The 2020 US Census data has now been officially delivered to Oregon. To view this information and to participate in the process, visit the state's website on redistricting here. Towards the end of September, the legislature will meet for a special session devoted to redistricting, the process of drawing the maps for congressional and legislative seats for the next decade. Normally, this is done during the regular session, but COVID-19 delayed the collection of census data that is required to complete this task. Thankfully, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that due to this extenuating circumstance, the legislature has additional time to draw the map.

The focus will be to balance communities of interest and prevent gerrymandering, such as rural communities being dominated by urban population centers or coastal areas dominated by territories inland. We must ensure that all voices and votes have equal value in our republic. You can stay up to date on the redistricting process by signing up for email updates here.

This session, great strides were taken in combating the lack of housing in Central Oregon. I’m grateful for all those who helped us make important progress on this issue, and I’m proud of the part I was able to help with.

HB 2554 has the Department of Human Services award two-year grants to organizations that provide services to unaccompanied homeless youth and to organizations that operate host home projects for unaccompanied homeless youth. For transparency and accountability, it requires the department to submit reports on host home project grant program to interim committees of Legislative Assembly relating to housing, homeless youth services and high school education. 

SB 458 is a bill that was brought forward with the support of Habitat for Humanity, it allows lots to be created for new middle housing units as long as they meet the local development code on the original lot. It reduces regulatory barriers to selling both units of a duplex as two individual homes when the property was not previously subdivided or partitioned. As I have always said, The best way to bring down the cost of housing is to increase the stock of housing built at affordable cost, and this bill helps accomplish that.

SB 391 authorizes county to allow owner of lot or parcel within rural residential zone to construct one accessory dwelling unit on lot or parcel, subject to certain restrictions. This allows for more freedom of property owners to utilize spare apartments attached to shops or even potentially manufactured homes on their properties.

Access to affordable and quality education has always been one of my most important goals serving in the legislature. That’s why I’ve worked to help bring millions in support of our local colleges in Central Oregon that help create higher level education for families. This year, OSU-Cascades received $13.8 million to construct a student success center. This project will also be funded by the students themselves, who voluntarily raised their own fees in order to help fund this project. This center will provide resources to help increase access to education and help to lower costs and other barriers.

In addition to the student success center, I’m pleased to highlight a new program in partnership with OSU-Cascades and COCC that I hope will lead to programs nationwide. Little Kits is a program that creates affordable childcare and increases teachers; by creating an expansive daycare program at the local colleges, students who are studying education and experience invaluable first hand learning under trained experienced educators. I’m eager to see how this program helps families and our schools. You can read more about the program here. 

After years of a population growth, Deschutes County is receiving two new judges. This is critical as it will expand access to justice. The right to a fair and speedy trial in guaranteed in our Constitution, and with these new judges, there will be less time waiting for justice to be served in our community. There are many dedicated public servants who put years of hard work into securing these judges for the county, but there is one in particular whom I would like to recognize for her tireless efforts. Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair was a constant and dedicated advocate for the new judges, and she deserves recognition for her hard work on this issue.

Bend and Redmond will both be receiving important infrastructure updates thanks to funding secured through the legislature. The city of Bend will see two million dollars allotted to creating better pedestrian and bicycle crossings across Highway 97 and the railroads through the midtown crossings in Bend. This will help improve the flow of traffic and protect citizens. The City of Redmond will be receiving one million dollars to help add a new well to support the water infrastructure needs for the city. This will help control water costs and meet the demand of the growing population in the area.