|
If you're having trouble viewing this message, please visit my legislative web page at http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/prozanski/, click on "News" in the lower left-hand column and scroll down.
Dear friends,
Last week, Governor Brown announced steps that the state will take to lift COVID-19 health and safety restrictions and fully reopen the economy after 70 percent of all Oregonians 18 and older have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Since vaccines are very effective at protecting against COVID-19, after reaching the 70 percent threshold, Oregon will lift most state restrictions and move away from a state-led emergency COVID-19 response effort. Focus will be shifted to pandemic recovery and supporting local public health agencies and health care providers with resources. (For more information see section below: Oregon Reopens.)
The 2021 Legislative Session has entered its home stretch with fewer than three weeks before our constitutional adjournment deadline. While some important bills have been tabled, others have advanced. On the education front, we passed a historic K-12 funding package: $9.3 billion. The final weeks of session are typically focused on funding packages. Vitally this session, that includes further allocations to fire-impacted communities. I am pressing leadership and my colleagues on Ways & Means, the Legislature's main budget-writing committee, to fully fund those needed allocations to help communities in District 4 rebuild.
Below you will find information on:
- Oregon Reopens
- June Revenue Forecast
- Landlord Compensation Fund –– Final Round
- DLCD Assistance to Wildfire-impacted Communities
- Glide Receives State Funding Award for Safe Drinking Water
I hope this information is helpful and informative for you or someone you know. As always, feel free to share your comments, questions or concerns with me by phone, mail or e-mail.
Oregon Reopens
As of June 3, Oregon had achieved a 66.2 percent vaccination rate for individuals 18 and older, with 127,308 more people needing to receive a first dose to reach 70 percent. After reaching the 70 percent threshold, Oregon will take the following steps to lift restrictions:
- Oregon's Risk Level framework, including all county-based metrics and health and safety restrictions, will be lifted. This includes mask, physical distancing, and capacity limit requirements.
- The state will not require masks and face coverings in almost all settings, with some exceptions following federal guidance, including airports, public transit, and health care settings. (I want to reiterate from my May e-bulletin that businesses will still be able to require customers to wear masks. For the safety of their employees, many businesses owners I've spoken with since the CDC made its recent announcement have stated that they plan to still require everyone to mask up inside their businesses, especially since there isn't an easy way to verify who has been fully vaccinated. Please be respectful of these business owners' decisions.)
- Since the same mask and social distancing rules will apply for all individuals—vaccinated or unvaccinated—vaccine verification will not be necessary.
- It will still be strongly recommended that unvaccinated individuals and other vulnerable individuals continue to wear masks and practice other health and safety measures to stay safe from COVID-19.
Recognizing that COVID-19 will still be present in our communities and that many Oregonians remain unvaccinated, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) will have an ongoing leadership role working with local public health partners in pandemic response and recovery:
- OHA will continue to monitor the global pandemic and provide assistance and resources to local public health agencies and health care providers as needed –– including establishing protocols to test, trace, and control the spread of COVID-19 in the same capacity as they have for other infectious diseases and worldwide outbreaks (such as SARS and Ebola).
- OHA will continue to serve in a monitoring and advisory role, working with local public health partners on continuing vaccination efforts, pandemic response, and recovery.
- OHA's health and safety guidance for businesses, venues, faith organizations, and other sectors will be lifted. Oregon OSHA will review their workplace rules and update them based on the lifting of the Risk Level framework and OHA requirements.
- Oregon will continue to devote statewide resources to pandemic response and recovery, but the state will lift most current health and safety restrictions on individuals and businesses.
Children younger than 12 are still not eligible to be vaccinated. Some specific health and safety measures will remain in place for schools and child care:
- Since many children are still not eligible for vaccination and remain vulnerable to COVID-19, local schools will be guided by health and safety guidance as students resume a normal school year in the fall.
- Students will attend school full-time, five days per week. K-12 guidance is being revised to support schools in safely delivering in-person instruction throughout the school day.
- For the same reasons, some health and safety standards for child care providers and youth programs will remain in place.
- Recently revised workplace standards, including indoor mask requirements for unvaccinated employees, remain in place for schools and child care settings.
- For colleges and universities, where students are eligible for vaccination, individual institutions will make decisions about health and safety protocols for the coming year, after considering forthcoming CDC guidance.
June Revenue Forecast
A strong June 2021 Economic and Revenue Forecast was released at a joint virtual meeting of the Senate and House Revenue Committees. This forecast, summarized below, shows that Oregon's economic response has created a solid foundation for a growing economy. It's important that we continue to push democratic priorities during this historic legislative session while ensuring that marginalized and vulnerable communities are not left behind.
Revenue Outlook
Net General Fund and Lottery resources for the 2019-21 biennium are up more than $1,087 million from the March 2021 forecast. The current projected General Fund ending balance is $2,824 million versus March’s projected ending balance of $1,737 million. The projected ending balance is also up $2,319 million from the 2019 close-of-session estimate.
The Rainy Day Fund is projected to receive $226 million following the end of the 2019-21 biennium. Projected 2019-21 lottery resources are up $21 million since the March 2021 forecast.
The projected ending balances for the reserve accounts for the 2019-21 biennium are as follows: Education Stability Fund ($414 million), Rainy Day Fund ($962 million) and General Fund ($2,824 million). This totals $4,201 million in reserves.
Kicker Outlook
A personal kicker of $1,407 million is projected to be paid in the 2021-23 biennium. The projected corporate kicker of $664 million is to be dedicated to K-12 education spending in in the 2021-23 Biennium.
OEA Economic Outlook
Economic growth is surging as the pandemic wanes. Thanks to federal fiscal policy, consumers have higher incomes today than before COVID-19 hit. Now they are increasingly allowed to feel comfortable resuming pandemic-restricted activities like going out to eat, on vacations, getting haircuts and the like. The outlook for near-term economic growth is the strongest in decades, if not generations.
Oregon's labor market is expected to return to full health during the upcoming 2021-23 biennium. With the strong near-term outlook for consumer spending, job growth is front-loaded such that the largest employment gains will occur this summer and fall. Total employment in Oregon will surpass pre-pandemic levels in late 2022 with the unemployment rate returning to near four percent in 2023.
Corporate Activity Tax Projections
HB 3427 (2019) created a new state revenue source by implementing a corporate activity tax that went into effect January 2020. Projected gross revenues equal $1.323 billion for 2019-21 and $2.349 billion in 2021-23, up modestly from the previous forecast. The revision is due to higher-than-anticipated collections for the fourth quarterly estimated payment, which was due on January 31.
Landlord Compensation Fund –– Final Round
Oregon Housing & Community Services (OHCS) has opened the third round of the Landlord Compensation Fund with more than $60 million in assistance available. This is the final opportunity for landlords to apply to get assistance to cover rental debt for tenants, regardless of income, and this round will cover former tenants. OHCS encourages landlords to apply by June 18. Please see the attached press release with additional information. Participating landlords can receive up to 80 percent of rent owed from 4/1/2020 - 4/30/2021 for qualifying residents. Learn more and apply at bit.ly/OHCS-LCF
As a reminder, the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program is still accepting applications for renters in need: https://www.oregonrentalassistance.org/.
DLCD Assistance to Wildfire-impacted Communities
Wildfire-impacted communities are in the process of issuing permits for rebuilding and reconstruction. The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is helping ease the burden on local governments by dedicating grant money to support local planning offices involved in recovery efforts. Grant funding of $90,000 has been dedicated to communities affected by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. Many property owners are seeking to rebuild or reconstruct, leading to an influx in development-permit requests that small communities are pressed to process quickly. The new resources were made available by the Legislature on April 15, 2021. Assistance to local communities has already begun.
Glide Receives State Funding Award for Safe Drinking Water
The Glide Water Association (GWA) has been awarded special state funding to improve its drinking water infrastructure through leak detection. Congratulations to GWA on its successful application!
|
