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Friends,
As spring has sprung and another week of the legislative session is here, I want to make sure you’re up to speed on some key things coming up this week where you can get involved.
First, there’s an important piece of education legislation up for a public hearing tomorrow and I hope you’ll read about it below and consider testifying in the Education Committee to share your perspective. Second, Sen Findley and Rep. Bonham and I are hosting our March joint virtual town hall this Wednesday at 5:30pm PDT. Lastly, it’s a big week for Oregon Agriculture and we’re celebrating it in all its forms from Oregon’s rich farming history to the future farmers of America from right here in HD 60.
I know there’s more on your mind—mine too. Things like new OSHA rules, vaccinations, status of school re-openings and rumors of summer school, legislation on rodeos and taxes, and more. It’s a lot to discuss in a newsletter and that’s why we’re hoping you’ll join our town hall Wednesday so we can talk about complex issues in a real-time atmosphere. Make sure to register today and add your questions or comments when you sign up so we can get to every inquiry possible.
As always, my staff and I are here to answer questions or help you navigate your legislature in any way that you need. Please reach out via email or with a phone call if there’s more we can do for you.
Thank you and be safe.
 Representative Mark Owens
Oregon House District 60
Calling all students, parents, and teachers: Share your story on Tuesday
The Coronavirus pandemic has put immense pressure on schools across the state of Oregon to try and provide the quality instruction, whether online or in person, for our students. Oregon must ensure that this pandemic does not impact our current students' education in the long run.
How will we really know the impacts? Do we know what needs to be done to make up for lost instruction time? Are there different needs in different school districts? These are all important questions to ask and to have answered.
That’s why I’ve co-sponsored legislation in House Bill 2962 that requires each school district to evaluate instructional needs of students in their school districts as result of school closures due to COVID-19 and to report summaries of evaluations to Department of Education.
I believe this bill and the subsequent studies are an important steppingstone to learn what needs to be considered for lost and substandard class time and subsequently reduced learning, so we can get Oregon’s students on the best path forward. This study will look at the long-term outcome on students and will be presented to the legislature.
We’re asking you to help us by testifying at the Committee tomorrow, either virtually on video, by phone, or by submitting a written story, to share the impacts this had on you. It is imperative the committee hears from the students, parents, teachers, and families—those that were in the trenches of this day after day this past year—on the impacts Coronavirus had on our education system and why you believe it’s important we do this study.
If you would like to speak to the committee live, please register here: http://bit.ly/TestifyHB2962
If you need help testifying or have questions about this how this works, please contact Stacy Cayce in our office who will walk you through all of this. You can reach Stacy directly at Stacy.Cayce@oregonlegislature.gov.
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OSHA Rules
We’ve received hundreds of questions and comments regarding the most recent OSHA rules that have been announced for workplaces and employers. It’s complex and it’s a lot of reading, but we want to highlight a few places for you to look for answers to your questions.
The best synopsis I’ve found on what is – and isn’t – part of the OSHA rulemaking is an article by the law firm Stoel Rives LLP. Check that out here in a blog titled: Oregon OSHA Proposes Final, Permanent COVID-19 Safety Rules for Oregon Employers
The rule proposal documents are 126 pages so OSHA has provided a summary of them here: Please take a look, too, at the following summary comparing the proposed rule to the existing temporary rule: https://osha.oregon.gov/OSHARules/proposed/2021/comparison-temp-permanent-covid19.pdf
There are more facts, resources, and information about COVID-19 and the workplace here: https://osha.oregon.gov/covid19/Pages/default.aspx OSHA is also taking public comment on the rule proposal and you are encouraged to participate. The feedback is essential as they move forward with this process. You can provide written comments to tech.web@oregon.gov by April 2, and they will be considered as part of the record.
We’ll be talking about this more on Wednesday during our virtual town hall – read more about that right below.
I also want to share an important note from Michael Woods, Administrator for Oregon OSHA:
“’Although the rule must be adopted as a permanent rule, its purpose is to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Oregon OSHA intends to repeal the rule when it is no longer necessary to address that pandemic. Because it is not possible to assign a specific time for that decision, Oregon OSHA will consult with the Oregon OSHA Partnership Committee, the Oregon Health Authority, and other stakeholders as circumstances change to determine when all or part of the rule can be appropriately repealed.’ Oregon OSHA will not leave the rule in place once the need to address the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.”
March Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday
We’re another month into the Legislative Session which means it’s time for another virtual town all with me, Senator Lynn Findley (SD30) and Rep. Daniel Bonham (HD59). Join us on this week - Wednesday, March 24 at 5:30pmPDT – for our next virtual town hall to discuss issues and take questions from you. Register now so you don’t miss out.
We host these town halls to stay connected with you, but they are mostly so you have an opportunity to ask us questions, share any concerns, and give input on the bills and issues we are working on in Salem.
Questions can be submitted in advance when you register, using Q&A chat during the event, or asked live during the virtual town hall. You can join us via Zoom or watch via my Facebook Page Livestream. If you decide to participate via Zoom, you must register prior to attending the event.
If you have questions you’d like to send along in advance, please feel free to email them to me here at rep.markowens@oregonlegislature.gov and we’ll get them on the list.
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday evening.
National Ag Week
"Oregon farmers and ranchers share core values: a deep love for the land, incredible work ethic, and immense pride in their work." Anne Marie Moss, Oregon Farm Bureau.
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I've known I wanted to be a farmer since I was in high school and would travel hundreds of miles each summer to work out on farms in Harney County before I decided to move here, raise a wonderful family and start a farm—I've never looked back. Oregon's agriculture is abundant, impressive and all of it deserves to be celebrated. The Oregon Farm Bureau's Anne Marie Moss shares some great perspectives on this in an opinion piece this week. Read it here. |
Student Spotlight
I want to extend my congratulations on a job well done to the 2020-2021 Oregon FFA team including Alivia Robbins from Burns who is the outgoing Oregon FFA State Reporter. In her closing remarks during last week’s conference, Alivia shared a powerful message, words we could all stand to remember in our daily lives. Thank you, Alivia and all of Oregon FFA for the work you do—we are in your corner. #ORFFA
District Phone: 541-889-8866
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1460
District Address: 258 S. Oregon St, Ontario, OR 97914
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-475, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/owens
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