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The House of Representatives has over 34 hours of floor sessions scheduled this week – that is 34 hours of bill readings, discussions, remonstrances, and voting. This does not include our normal committee meetings, meetings with constituents, stakeholders, other legislators, and hurried lunches and dinners. We have been in the Capitol Building from 7am to 9pm every day this week and 10am to 7pm tomorrow on Saturday. Through the flurry of it all, it isn’t lost on me that the public remains a critical part of this process. I believe that the Capitol should be open to the public! There are so many bills that affect many Oregonians and they need to be let into the process, not just 30 seconds on a video screen.
Legislators are getting vaccinated and within a few weeks vaccines will be open to everyone 16+ in Oregon. I will keep asking Democratic leadership, "When will the doors be open?”.
This week, after several months of work, my first bill will make it the House floor. HB 2616 will allow a specific reservoir in Jackson County to be registered with the Oregon Water Resources Department. The reservoir was originally ordered to be removed at significant cost to the landowner. The reservoir is unique in that it is readily accessible for use in wildland firefighting, both by helicopter and trucks, in the area and was recently used on the South Obenchain fire last summer. I trust my colleagues in the House will be equally supportive of this bill, as they were unanimously in support last session when I attempted to pass identical legislation, and will move it to the Senate for another vote.
 April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Each of these ribbons represent the 13,674 confirmed victims of child abuse or neglect in Oregon in 2019.
Last week, the Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means announced the dates for 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. We encouraged residents of HD 55 to attend the hearings and offer their views on the state budget for the 2021-23 biennium.
These hearings will be conducted virtually and organized by congressional district. For House District 55 residents (Congressional District 2), if you wish to be heard, you will be able to submit written testimony, as well as provide live testimony either by phone or video during the hearings. Additional meeting details will be posted on the Oregon Legislative Information Site.
The five dates and times for each Congressional District are listed below.
District 1 - Wednesday, April 14, 5:30-7:30 pm
District 2 - Saturday, April 17, 1:00-3:00 pm
District 3 - Wednesday, April 21, 5:30-7:30 pm
District 4 - Thursday, April 22, 5:30-7:30 pm
District 5 - Saturday, April 24, 1:00-3:00 pm
With the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) the State of Oregon received over $4 Billion in federal funds to aid in recovery efforts. These are one-time funds that are intended to be used as long-term investment within the state.
My office submitted requests for over $107 million worth of funds for various projects within the 5 counties in House District 55. If approved, these funds will bolster counties through infrastructure improvements projects, grants to help struggling businesses thrive again, and by providing funding for several renovation projects with the intent to bring economic viability to rural areas.
It remains to be seen which projects may get funded, but with the help of county and city officials, we did our best, on short notice, to see that rural communities in Eastern and Southern Oregon were not left out.
List of populations currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations:
- All individuals who match the criteria listed in Phase 1A.
- All Oregon educators — including public and private K-12 educators and staff, early childhood educators and staff and childcare providers and staff (Phase 1B, Group 1).
- All individuals who are 75 years of age and older (Phase 1B, Group 2 and 3).
- All individuals who are 70 years of age and older (Phase 1B, Group 4).
- All individuals who are 65 years of age and older (Phase 1B, Group 5).
- Migrant and seasonal farmworkers currently working in the fields (Phase 1B, Group 6)
- Individuals in Phase 1B, Group 6 (Phase 1B, Group 6)
- Starting April 5, all individuals in Phase 1B, Group 7 (Phase 1B, Group 7)
If you need assistance with scheduling your appointment, please visit HERE.
All Oregonians 16 and older are eligible for the vaccine April 19th.
  
For a detailed breakdown of case rates in House District 55, please click HERE.
To view our past newsletters, please visit our legislative website.
The Department of Revenue recently announced that it will adjust the tax returns for Oregon taxpayers who have already filed their 2020 returns and are due relief from income taxes paid on recently exempted unemployment benefits earned in 2020. Oregon taxpayers who received unemployment in 2020 and have not yet filed their tax returns, can do so following instructions recently provided by the IRS. The change affects Oregon taxpayers who had already filed their state income tax returns, paying taxes on 2020 unemployment benefits, before Congress made the change to the tax code. More information is available on the department website.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1455
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-395, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.VikkiBreeseIverson@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/breese-iverson
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