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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you and your families are staying healthy and safe. Spring is here, flowers are beginning to bloom, and it feels like a light is starting to peek out at the end of the tunnel. As the sunny weather returns, I’m reminded of how fortunate I am to live in such a beautiful district. Whether it’s a hike through Tryon Creek State Park, a walk around Lake Oswego, or a kayak in one of our nearby rivers, the possibilities for adventure are endless, and I hope that you have the opportunity to take advantage of all the natural beauty that HD-38 has to offer.
At the Capitol, the legislative session continues with another deadline looming. By April 13, unless a bill is referred to the House or Senate Committee on Rules, Revenue, or the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, it must have received a public hearing and a work session to have a chance at passage in the 2021 session. Otherwise, the bill is dead and must be brought back again in a future legislative session.
During a work session, legislators consider and vote on amendments to be added to the bill, and vote on the bill’s passage to move on to the House Floor, or its next committee (like Ways & Means if it requires funding). Several of my priority bills are scheduled for work sessions this week, and you can read more about them below.
A number of bills have already had their work sessions and moved out of policy committees—many of them with unanimous bipartisan support—but our House floor sessions remain incredibly slow as the Republicans force every bill to be read in full before final passage. Last week, it took multiple days to read a bill that changed the name of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. As a result, we have a backlog of bills for consideration in the coming weeks and have been spending many hours into the evening reading, debating, and voting on bills.
Despite these delays, we’ve still managed to pass a couple of really important bills that would bring much needed relief to Oregonians. On Tuesday, the House passed HB 2009, a bill to reestablish the foreclosure moratorium for small residential property owners who have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, through July 1, 2021.
We also passed HB 3178, a bill to make a small fix to unemployment law to allow low income workers, those earning $300 per week or less, to also collect unemployment benefits. This bill would come at minimal financial impact to the state, but go a long way to help unemployed Oregonians get back on their feet.
I was pleased to vote in favor of both of these proposals, and they now head to the Senate for consideration.
Furthermore, both the Redistricting Committee and the Joint Committee on Ways & Means are hosting public hearings. The Redistricting Committee will be holding three hearings this Saturday, April 10, to hear from Oregonians about communities of interest and how legislators should draw the 2021 district maps.
The Joint Committee on Ways & Means is holding several public hearings later this month to hear from Oregonians about how they’d like to see their state dollars utilized, and to hear how Oregonians want the state to spend the $2.8 billion it received from the federal government in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Legislators submitted their proposals for use of these funds last week, and in total, requested around $30 billion for their proposals. It’s going to be critical for the budget writers to receive input on how to spend these funds. More information on how to attend these hearings and how to testify is included below.
Finally, I’d like to remind everyone that while the number of vaccinated Oregonians increases by the day, we must continue to wear face masks, wash our hands, maintain social distance, and keep travel to a minimum. Oregon’s COVID-19 cases are up and more counties have slipped back into the extreme risk category. We must remain vigilant, so the new variants and case rates don’t spiral out of control. Find updates on COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and access to vaccines below.
Sincerely,
 Andrea Salinas, State Representative
Legislative Updates
HB 2315 adds a requirement that behavioral health providers continue to receive education about suicide prevention throughout their career.
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Work Session: Monday, April 5, House Behavioral Health Committee. Click here to watch the committee discuss the bill, adopt an amendment, and vote it to the House floor.
HB 2362 seeks to address the cost drivers caused by provider and insurance consolidation and creates a community driven process that gives Oregonians a voice in the decision-making process during these transactions.
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Work Session: Thursday, April 8, House Health Care Committee. Click here to watch the committee discuss the bill.
HB 2359 seeks to align Oregon law with Federal law so that health care providers utilize certified and qualified health care interpreters when interacting with a patient for whom spoken English is not the person’s preferred language.
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Work Session: Thursday, April 8, House Health Care Committee. Click here to watch the work session.
HB 2010 directs OHA and DCBS to bring back design plan options to extend health insurance to those who are uninsured or underinsured because premiums or cost share is too high or they are not eligible for public payer coverage.
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Public Hearing: Our public hearing for this bill just occurred on April 1. Click here to watch the committee.
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Work Session: Thursday, April 8, House Health Care Committee. Click here to watch the work session.
HB 2363 was brought to me by the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce, and it makes it easier for certain entities to obtain temporary liquor sales licenses so they can host fundraisers and charitable events. This bill passed out of committee unanimously, and now awaits a vote on final passage on the House floor.
Redistricting Hearings
Every 10 years, the Census Bureau, with the help of each state, completes a population count. The states then use that census population data to draw new legislative district boundaries and maps. Each state has a different process for completing the new maps, and here in Oregon, our constitution puts this power in the hands of the Oregon State Legislature.
The last time Oregon completed redistricting, our state almost had enough population growth to receive a sixth congressional seat but ultimately we did not. All estimates point to us receiving that sixth congressional seat in this next round of census apportionment.
Now, I am continuing this work by serving as Chair of the House Redistricting Committee. The House Redistricting Committee works in conjunction with the Senate Redistricting Committee, and we hold public hearings concurrently. So far during this process, we’ve had many experts share information about statutory requirements of redistricting, what fallbacks the legislature has, how census data works, and much more. To watch any of our committee hearings, click here.
Unfortunately, for the first time ever, due to COVID-19 and federal Census Bureau delays, the census data we use to redraw state and congressional district lines won’t be available until September 1 at the very earliest, even though our state law requires that the Legislature complete the entire redistricting process by July 1. Due to this complication, the Oregon Legislature filed a petition of Mandamus to the Oregon Supreme Court that seeks to push the deadline to 3 months after we receive the census data. So far, we are hopeful that the Supreme Court will approve our request, and allow for a longer timeline to complete this process so we can fully and meaningfully engage Oregonians across the state.
As Chair of the House Redistricting Committee, I have committed with my Senate counterpart, to hear from Oregonians on the redistricting process. We have a statutory duty to hold at least 10 public hearings in communities across the state so Oregonians can make their voices heard in this crucial process. There are three public hearings left in this first round of hearings, all to be held on April 10th:
Congressional District 3 (includes parts of Clackamas & Multnomah County) -- 9:00am
Congressional District 4 (includes parts of Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, parts of Josephine, Lane, and Linn County) -- 12:00pm
Congressional District 5 (includes parts of Benton, parts of Clackamas, Lincoln, Marion, parts of Multnomah, Polk, and Tillamook counties) -- 3:00pm
If the Supreme Court does approve our request to push the deadlines back, our two Redistricting Committees will hold another round of public hearings so Oregonians can testify based on the information the census data delivers.
To find your congressional district, click here.
For more information on how to write your testimony, click here.
Joint Ways & Means Budget Hearings
Later this month, the Joint Committee on Ways and Means will host the 2021 Oregon Budget Virtual Hearings to receive public feedback on how the Legislature should balance the state budget and use federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, these hearings will be conducted virtually and organized by congressional district. Members of the public will be able to submit written testimony, as well as provide live testimony by phone or video during the hearings. Meeting details will be posted on the Oregon Legislative Information Site.
The co-chairs of the committee released their 2021-23 Budget Framework in March. The document serves as a starting point for the 2021-23 budget cycle.
Congressional District 1: Wednesday, April 14 - 5:30-7:30 pm
Congressional District 2: Saturday, April 17 – 1:00-3:00 pm
Congressional District 3: Wednesday, April 21 - 5:30-7:30 pm
Congressional District 4: Thursday, April 22 - 5:30-7:30 pm
Congressional District 5: Saturday, April 24 – 1:00-3:00 pm
Oregonians can find their congressional district here.
Go to oregonlegislature.gov or call 1-800-332-2313 for more information.
Upcoming Event: Constituent Coffee on April 17th
Please join me on Saturday, April 17th, from 9:30-11:00am for a virtual constituent coffee held over Zoom. I plan to share updates on the 2021 legislative session, and most importantly, answer your questions and hear your concerns. I hope to see many of you there!
Registration for the event is required, and you can sign up here. After you register you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join.
Please let my office know if you are having any issues with registration.
COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility and Availability
As of April 5, everyone in Phase 1A and groups 1-7 of Phase 1B are eligible to schedule a vaccine appointment in Oregon. You can find info on eligibility here, and you can find more information on the vaccine here.
Governor Brown also announced that she would be speeding up the vaccine timeline. On April 19, all Oregonians 16 and over will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Her press release can be found here.
Clackamas County Vaccine Clinics:
Clackamas County is hosting several COVID-19 vaccination clinics throughout the county. Vaccination clinics are set at Clackamas Town Center, Clackamas Community College Wilsonville Campus, Clackamas County Fair Grounds, Molalla High School and Sandy High School. These appointments are quickly being filled, so please be sure to sign up as soon as possible.
How to get an appointment:
- All vaccination clinics are by appointment and only open to Clackamas County residents who are currently eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
- You can schedule a vaccination appointment by visiting Clackamas.us/coronavirus/vaccine.
- If you do not have access to a computer to schedule your appointment, please call 503-655-8224 and they will help you set up an appointment.
- Some vaccination appointments are filling quickly. Clackamas County will host more vaccination clinics as they obtain more vaccines. Additional vaccination clinics will be announced on their website and social media networks once they are scheduled.
At your appointment:
- Please bring photo ID.
- Wear your mask and observe physical distancing guidelines.
- Insurance information will be collected at time of appointment. Uninsured will not be turned away. You will not be charged for your vaccine.
- Everyone welcome, regardless of immigration status.
- Your information will be kept confidential.
You can also use Vaccine Finder to figure out which pharmacies near you have an available supply of vaccine. You can find that here.
email: Rep.AndreaSalinas@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1438
address: 900 Court St NE, H-282, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/salinas
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