that end, Interim Director Gerstendfeld has announced the launch of “Focus PUA” which will build on the progress made for regular UI to increase the capacity for processing and paying PUA benefits. This project centers around three key elements:
- Improving the speed at which we can process claims over time.
- Improving the technology used to receive and process claims.
- Increasing proactive claimant communications through increased staffing and phone line improvements.
Read more from the Employment Department about the PUA program here.
Click Here for the most recent FAQ on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
Click Here for the most recent FAQ on Regular UI
Employers and Employees
- Unemployment options http://www.oregon.gov/employ, including the Work Share program at oregonworkshare.com
- See FAQs, and subscribe to updates at https://govstatus.egov.com/ORUnemployment_COVID19
- File a Claim online at https://secure.emp.state.or.us/ocs4/index.cfm?u=F20200324A152211B60880938.0174&lang=E
- Independent Contractor, Gig Worker, & Self Employed Workers can use the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Application at https://govstatus.egov.com/ui-benefits/CARES
- Email the department with questions: OED_COVID19_Info@oregon.gov, you should hear back within about a week, please do not email multiple times with the same question, and please include as much information as possible in your first email. Sending multiple emails asking about the status of your claim will only cause further backlog, and make it harder for OED staff to respond to you and others.
- If you have received a claim denial, or need to appeal an Employment Department decision, use this email: OED_UI_HEARINGSREQ@oregon.gov
- With the extreme increase in people seeking unemployment, the phone lines are busy and it has been difficult to get through. Please preserve phone line capacity by using the email and online tools whenever possible, many of our neighbors do not have internet access but have not been able to get through on the phone due to bottlenecks. You will not lose your place in line by filing online or using email instead of the phone.
- The Oregon Labor and Industries Technical Assistance for Employers page at https://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA/pages/index.aspx has information about employer obligations and responsibilities.
- Business Oregon has a robust list of financial resources including non-bank lenders at https://www.oregon4biz.com/Coronavirus-Information/
- The US Small Business Administration offers disaster assistance in the form of SBA loans to designated states. Information about these loans is available at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Information/Index
- The latest COVID-19/Coronavirus information on resources for workers and business owners is available at https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/coronavirus2020.aspx
- Oregon Secretary of State’s business resources can be found at www.oregon.gov/smallbusiness or you can email questions to business.sos@oregon.gov.
Education Links
Local Government
Utilities Assistance
Food and Housing Assistance
View Past Updates, Share and Subscribe:
If there was COVID-related information in a past newsletter that you want to go back to, but find you’ve deleted it, you can always go to my legislative website (http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain), click on “News and Information,” and you’ll find them all there. You can also share this site with your friends and loved ones, so they can view past newsletters, and subscribe to future updates.
Looking forward to being back at work in the capitol! It will be a much different experience, without face to face meetings and committees, and with everyone wearing masks, but I look forward to seeing my colleages.
Yours truly,
 Representative Susan McLain
House District 29
email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain
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