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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I am honored and humbled to serve you in the Oregon House, and could not be more grateful to my community in Hillsboro, Cornelius and Forest Grove for their support and confidence in returning me to Salem for two more years. My office will continue to work hard for the people of House District 29 and all Oregonians, to help families and businesses survive the current challenges, and to build towards a recovery where families and small businesses thrive with good healthcare, jobs, housing and high quality education. Thank you to my family and community for all your support, I could not serve in the legislature without you.
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Today, Governor Brown announced that several counties will need to pause indoor social activity to control the spread of COVID-19. We have been setting records for new cases almost daily, with over 800 new cases yesterday alone. It is imperative that we get these numbers under control. Oregonians have beaten back these surges before by changing their social activities, and we can do it again. Most of the spread we are seeing is from sporadic cases spread by small private gatherings.
You can watch the Governor’s press conference here, or read OPB reporting here.
What does “pressing pause” mean?
- Urging all businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.
- Pausing long-term care facility visits to protect staff and residents.
- Reducing maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six. Continuing to encourage outdoor dining and take out.
- Reducing other indoor activity maximums capacity to 50 people (for example: gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools, museums).
- Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than 6 people if the gathering includes those from outside your household, reduce the frequency of those social gatherings (significantly in a two-week period), and keeping the same 6 people in your social gathering circle.
Who does this apply to?
As of today, the counties affected by the pause are Multnomah, Marion, Malheur, Umatilla and Jackson Counties (each has greater than 200 cases per 100,000 population, or greater than 60 total cases with populations under 30,000). Washington, Baker, Union, Clackamas and Linn counties are all very close to this threshold, and if case levels increase they may be added to the 2 week pause list.
For Oregonians outside the currently impacted counties, it is still important that we reduce our social activity. Dr. Dean Sidelinger, our state epidemiologist, gave a helpful benchmark and goal in today’s press conference: limit gatherings to 6 people or less, and limit yourself to three gatherings or less per two week period. Limit your visits to older and at risk family, but if you must see them, isolate yourself for 2 weeks leading up to your visit.
How long will this last?
The pause is in place from November 11th until November 25th, whether it is expanded or extended will depend on how well we adhere to the recommendations, and how much we can reduce spread.
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Oregonians Can Get 2021 Health Insurance Through Dec. 15: If you don’t qualify for the Oregon Health Plan and don’t get health insurance through your job, now through Sunday, Dec. 15, is an important time. It’s the only time of year most people can sign up for an individual or family plan to have coverage in 2021. Use the Marketplace’s new window shopping feature at OregonHealthCare.gov/WindowShop to find out:
- How can I save money on health insurance?
- What would my health plan cover?
- Once I know what I can afford, what’s next?
- OregonHealthCare.gov is the online home of the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, it is the state-level partner of HealthCare.gov, the national website where people enroll in Marketplace plans and access subsidies.
- Health insurance sold through the Marketplace is individual and family coverage offered by private companies, such as Bridgespan, Kaiser Permanente, Moda, PacificSource, Providence, and Regence. Not every company is available in every part the state, but at least three insurance companies and at least nine plan choices are available everywhere in Oregon.
- More than 70% of Oregonians enrolled through the Marketplace last year qualified for a subsidy. An insurance expert can help you, at no cost, apply for the subsidy and enroll in coverage. They are listed at OregonHealthCare.gov/GetHelp. For more information, visit OregonHealthCare.gov or call 855-268-3767 (toll-free).
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Property Taxes: Property taxes are due in November and property owners should have recently received their statements in the mail. Along with repayment options, there are additional programs or exemptions that you may qualify for.
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Payment Options (From Washington County Assesment and Taxation): Taxpayers have several payment options. Taxes may be paid in three installments due November 16, 2020; February 15, 2021; and May 17, 2021. There are also provisions for full payments with a 3 percent discount or a two-thirds payment with a 2 percent discount. Payments must be postmarked by November 16, 2020, to receive a discount. Property owners who do not receive a tax statement by November 1 should call the Tax Collections Office at 503-846-8801. Due to COVID-19, the County strongly encourages paying taxes by mail, online, or drop box locations. For payment options and drop box locations, please visit the County Website for more information.
- Online Payments: Washington County accepts payments via the Internet using a credit card, debit card or a direct transfer from a customer's bank account. This payment method can be accessed through the Washington County Website.
- Payments by Phone: Taxpayers also have the option to pay via telephone by calling 1-888-510-9274.
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Property Tax Deferral Programs: Disabled and senior citizens can "borrow" money from the state of Oregon to pay property taxes. Read more to see if you qualify for this program and get instructions on how to apply. Visit here for more information on deferral programs.
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Oregon Has Over 100 Exemption Programs: A property tax exemption is a legislatively approved program that relieves qualified individuals or organizations from all or part of their property taxes. Exemptions can be either full or partial, depending on the program requirements and the extent to which the property is used in a qualifying manner. Most exemptions granted to non-governmental entities are granted to religious, fraternal, literary, benevolent, or charitable organizations. The exempt property must be reasonably necessary and used in a way to achieve the organization's purpose. Any portion of the property that does not meet the requirements of the exemption the program is taxable. Some property is taxed at a reduced value through a special assessment program. In that case, the lower assessed value results in a reduced tax liability. Examples of special assessment programs include historic property, farmland, forest land, and conservation easement.
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Hillsboro Leaf Pickup: The Curbside Leaf Pickup season runs annually from November through December. The City of Hillsboro has ten districts for leaf pickup. In each district, the City picks up leaves once in November and again in December. Pickup schedules may change due to emergencies or severe weather. Maps and Schedule: To determine which leaf district your address is in and review the pickup schedule, visit the links below or call 503-615-6509.
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Hillsboro School Board Meeting on Reopening Metrics: The Hillsboro School Board will meet on Monday 11/9 at 5:15 for a work session to discuss the Oregon Department of Education revised school metrics.
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Hillsboro Safe Shredding Event: On Saturday, Nov. 7, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Hillsboro Police Department is teaming up with the Hillsboro Schools Foundation to offer a Shred Event (English, Spanish) in the Administration Center parking lot (3083 NE 49th Pl.). Participants will unload their own materials (three box/bag limit; paper, paper clips and staples ONLY) and masks are required. Please note that the event will end when the trucks are full, which may occur before 1 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation to benefit HSD high schools’ drug and alcohol-free grad night events.
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Metro Waste Station-Potential Washington County Location: For the people who live and work in Washington County, it is difficult to access the transfer stations in Oregon City and Northwest Portland. Metro is planning to improve the garbage and recycling system by locating and building a new, state-of-the-art facility. A potential site has been identified in Cornelius and the Metro Council will decide whether to purchase it by the end of 2020. Learn more about this proposal here.
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Forest Grove City Council Approves Social Justice Mural: Council reviewed and approved the revised image for the social justice mural which will be painted on the wall in Forest Glen Park
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National Numbers:
- Confirmed Cases: 9,581,770 (up 117,988 from yesterday)
- Deaths: 234,264 (up 1,135 from yesterday)
- Cases in the Last 7 Days: 657,223
- 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 48,608 total cases (confirmed and presumptive) of COVID-19.
- Today we have 770 new confirmed and presumptive cases, and 6 new deaths.
- Thursday: 805 cases, 5 deaths, 134 new cases in Washington County
- Wednesday: 597 cases, 5 deaths, 57 new cases in Washington County
- A total of 716 Oregonians have died from COVID-19.
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Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 6,543 confirmed cases, including 120 new cases today. You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
- 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.
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Table showing Oregon case, testing and demographic data, link to more information
Join Oregon Insurance Commissioner Andrew Stolfi at the November virtual wildfire town hall:
Building on the information shared at the October town hall, Stolfi and representatives from the Division of Financial Regulation will answer your questions about wildfire insurance, the claim process, and how the division can help. A FEMA representative will also be available to answer questions about the National Flood Insurance Program.
- Tune in to the Zoom live stream on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m.
- You can also listen to the live town hall by calling 253-215-8782 or 669-900-6833.
- Use Meeting ID: 992 4748 7370 and Passcode: 867128
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Sign up to get an email reminder the day before the event.
The division’s wildfire insurance page has resources and contact information to help answer many of your wildfire insurance questions.
 Wildfire Recovery Resources:
OEM has put together this list of contacts to help speed up the process of replacing these documents:
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Green cards: Phone (800)-375-5283; Website: www.uscis.gov
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Medicare cards: Phone: (800)-772-1213; (TTY) (800)-325-0778 Website: www.medicare.gov
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Military records Phone: 866-272-6272 Website: www.archives.gov/contact/
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Passport Phone: 877-487-2778; (TTY) 888-874-7793 Website: travel.state.gov
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Social Security card Phone: 800-772-1213; (TTY) 800-325-0778 Website: www.ssa.gov
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U.S. Savings Bonds Phone: 844-284-2676 Website: www.treasurydirect.gov
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U.S. tax returns Phone: 800-829-1040 Website: www.irs.gov
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Birth, death, marriage, domestic partnership, divorce certificates Phone: 888-896-4988 Website: www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Birthdeathcertificates
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Driver’s license, auto titles and registration, ID cards Phone: 503-945-5000 Website: www.oregon.gov/odot
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SNAP (Oregon Trail Card) Website: www.oregon.gov/DHS/Assistance/Food-Benefits
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State taxes (Oregon Dept. of Revenue) Phone: 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222 TTY: All relay calls are accepted. Website: www.oregon.gov/dor
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Real estate and property - Contact your county government.
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Credit cards - Contact your credit card company directly.
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Credit reports from Equifax, Experian, TransUnion Phone: 877-322-8228 Website: www.annualcreditreport.com
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Insurance documents - Check with your insurance agent.
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Medical records - Call your doctor or your medical insurance company; medical and prescription records are tracked electronically.
The Governor’s office has put together a Wildfire Resources page that you can access from the Governor’s home page. It has links to many of the most important updates about the status of fires and resources for evacuees. This website will be updated regularly.
Legal Resources: Oregon State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Program, Oregon lawyers, through the Oregon State Bar, are partnering with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide legal assistance on FEMA claims, contract claims, insurance claims, landlord-tenant matters and more.
The Department of Forestry’s Wildfire Response and Recovery Overview has ongoing updates about firefighting efforts, damage reports, and more.
FEMA Updates: FEMA has provided several different Fact Sheets and resources for accessing benefits, determining eligibility and avoiding scams.
Employers and Employees
Education Links
Local Government
Utilities Assistance
Food and Housing Assistance
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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