|
November 2021
Dear friends and neighbors,
Before I was elected to the legislature, I served as Executive Director of the Ashland Emergency Food Bank.
In the food bank business, the holidays are always the most frenetic, and most joyful, time of year. The frenetic part comes from the pressure to gather enough turkeys, stuffing, potatoes and cranberry sauce to feed every family that comes in the door. That frenzy was soothed by the steady flow of donors bearing sacks of food or generous checks who came in the back door just as customers were lining up at the front.
A year after the Almeda wildfire swept through our community, we can see signs of a rebound. A few of us are already in new and beautiful homes and neighborhoods are beginning to take shape where there were only piles of debris a year ago. Still, hundreds of other families are housed in temporary FEMA trailers, hotel rooms, or RVs. Some are living in cramped quarters shared with other families or sleeping in their vehicles. While wildfire recovery has begun, the status of recovery depends on where you sit.
But as in my days at the Food Bank, over and over again I see community members stepping up to offer hope in response to despair. Last month we celebrated the opening of the Gateway Project, transitional housing developed by the City of Talent to provide temporary homes for families displaced by the fire. Remake Talent is deploying zone captains door-to-door, connecting with fire survivors to empower residents, identify their needs, and advocate for resources. Rogue Climate and Rogue Action Center are providing ongoing pop-up fire relief events that offer water, food, and hygiene and cleaning supplies to families in need. And last month, the federal government announced that it will allocate $422 million to the State of Oregon in recognition of our desperate need for long-term permanent housing for wildfire survivors.
Over the next year, I pledge to work with all of you to gather and deploy the resources we need to bring all of our families back home. No question that’s an ambitious agenda, but I’ve seen enough generosity, passion and focus from this community to believe in our shared build back better vision.
Heartfelt thanks for the kindness and compassion that will carry us forward.
Best,
![Pam [signature]](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/ORLEG/2021/11/5187912/3829368/pam-only-sig-002_crop.jpg) State Representative
Oregon House District 5 - Southern Jackson County
During 'the interim,' the period of time between the two legislative sessions, staff and legislators focus on research and development of legislative concepts and new policies. Legislative Days are scheduled periodically to allow committees to learn about some of the current issues that will be addressed during the next session. We're coming up on a 'short session,' which will take place from Feb 1 - Mar 7, 2022, so last week’s Leg Days gave us a glimpse of work that we will see in just a few months.
At last week's hearing, the committee that I Chair, the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, had three items on the agenda:
-
Energy Efficient Tools to Reduce Health Impacts Related to Air Quality and
Extreme Temperatures: In the wake of heat waves that have resulted in numerous medical events and deaths across Oregon, especially among low income residents, seniors and vulnerable populations, I will be introducing legislation that improves access and affordability for high efficiency cooling technologies, such as ductless heat pumps. (Article: Access to 'cooling' top priority for 2 Oregon lawmakers)
-
Private Forest Accord Update: Conservation groups and timber companies have worked hard to negotiate an historic agreement that increases protections for forests and fish, while ensuring a future for logging. The next step is approval by the legislature. (Article: Deal sets course for overhaul of private forest management in Oregon)
-
The Future of the Elliott State Forest: Established northeast of Coos Bay in 1930 as Oregon's first state forest, most of the 91,000 acre Elliott State forest is a Common School Fund land asset overseen by the State Land Board. The Department of State Lands and Oregon State University have been working together to explore transforming the Elliott into a publicly owned state research forest and funding strategies for decoupling the forest from the Common School Fund.
-
View the full hearing recording here
Illegal cannabis:
I'm working to address ways to combat the proliferation and impacts illegal cannabis. This week I had the opportunity to deliver testimony to both House and Senate Committees that are charged with addressing these issues.
In September and October, my office hosted three virtual events to address topics that are on the minds of many Southern Oregonians: a community report on Almeda fire recovery, redevelopment of manufactured home parks, and illegal hemp and cannabis operations.
Although I miss interacting with my constituents in person, I am quite pleased that the online format has made these events more accessible to people who can listen in from their computer, tablet or phone.
If you missed the forums, you can access the video recordings, along with relevant resources, at the links below.
Demand for rent assistance has exceeded all expectations. A few months ago, the legislature set out a plan to distribute significant federal money that we thought would easily carry us through to next year. Unfortunately, the need has been astronomic, and current applications have exhausted funding. Accordingly, the application portal that has been used for federal funding is being closed for six weeks, beginning December 1.
The immediate takeaway is that renters who need help but have not yet applied, or who have applications in the system that are unfinished, NEED TO APPLY OR COMPLETE THEIR APPLICATIONS BY DECEMBER 1 to be considered in this round of funding.
Back in June, we established a 60-day safe harbor period, meaning that tenants who could demonstrate that they had applied for rental funding would be protected from eviction for up to 60 days while their application was processed. In many cases, even 60 days has been inadequate. Now, tenants and landlords are in a no-man’s land waiting on applications that are slowly (very slowly) moving through the system.
This backlog of applications has generated calls for the legislature to convene a special session to clarify the status of tenants who are still waiting for support. If a special session is scheduled, I expect that it will include an extension of the safe harbor requirement to ensure that tenants are protected while a check is pending. It would also include additional funding to make sure we can cover all obligations that have been committed. This would include adequate funding for the landlord compensation fund to ensure that landlords receive owed rental money even if a tenant fails to qualify for funding.
This is just a snapshot of the situation we are facing, but I wanted to make sure our community is updated.
It can be challenging to track the accomplishments of the legislature. Fortunately, at the end of each legislative session, the Legislative Policy Research Office (LPRO) publishes a summary report of selected measures that were considered by the legislature; the Legislative Summary Reports highlights policy measures that received a public hearing during the regular session.
After the 2021 legislative session, LPRO also published a shorter, user-friendly Legislative Summary Briefs by Topic. These briefs highlight substantive changes to Oregon’s policy landscape based on measures considered during the 2021 legislative session. The 18 individual briefs are organized by policy areas (links listed below), and they offer essential background information, identify relevant legislative history, and include related measures, agencies and programs.
LPRO has also created this new web page for summaries of legislation. The page is set up for browsing by policy topic, and if you prefer a compilation of topics, full summaries of legislation are available by year on the right side of the page. You can also click on the topics below to read through the new briefs.
I am exceptionally honored and humbled by two awards I have received this autumn.
On November 5, I received the 2021 WiLL (Women Living Leadership) Award from the United Way of Jackson County. Truly it is my privilege to support the efforts of an organization that tirelessly builds community and changes lives for the better, providing resources for education, housing, health and transportation. (Pictured here with my hero, Executive Director Dee Ann Everson.)
This month I was also honored with recognition as Environmental Leader of the Year by Oregon League of Conservation Voters, alongside several of my colleagues who are distinguished as OLCV Notable Leaders.
When I first ran for office to serve in the Oregon House, my top priority was to tackle the climate crisis in Oregon by creating meaningful policy to curb emissions, advance clean and efficient energy, and foster environmental justice. HB 2021 – 100% Clean Energy for All, and HB 2842 – Healthy Homes are two of my proudest accomplishments in the legislature. In my current role as Chair of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, I am looking forward to the opportunity to advance legislation from clean energy technologies, to waste prevention, to wildlife.
I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve House District 5 and the State of Oregon, and for these acknowledgements.
|
A list of links to recent news coverage that I am part of, local and statewide, is available at my website.
A topic of interest for many constituents is broadband expansion; one of my top priorities for the past few years has been to advance broadband in our region and across the state. While we're making progress, this article, Oregon will be flush in money to dramatically expand broadband – but that’s not happening soon, explains the realities of the timeline for full deployment.
And this recent article, Oregon experiments with Healthy Homes repair fund, takes a look a the grant program created by HB 2842 aimed at helping low-income renters and homeowners to receive energy efficiency upgrades, smoke filtration and home hardening, and other critical housing fixes and upgrades.
Additionally, a few community clips I'd like to highlight are:
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1405
District Phone: 541-282-4516
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-375, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.PamMarsh@oregonlegislature.gov
Website and e-Subscribe: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/marsh
| 
