Dear Friends and Neighbors,
2020 is behind us, yet the impacts of this most challenging year remain, and a great deal of work lies ahead. On Monday, January 11th, the 81st Legislative Assembly organized for the 2021 Session that convened on January 19th. As I took the oath of office to begin my third term in the Oregon House of Representatives, I was humbled by the trust you have placed in me to continue to represent you in Salem. The legislature will be in session from January 19 – June 27, 2021.
I look forward to engaging in meaningful discussion on the policy decisions ahead and I encourage you to share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas with me through the legislative process.
I am honored to once again serve as the vice chair of the House Veterans and Emergency Management Committee. This committee was formerly called the Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee. The focus in this committee will continue to be on filling gaps in services to our military veterans and their families. On the emergency preparedness side, we will be continuing our work on the reorganization of Oregon Emergency Management to bring the agency out from under the Military Department. The two have very different core missions. One of the goals will be to once again establish an advisory committee in order to ensure that local concerns are heard and addressed.
In response to the catastrophic wildfires in September, 2020, a new committee has been formed in the House. This is the House Special Committee on Wildfire Recovery and I am honored to have been appointed as vice chair of this committee. We will be working to identify gaps in services and ways to assist those who suffered losses during these fires. In the coming weeks we will be holding several public hearings in order to hear first-hand from those victims of the fires.
I will once again be serving on the House Judiciary Committee. This committee has a busy schedule going into the Session. We will be working on a wide range of issues as we continue our work on justice reinvestment, hopefully while being mindful of the rights and needs of victims in the process. Among the issues we will be working on are bail reform and the implementation of Ballot Measure 110.
During the interim, I served on the newly created Joint Committee on Police Transparency and Use of Force Reform. The committee was the product of HB 4201, passed in the 2020 First Special Session, and its charge was to work on police accountability and reform. The committee dissolved in December in accordance with the statutory provisions in the bill. As a result, a new subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee was created to carry on the work of the old committee. I am appointed to this new House Judiciary Subcommittee on Equitable Policing. You may recall that seven bills were passed related to police reform in the first two Special Sessions in 2020. There are a number of other concepts being considered going forward and I will work to ensure that the outcome will be common sense reforms that provide more transparency in policing without hindering the ability of the police to do their job or jeopardizing the safety of the public in the process.
I will continue to serve on the Joint Transportation Committee and we will be working on a number of statewide issues related to transportation.
I will continue to serve on a number of other councils, commissions, committees and task forces as well. Among these are the Oregon Homeland Security Council, the Willamette Falls Locks Commission, the Asset Forfeiture Oversight Advisory Committee, the North Willamette Regional Extension Center board, the Road User Fee Task Force and others.
I have also been appointed as co-chair of the Council of State Governments Western Division Public Safety Committee and will chair this important committee with the Speaker of the Nevada Assembly. The primary focus of this committee will likely also be on police reform as well as a variety of justice reinvestment matters. CSG West is a non-partisan organization that serves the legislatures of 13 western states (including Oregon) and 3 territories.
The House Special Committee on Wildfire Recovery will be holding two public hearings, one on the 15th and the other on the 17th of February. The committee will work to identify concerns and gaps in resources that the State might be in a position to help with. Both hearings will be 3 hours in length. Those who have been severely impacted by the fires are encouraged to testify. The hearing on February 15th will focus on the Canyon, the Valley, Metro and the Coast. The second hearing on February 17th will focus on Southern Oregon.
There is much to be done in the recovery process and this discussion is a starting point. I look forward to working with the committee Chair, Brian Clem, my Co-Vice Chair, Pam Marsh, and the rest of the committee members going forward.
More than 2050 bills are before the legislature for consideration. Many more will be filed in the coming weeks. I am a chief sponsor on 8 bills and a co-sponsor on an additional 16 bills at present. I will highlight just a few for purposes of this newsletter.
HB 2243 is one of my priorities. The bill has a Democrat co-chief sponsor and we are hoping for strong bipartisan support. It would change the emergency declaration process to once again involve the Legislature on policy decisions during an extended declaration of emergency by the Governor. We are entering the 11th month of an emergency declaration around COVID. Because of current law, the Governor exercises total control without the system of checks and balances that are critical to our system of government. The bill would once again involve the Legislature in policy decisions by requiring the Governor to convene the Legislature every 60 days in order to extend the emergency and executive orders associated with the emergency. I believe that no one elected official should have unchecked authority to handle emergency situations and that the Legislature has a vital role to play in policy development. Regardless of which party controls the Governor’s office, the Legislature represents the people.
HB 2700 will finish the work from the 2019 session to allow family members of former Prisoners of War or those listed as Missing in Action who have subsequently been positively identified (usually through DNA) and returned home to Oregon, to pay for and have placed a roadside sign to honor their fallen hero. This bill unanimously passed the House last session and was in the Senate on adjournment.
HB 2701 is an affordable housing bill for rural communities and rural parts of the State. This will be my 3rd attempt to get this bill passed and I’m hopeful it will cross the finish line this year. The bill allows rural parts of the State to build affordable housing that they need as well. It would allow cities and counties that meet the rural definition threshold to voluntarily waive their System Development Charges to developers in exchange for building multifamily housing. A fund would be created at the State to reimburse cities and counties for their SDC’s provided the developer and subsequent owner of the development enter into a covenant with the State whereby rent is kept affordable as defined in the bill for a period of at least 10 years. It is a win for the renter, a win for the developer and a win for the city or county.
HB 3071 would require all elected officials in Oregon to be mandatory Child Abuse reporters. At present, some elected officials including legislators are mandatory reporters. The bill would expand the list to ensure that all elected officials fall within the law.
A number of the other bills I am sponsoring deal with child abuse, agriculture, wildfire recovery and prevention, emergency response and justice reinvestment.
It is likely that the Capitol will remain closed to the public until April or beyond and that we will continue to operate in a virtual environment. Citizen engagement in the legislative process is critical. Here are some ways you can participate. More information and links can be accessed on the Oregon Citizen's Engagement webpage here.
  
As always, thank you for staying in touch and for taking the time to read my newsletter. I look forward to hearing more from you in the days and months ahead.
Sincerely,
 Rick Lewis
State Representative
House District 18
Oregon's Christmas Tree District
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1418
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-484, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.RickLewis@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/lewis
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