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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy Holidays! I hope you all enjoy a warm and relaxed long weekend. We started out with our third Special Session on Monday where we worked to continue to bring support to Oregonians across the state. We accomplished that task with an additional $800 million in resources and an extension of the moratorium on evictions until summer 2021. Please see the other details in this newsletter for more information on the Special Session.
Our office will be taking off the next five days so my staff and I can also enjoy some downtime. The last 10 months have been intense and challenging. I hope you enjoy times to reflect and have peaceful moments for renewed energy and well-being in the coming year. I look forward to seeing my children and grandchildren in safe and creative ways!
- Confirmed Cases: 17,974,303 (up 183,927 from yesterday)
- Deaths: 318,569 (up 1,725 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.
- Oregon Status Report: Oregon now has 105,073 total cases (confirmed and presumptive) of COVID-19.
- Today we have 1,282 new confirmed and presumptive cases, and 35 new deaths.
- A total of 1,382 Oregonians have died from COVID-19.
(previous daily case updates from OHA here)
- Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 14,878 confirmed cases, including 138 deaths. You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
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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.
This week was our third special session of the year! Despite the chaos that occurred outside the building, we were able to come together to address urgent issues with proposals that will keep people in their homes, support independent restaurants that are barely hanging on, and dedicate ongoing funding for critical pandemic-related programs. I am proud that we were able to provide some measure of relief until the Legislature reconvenes next year. Here is what we accomplished:
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House Bill 4401 - Eviction Moratorium and Landlord Compensation Fund: HB 4401 ensures that renters across the state cannot be evicted through June 30, 2021 if they can’t pay their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also establishes a $150 million fund to cover overdue rent payments, which will help eligible renters avoid falling further behind, while also ensuring landlords have a voluntary way to recover payments they were counting on.
Oregon House and Community Services Landlord and Renter Resources
Landlord Compensation Fund Information
Sign-up for Landlord Compensation Fund Email Updates
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House Bill 4402 - School Limited Liability Protections: Provides temporary liability protections to schools that are complying with COVID-19 emergency rules. Schools are not protected if they are not following Oregon Occupational Safety & Health (OSHA) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) rules. This bill provides additional incentive for schools, administrators, and teachers to follow health directives and best practices. The measure provides whistleblower protections to third party contractors, such as janitorial service providers, bus drivers, and food service providers.
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Senate Bill 1801 - Restaurant Relief: Allows restaurants and bars temporarily to sell and deliver mixed drinks to-go if the mixed drink is sold in a sealed container. The bill caps fees that third-party delivery providers can issue at 15%. Local governments with already-existing third-party fee caps can maintain their own lower limits. Many independent restaurants are currently hanging on by a thread, and this support for small businesses comes at a critical time as the pandemic continues and restaurants have had in-person dining disrupted.
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Senate Bill 5731 - Emergency COVID-19 and Wildfire Recovery Funding: A large portion of the federal funding that Congress passed through the CARES Act came with an expiration date at the end of 2020. This bill includes $600 million to allow the state to continue to fund critical pandemic-related programs that will support Oregonians in the first few months of 2021, as well as provide more support for Oregonians impacted by the Labor Day wildfires. It also includes $150 million for the Landlord Compensation Fund and $50 million for rental assistance.
VIOLENCE AT THE CAPITOL: I also want to address the violence that took place at the Capitol yesterday. While I support the right of anyone to protest, the violence, hate and destruction we saw yesterday was unacceptable. Journalists and law enforcement officers were attacked, your state capitol was vandalized and this group of extremists tried to intimidate legislators from doing critically important work. Rest assured, I will not be bullied by these individuals as I serve you in the Oregon House.
I'm really glad Congress has passed an additional COVID-19 relief package, including $600 direct payments to many. This is just a down payment though. There is a lot more need out there. I hope when Congress reconvenes next year they will consider additional aid. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-relief-bill-government-funding-passes-congress/
Governor Brown Considers Teachers Essential Workers
I am very pleased that Governor Brown has announced that educators will be considered “essential workers” during the vaccine rollout. This means that teachers will be given a high-priority ranking to get vaccinated in the next phase, which the government is calling “Phase 1B”. This is a necessary first step to ensuring our schools can open as soon and as safely as possible.
Stay Home for the Holidays
People in Oregon love having a reason to gather, and there’s no better time of year to spend with loved ones than the winter holidays. We want to remind you that this year the safest activity is to stay home. If you are thinking of traveling, please consider the risk. The type of travel that is the lowest risk is traveling by car with only the people you live with.
If you do have to travel, here are some tips for increasing your safety:
- If you can, travel alone by car, or only with people you live with.
- Limit stops and wear a face covering when you do have to stop.
- If you have to travel by airplane, train, ship, ferry, subway, taxi or ride share wear a face covering.
- Keep six feet of physical distance between yourself and anyone you don’t live with whenever possible.
- Wash your hands often. Bring hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol in case there is no place to wash hands.
- Stay in a separate room from others when you arrive at your destination.
Anyone who returns to Oregon or enters the state because of non-essential travel is urged to quarantine for 14 days after arrival and limit their interactions to the people they live with.
More information on traveling safely is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, and you can find Governor Brown’s travel advisory here.
I tested negative, can I go out now?
If you test negative for COVID-19, it’s still important to take precautions that keep yourself and others safe. Maintaining physical distancing, wearing a mask and avoiding large gatherings are critical. Because tests can provide a false negative result, if you are symptomatic or you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, you should continue to follow public health recommendations to stay home. This chart will help you understand your test results.
Testing is only one important way to stop the spread of COVID. It is still important for everyone to:
- Wear masks.
- Avoid large groups.
- Stay at least six feet apart from people who you don’t live with.
- These are the best ways for us to keep ourselves and the ones we love safe. To find a testing site, call 211.
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
Hillsboro School District (en inglés y español)
Forest Grove School District (en inglés y español)
Oregon Department of Education
COVID-19 Resources for Oregon Higher Education Partners
Local Government
City of Hillsboro (en inglés, español y más idiomas)
City of Cornelius (en inglés, español y más idiomas)
City of Forest Grove (Personal que habla español disponible en este número: (503) 992-3221)
Washington County
Utilities Assistance
Portland General Electric (en inglés y español)
NW Natural
City of Hillsboro Utility Billing
Comcast
CenturyLink
AT&T
City of Forest Grove
Food and Housing Assistance
Community Action.org
Oregon Food Bank
Meals on Wheels
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.
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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