7/14/21 House District 30 Newsletter

Friends and Neighbors,

Join Representative McLain, Senator Riley and me for an End of Session Town Hall- Tomorrow, Thursday, July 15th at 6:00pm at the new Hidden Creek Community Center in Hillsboro. Spanish translation will be provided at the event. (Se proporcionará traducción al español en el evento.) 

RSVP to attend in person or register to attend virtually here.

**Registration for the virtual event will close 1 hour prior to start time. All are welcome to attend in person, even if you did not get a chance to RSVP.

Legislative Updates

There are so many great bills that passed this legislative session. I will highlight a few of them in each of the next few newsletters. 

Here are some additional education related bills that I was proud to co-sponsor and see pass:

• HB 2378 (Chief Sponsor) Directs Higher Education Coordinating Commission to establish competency-based education pilot program
• HB 2919 (Chief Sponsor) Requires each public university and community college to prominently display , or establish link to website that displays, estimated costs of all required course materials and directly related course fees for no less than 75 percent of total for-credit courses offered by public university or community college
• HB 2330 Makes permanent school district funding for foreign exchange students and small school district grants
• HB 2536 Requires school or school district to offer lunches and breakfasts at no charge to student if school or school district meets requirements of special provisions of federal meal program or if student is from household with income that does not exceed 300 percent of federal poverty guidelines
• HB 2542 Requires each public university and community college to prominently display mandatory fees charged.
• HB 2589 Requires public institutions of higher education to have same developmental educational requirements and placement tests for incoming student who completes high school and institution determines is college ready and incoming student who received certificate for passing approved high school equivalency test and received grade indicating student is college ready
• HB 2697 Requires education provider to prohibit display of any symbols of hate on school property or in education program
• HB 2817 Allows student enrolled in program provided by school district or education service district to earn General Educational Development (GED) certificate to participate in interscholastic activities
• HB 2835 Requires each community college and public university to hire benefits navigator to assist students in determining eligibility and applying for federal, state and local benefits programs
• HB 2969 Directs school districts to provide age-appropriate instruction in oral health as part of health education curriculum
• HB 3012 Limits ability of public university to refuse new mandatory incidental fees or process for collecting mandatory incidental fees
• HB 3183 Requires parents of child who is deaf or deafblind or who is hard of hearing to be provided information about relevant services and placements offered by school district, education service district, regional programs and Oregon School for the Deaf whenever individualized family service plan or individualized education program is developed, revised or reviewed
• HB 3234 Requires school districts to provide instruction on organ and tissue donation and education
• SB 564 Requires Higher Education Coordinating Commission to design question or questions allowing each student to identify whether student is parent or person acting as parent or legal guardian that may be placed on one or more forms used on annual basis to collect demographic information by public post-secondary institutions of education
• SB 702 Directs State Board of Education to review social studies standards
• SB 713 Prohibits public or private post-secondary institution of education from requiring prospective student to disclose whether prospective student has criminal conviction before institution makes final determination on whether to admit student

You can learn more about each bill on OLIS, the Oregon Legislative Information System. Make sure you are on the 2021 Regular Session by choosing from the "Session" menu (as shown below).

Then, under the "Bills" menu, you can search for a bill by number, keyword, or sponsor (as shown below).

Our wonderful team in the Legislative Policy Research Office has also compiled a summary of all the bills that had a public hearing this session. Organized by subject category, visit their page here to see all the bills discussed. It also shows whether a bill passed, or not, and if it is awaiting the Governor's signature to become law.

Entry to Oregon Capitol Building Expanded

This week President Courtney and Speaker Kotek issued a press release about expanded access to the Oregon State Capitol.

Due to the ongoing Capitol Accessibility, Maintenance and Safety project, certain areas in the
Capitol will continue to be under construction during the coming months. Access to the Senate and House wings will be limited to construction personnel only until December 2021. The State Street entrances and front steps will also be temporarily closed for construction. Visitors can use the North ADA entrances to enter the building.

The Oregon State Capitol Visitor Services staff will be bringing back many of the services they provide for visitors over the next few weeks: 

• The Capitol Store will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for the next few weeks.
  Visit their website or Facebook page for updates.
• Capitol tours will be self-guided for the week of July 12th
• Guided tours will be offered daily at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. beginning July 19th. Beginning mid-August, guided tours will be expanded to four tours per day.
• Tower tours will resume in 2022.

Read the full press release here.

Out & About House District 30

Recently, I toured Duyck Farm and Furrow Farm to see the damage they sustained to their berries and Christmas trees from the extreme heat event a couple weeks ago. It was devastating to see the loss to their family businesses. This is the time of year the crops are to be plentiful to help sustain these family farms for the year ahead. Thank you to Washington County Commission Chair, Kathryn Harrington and Washington County Commissioner, Jerry Willey for taking the time to visit Duyck Farm as well.

Child Tax Credit

Federal Child Tax Credit payments begin this month. Visit ChildTaxCredit.gov for more information.

Community Outreach

When Faced with Extreme Weather, OHA Director Allen Urges People in Oregon to Take Care of our Neighbors

From the Oregon Health Authority

On Monday, three branches of Oregon’s leadership came together to address the extreme heat conditions that Oregon has already experienced this summer, and to discuss planning for future extreme heat events. Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Andrew Phelps was joined by OHA Director Patrick Allen, and Fariborz Pakseresht, director of Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) at the news conference. 

“The reality is that such excessive and deadly conditions may be here to stay. In the last five years, Oregon has recorded its hottest years in state history and, unfortunately, this trend is expected to continue,” said Director Allen. 

Director Allen pointed out that summer is not over, more excessive heat is expected and encouraged people in Oregon to take care of our neighbors. Here’s what you should know:  

• Older adults and young children are more susceptible to heat-related illnesses, since they get dehydrated more quickly, and their ability to cool themselves might be lower.  
• People with chronic health conditions may be at higher risk for heat-related illness.  
• People with mental illness may not be able to take steps to cool themselves. 
• Help your friends and family find and get to cool, air-conditioned public places and cooling centers when their homes get too hot.  
• Drink water even if you don’t feel thirsty.  
• Know the warning signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion – cramps, headache, dizziness. Heat illness can happen indoors or outdoors in as little as 10 to 15 minutes. 
• Don’t wait to call for help if you need it.  

Watch the video of the news conference to learn how OHA, OEM and ODHS prepared for the extreme heat and what their plans are to address extreme heat as well as other climate risks, including worsening drought conditions, increasing wildfires and more flooding events in the future.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to have an End of Session celebration with the House District 30 team at Top Golf in Hillsboro. This legislative session was not an easy one and each of them were instrumental in helping constituents during the pandemic, working on policy issues and research, and supporting one another while navigating the virtual work world. I am grateful for their time and hard work to support House District 30. Thank you Nickole Vargas (Chief of Staff), Mark Watson (Legislative Assistant), Jenna Devenberg (PSU College Intern), Olivia Vargas, Lily Donis and Ishaan Sinha (High School Interns).

Citizen Legislature

Oregon has a Citizen Legislature, which means that we are not in a legislative session full-time, or year round. For most of us, that means we juggle another job during session and return to that job when the session ends. I have worked for Vernier Software & Technology for nearly 24 years and I am very lucky to work for a company that has been very flexible with my hours and allowed me to serve the district. I will return to my part-time schedule at Vernier and balance the remainder of the week doing legislative outreach. During the interim, I am available to tour House District 30 businesses and other community places and listen and learn about the issues you face, or how you help our friends and neighbors in the district. Please continue to feel free to contact the office for district needs: 503-986-1430 or rep.janeensollman@oregonlegislature.gov.  

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