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Friends and Neighbors,
House District 30 Virtual Office Hours
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This Friday, May 7, from 11:00am-12:00pm, I will be holding HD 30 Virtual Office Hours. This is an opportunity for fellow House District 30 constituents to join me and the HD 30 team and stop by to ask a question or share a thought. Stay as long, or as little, as you like. We will hold office hours every Friday from 11:00-12:00 to meet with you virtually by Zoom. Use the link below to join.
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Join Zoom Meeting
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COVID-19 Updates
Governor Kate Brown Announces County Risk Level Changes
With hospitalization rate leveling, 15 counties to return to High Risk effective Friday, May 7
Governor Kate Brown yesterday announced updates to county risk levels under the state's public health framework to reduce transmission and protect Oregonians from COVID-19. With the statewide seven-day average increase for hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients dropping below 15 percent, Oregon no longer meets the statewide metrics for the Extreme Risk level.
Effective Friday, May 7, 15 counties will return to High Risk. In total, 24 counties will be at High Risk, four at Moderate Risk, and eight at Lower Risk. A complete list of counties and their risk levels is available here.
Governor Brown issued the following statement:
“Let me be clear: across the state, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are still high, and Oregon is not out of the woods yet. However, we have met the hospitalization metric established by our health experts for counties to return to High Risk. From the beginning, I have said that returning counties to the Extreme Risk level was about preserving hospital capacity and saving lives. With our statewide hospitalization rate stabilizing, our hospitals should have the capacity to continue treating patients with severe cases of COVID-19 and other serious medical conditions in the coming weeks.
“Based on today’s numbers, I am keeping my commitment to Oregonians. Beginning Friday, all counties in Extreme Risk will return to High Risk. With Oregonians continuing to get vaccinated each week, my expectation is that we will not return to Extreme Risk again for the duration of this pandemic.
“I know this will bring relief to many across the state. However, the lifting of Extreme Risk health and safety measures comes with great personal responsibility for us all. If Oregonians continue to keep up their guard, follow High Risk health and safety measures, and get vaccinated as fast as possible, we should see our COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates decline. I’d like to thank Oregonians for taking this surge seriously for the last several weeks. It’s because of you that our hospitals have not been overwhelmed.
“Today, we also received the welcome news from the Biden-Harris administration that they will be reallocating unused vaccines to the states that need them. Oregon will ask for the maximum allowed, which will help us to get shots in arms faster. Vaccinations are still our best path to protecting our loved ones, and staying on track to fully reopen our economy by the end of June.”
Find a COVID-19 Vaccine in Washington County
From Washington County Health and Human Services
As of April 19, 2021, every Oregonian ages 16 and up is eligible for a vaccine. Now is a great time to schedule your appointment!
Please do not double-book or no-show for your appointment.
NEW! You can now schedule your own first-dose COVID-19 vaccination appointment at the Oregon Convention Center via this new website. It works best using Chrome, Edge or Safari. The Pfizer vaccine is given at this location, so it's a great option for those ages 16 and up.
Get Vaccinated Oregon Sign up here and you will be sent an invitation when a vaccine appointment is available to you. Appointments are for the Oregon Convention Center as well as other locations, including some in Washington County.
OHSU drive-through clinics at Hillsboro Stadium and PDX Airport Red Economy Lot: Schedule online via OHSU's tool. Watch a short video about the Hillsboro Stadium vaccination site and procedures.
Local pharmacies: As of April 27, 2021, pharmacies are required to offer second/boost doses to people who received their first dose somewhere else.
Washington County-Sponsored Community Clinics:
May 7-8: Drive-through clinic on Nike campus. This will be the final first-dose clinic at this location. People who receive/d their first dose here will be notified about their second dose appointment. In partnership with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Nike and City of Beaverton. Pfizer vaccine. Schedule appointment here.
Small Business Relief Updates
Landlord Compensation Fund: Round Two Open Now – May 17th
Are you a landlord with past due rental payments? The Landlord Compensation Fund can help! The program covers 80% of past due rent (April 2020 – now) for tenants with a signed declaration of financial hardship if a landlord agrees to forgive the other 20%. The first round will cover rental debt for approximately 12,000 tenants and helped more than 1,900 landlords. More relief resources are available now!
Round two is now open. Please note this program is not first-come, first serve, and applications will be open until May 17th. If you are interested in applying in the second round, please see this check list. Visit the Landlord Compensation Fund website for more information.
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Restaurant Revitalization Fund Applications are Open
From Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association
Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) - President Biden's American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act) included provisions establishing the Restaurant Revitalization Grant (RRG) program. The RRG program will offer $28.6 billion in grants to hard-hit restaurants and bars, with restaurants able to apply for grants based on lost revenue. The Small Business Administration (SBA) will administer and disperse the RRF grants.
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Update 5.4.21 - New clarification to note: Any Employee Retention Tax Credit received in 2020 will NOT be counted against a restaurant’s eligible grant amount. Additional economic relief such as state/local grants, EIDLs, EIDL advance grants, and other support also will NOT count for a restaurant’s 2020 “gross receipts” calculation in 2020.
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Update 4.27.21 - The SBA officially announced new details on the RRF and the timeline for applications. Registrations for the application will begin this Friday, April 30th, at 9:00 am Eastern/6:00 am Pacific, and applications will officially open on Monday, May 3rd, at noon Eastern/9:00 am Pacific. Restaurants interested in receiving RRF money are encouraged to apply as soon as the application is live as there will likely not be enough funds to fulfil every application with the current round of funding. Note: even if you do not meet the criteria for the initial 21-day prioritized group, you should still apply at this time; your application will be considered after the initial three-week period.
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Restaurant Revitalization Grant Program Resources:
Please visit Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association for more information and resources.
Legislative Updates
We began this session with several urgent priorities: protecting our communities from COVID-19 and supporting the health and economic recovery in every part of Oregon, wildfire relief, addressing longstanding institutional racism and discrimination, and funding our schools and critical services.
House Democrats have been leading the way on bipartisan legislation to tackle all of these urgent needs—and conducting the legislative session in a way that protects the public, Capitol staff, and legislators.
During this 2021 legislative session, we have passed 251 bills, 164 of these sponsored by Democrats, and the majority bipartisan.
Almost 99% of bills that have passed the House were bipartisan; 94% passed with at least 3 Republican Aye votes; and 57% of these bills passed unanimously.
In the remaining months of session, we’ll continue prioritizing the needs of struggling Oregonians and working across the aisle to create meaningful, transformative change.
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Safe Storage Passes the House and Senate
Last week on the House floor we passed Senate Bill 554 B which combined the Safe Storage bill with a Senate Bill to address concealed firearms in public buildings. Today, Senate Bill 554 passed on the Senate and awaits the Governor's signature as the final step to this important common gun sense legislation. I want to thank the advocates, survivors, my co-sponsors and colleagues that have worked tirelessly on this legislation for years.
Senate Bill 554 makes a number of changes to Oregon firearm statutes. The bill requires that a gun be stored safely, with either a cable lock, a locked storage container, or in a gun safe. Failure to do so would result in a $500 fine, which would increase to $2000 should the unsecured firearm be obtained by a minor. The firearm must also be locked in a storage container or with a cable lock when an individual transfers a firearm. Additionally, if a firearm is lost or stolen, the owner would have 72 hours from when they reasonably should have known it was lost or stolen to report it.
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SB 554 also addresses gun free zones, allowing the boards of public universities, community colleges, and school districts to prohibit concealed carry of firearms on campuses. Boards would be allowed to opt into these programs. Additionally, the State Capitol would also be designated as a gun-free zone.
“Unsecured firearms are a significant contributor to firearm related deaths in Oregon, particularly suicide,” said Rep. Janeen Sollman (D-Hillsboro). “This bill isn’t going to strip anyone of any gun rights. It will not make it more difficult to purchase a firearm. The goal is to reduce access to firearms from people, especially children, teens, and young adults, who would use them to harm themselves. Every Oregonian should want these protective measures.”
Read the full press release here.
Watch my floor speech from last week here.
 Myself with Reps Grayber, Prusak and Reynolds following SB 554 B passage in the House last week
Census Data and Redistricting Information
In 2021 Oregon will join the rest of the States in redistricting based on the 2020 Federal Census. This redistricting is particularly exciting for Oregon as we were given another seat in the House of Representatives to reflect our home’s growing population (we were the only West Coast state to gain a seat). See here which states have gained and lost seats in Congress and read what lawmakers from around the country had to say.
You can find the latest on Oregon’s redistricting, as well as recordings of past public hearings and announcements of future hearings on the Oregon Legislature’s redistricting website. In Oregon, the state legislature draws the map based on the U.S. Census data that must meet certain statutory conditions such as being contiguous and of roughly equal population. In most years this must be accomplished by July 1st or the responsibility falls to the Secretary of State. However, due to the Federal Government releasing the census data late this year, the Oregon Supreme Court has granted the legislature an extension so that the may redistrict based on actual data rather than estimates.
 Education Updates
Teacher Appreciation Week
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This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Please take a moment to send thanks to a teacher in your life that has made a difference. This past year has been trying on all of us, and especially our teachers, leading our students through a pandemic with positivity and grace. Please watch this short video I created in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. |
Community Outreach
Opening Day at the Hops
Yesterday I gave a courtesy to the Hillsboro Hops on the House Floor as it was their opening day! Watch here. . I was thrilled to be able to attend the game last night and watch them get their first win of the season. It was a beautiful night at Ron Tonkin field. It was good for the soul to be in the stands with fans. To see their schedule and buy tickets, visit the Hillsboro Hops here. Go Hops!
Free Civics Workshop for Adults
 Register for this Free Event here.
Additional Resources
House District 30 Links
Federal Delegation Links
Education Links
Food and Housing Assistance
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Nurses have been on the front lines during the pandemic and I want to especially celebrate the care they give and the ways they have gone above and beyond during this last year. Let us all celebrate our friends, family and community members in the nursing profession, this week, and all year long. Thank you Nurses! |
Be good to yourself and each other. ❤
Onward & Upward,
 Capitol Phone: 503-986-1430
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-487, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman
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