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Friends,
Fall is my favorite season in Oregon. The cooler temperatures, much-needed rainfall, beautiful changes in colors and in landscapes as trees lose their leaves, and so much more. Fall is a great reminder that everything has a season and that those seasons bring significant change.
Oregon is experiencing changes too. In this newsletter, we’re highlighting a few of those key things: new electoral maps and district representation, Oregon’s record-breaking revenue surplus and the “kicker”, a landmark water package and…the start of in-person events again.
What hasn’t changed is my commitment to representing you to the best of my ability and making sure your priorities are my priorities. I’m here to be your voice and your advocate in the legislature, as well as in our community.
If there’s anything I or my staff can do, please reach out anytime. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
Sincerely,
Senator Lynn Findley
I am excited to share that over the next several weeks, I will be hosting a number of community coffees so that we can reconnect in person-finally! I hope you can attend so I can hear what’s on your mind, answer questions and talk about what’s going on in our communities.
Watch for our next newsletter where we’ll announce a meet & greet in a few other areas of the district before December. Please note we will be requiring everyone follow COVID protocols in order to keep each other safe and healthy, and keep our small businesses open.
See you soon!
Every ten years, according to Oregon law, the Oregon legislature must redraw it’s legislative and congressional district lines to reflect growth and changes in population after the Census. Among many other changes, for the first time in over 40 years Oregon gained a congressional district, CD6, which means more representation in the US House of Representatives and an additional electoral vote.
On Monday, September 27, after heated debate and delays, the legislature passed SB 881, drawing the lines for our new sixth congressional seat, and SB 882, establishing new lines for our 30 Senate and 60 House seats. Both bills passed on a party-line vote. Right now, the maps are being challenged in court.
Here is a comparison between the old and new maps for our district, as well as the new congressional map. Remember, Senate District 30 includes House Districts 59 and House District 60.
Click on the images below to pull up PDFs of all the new Senate, House and Congressional districts.
Current Senate District 30
 New Senate District 30
 New Congressional Map
 If you want to learn more about these maps, you can zoom in and out of each district by clicking here.
I spoke out on the floor about my opposition to the legislative and congressional maps for a few reasons. First, we are required by law to obtain public input on the maps. The congressional map as passed was negotiated and redrawn two nights before the vote took place and never went before the public. That’s just wrong.
Second, I believe these maps do not keep communities of interest together, another constitutional requirement within the map-drawing process. For example, combining Central Oregon with downtown Portland is not maintaining communities of interest. That’s just one example from within my district, but as you will see, there are numerous new districts across the state where significant communities are being divided – for no reason at all.
I’m disheartened to see that the input and opinions of hundreds of Oregonians who testified in opposition of these maps for that exact reason went completely ignored, and I’m disappointed this process was so partisan in the legislature this year. There is nothing more important in the democratic process than ensuring Oregonians have fair representation and that their vote will count come Election Day.
Redistricting is complicated, and I only shared a snippet about it above. If you have questions about the process, the new maps, or anything else, please contact my office or visit https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/Redistricting.
Last week, the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis announced Oregon has a record breaking $1.9 BILLION revenue surplus which means we will get some of our hard-earned tax dollars returned back to us.
Oregon’s unique kicker tax law sends money back to taxpayers whenever personal income tax revenues come in at least 2% above initial projections during a two-year budget cycle.
Usually this comes in the form of a paper check mailed to Oregonians, but this year, things have changed. Rather than a check, we can expect a tax credit on our 2021 state income tax returns.
If you’d like to know what amount to expect as a tax credit, there is a What’s My Kicker? calculator available on the Oregon Department of Revenue website for personal income tax filers. Note: Taxpayers can only claim the kicker if they filed a 2020 tax return and had tax due before credits. Oregonians must file a 2021 tax return to claim the credit, even if the taxpayer doesn’t have a filing obligation for 2021.
It’s no secret Oregon has significant water issues throughout our state. In addition to the historic drought our state has been facing, the ability to meet the demands for access to potable water for our agricultural and natural resource communities, tribal lands, and city centers has been a challenge.
I’m thankful that during the recent legislative session, the Oregon Legislature approved a massive water and sewer package of $538.1 million in investments at the state, regional and local levels to improve access to clean water in cities and counties across Oregon.
The funding includes a massive investment in drinking water, wastewater, and groundwater infrastructure projects across the state. The package also provides one-time funding to greatly increase access to water data, provide additional water planning support for communities, and expand a system to identify and address local and regional water use needs.
The package includes the following investments:
- $275.7 million in improvements to drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure around Oregon.
- $135.7 million towards public works funds and financial assistance programs to repair and replace water infrastructure.
- $46.5 million for regional and basin-specific projects.
- $39.9 million to increase Oregon’s water supply.
- $11.2 million to modernize the data collection and technology used to monitor Oregon’s water supply.
- $17.7 million for water quality improvements.
- $6.5 million to make Oregon’s water infrastructure safer and more resilient.
- $5 million to support Oregon’s 100-Year Water Vision, equitable water access, and state, local, and regional water planning.
While this isn’t going to solve all our problems overnight, it’s certainly a robust and promising start. You can read more about the full water package here.
 Are you hosting a community event? Are you participating in one? We’d like to feature your upcoming festival, holiday parade, open house, ribbon cutting, or whatever it may be, in our next newsletter and on social media to make sure our communities know what’s happening and how they can be involved. Send us an email here to share your upcoming event.
Email: Sen.LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1730
Address: 900 Court St NE, S-403, Salem, OR 97301
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/findley
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