2/16/2022 Senate District 15 Newsletter

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Senator Janeen Sollman

Friends and Neighbors,

Legislative Updates

With the legislative session in full swing, bills are moving to their respective chamber floors and then moving between chambers. Each week, my office will share updates and highlights.

The Senate Floor

Subscribe to my legislative YouTube Channel for regular updates.


A Deeper Dive

In order to bring you more information on bills I am supporting or sponsoring, I am sharing a deeper dive on some of them below. Please don't hesitate to reach out to my office with any further questions.

HB 4151 - Pump Your Own Gas Bill

This is a bi-partisan bill brought forward by Representative Shelly Boshart Davis and Representative Julie Fahey and is garnering a lot of discussion. I have heard from people with concerns for those that are physically unable to pump their own gas, but this bill requires both attended and self-service pumps. This bill will:

  • Require station owners to decide if they want to provide all attended full-service or up to 50% self-service pumps. The bill requires both self- and attendant-service gas to be offered at the same price.
  • Require station owners to conspicuously post signs alerting consumers to self-service pumps, attended service pumps, how to get attended fueling for people with disabilities.
  • Create a potential $5,000 civil penalty for station owners who violate the requirements.
  • Grant the Office of Emergency Management the authority to relax attended-service requirements to protect public health and safety, such as in the case of severe wildfires, ice storms and heat waves.

I am choosing to support this bill because I know it will help address workforce issues and alleviate environmental impacts. Gas stations are facing the same workforce issues that all sectors are facing right now and have had to close pumps due to not having enough attendants. Additionally, this bill will reduce the amount of cars sitting in line waiting for an attendant and releasing exhaust into the air while they idle.

SB 1521 – Authorizes district school board to terminate superintendent without cause only if certain conditions are met

I support SB 1521 and voted to pass it out of the full Senate. First and foremost, this bill still retains local control for our local school board members. This bill is simply stating that a superintendent cannot be fired for following federal and/or state law. It is important that our school board members and superintendents work together collaboratively to provide better educational opportunities for students, working conditions for staff and stability for all in their school district setting. This bill has had a Public Hearing in the House Committee on Education and will have a Work Session tomorrow. This bill:

  • Allows school boards and superintendents to mutually agree to include a termination-without-cause provision that can be enacted during the contract with a six month notification period.
  • Prevents a school board from directing a superintendent to take action that conflicts with state or federal laws pertaining to school districts or education service districts.
  • Prevents school boards from taking adverse employment actions against a superintendent for complying with a state or federal law that pertains to school districts or educational service districts.

In the news: Oregon bill aims to protect superintendents from politicized school boards, Corvallis Gazette-Times, 2/10/22 

HB 4029 - School Board Training

As a former school board member for 8 years, I know the importance of collaboration and being able to work together to best benefit students in an equitable fashion. I realized early on in my service on the board that I was only one finger on that seven-finger glove and that our 7 member board needed to communicate and collaborate effectively in order to efficiently do the work that we were elected to do. This was a bill that was brought forward last session, but did not make it across the finish line. This bill will:

  • Strengthen the partnership between boards (and board members) and superintendents in service of Oregon students.
  • Require and improve access to professional learning and training around educational equity and collaborative governance for board members and superintendents that is on-going, meaningful, and action-oriented.

Watch my testimony on HB 4029 in the House Education Committee.


Community Outreach

Happy Birthday Oregon

February 14th was the Anniversary of Oregon's statehood and in celebration of Oregon turning 163, the Oregon State Capitol has put together some wonderful ways to celebrate virtually. Visit here to participate in the celebration and watch videos in honor of Oregon's statehood, including the three below.

  • Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani shares his thoughts about and a poem written for the state park centennial. Here he considers the connection between people and Oregon’s special places, and between all the people who have called these lands home.
  • The first place winner of this year's "Why I Love Oregon" Essay Contest is Natalie Dillon from Schirle Elementary School in the Salem-Keizer Public School District. Enjoy her recital of her essay, "It's Easy to Love Oregon."
  • The Coquille Indian Tribe has been part of Oregon's fabric since time immemorial. One of the tribe's honored traditions is the potlatch. https://youtu.be/lFFExJxkvjA to learn more!
Oregon Bday videos

Teen Dating Violence and Awareness Prevention Month

From LoveIsRespect.org

Dating violence is more common than people think, especially among teens and young adults: one in three teens in the US will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from someone they’re in a relationship with before they become adults, and nearly half (43%) of college women report experiencing violent or abusive dating behaviors.

Every February, young people and their loved ones join together across the country for a national effort to raise awareness about the issue of teen dating violence through Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM). This annual, month-long push focuses on advocacy and education to stop dating abuse before it starts.


Washington County Chamber of Commerce Highlights Black Community Leaders

Shared from Washington County Chamber of Commerce

This month the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Black Advisory Business Council are putting the spotlight on Black community leaders and Black-owned businesses that serve our community. Today we are excited to feature Nancy Thomas, Vice-Chair of the Hillsboro School Board. We are grateful to Nancy for her desire to serve our community and celebrate her passion for educating the children of our community.

We asked Nancy to share more about herself and her path toward leadership. Here is Nancy in her own words:

Leadership is rarely a straight path and rarely does it occur without personal sacrifice, discomfort and pain. My pathway to leadership has always been filled with all of the above and with no regrets. And as well, I have lived a life evolving in my understanding of what courage really is. Courage is NOT the absence of fear, rather it is the decision that something else is more important. Every company I’ve worked for and every position at those companies has been a step above the previous one. None of this occurred without my being, quite frankly, “scared to death.” So how did I get to where I am today? I didn’t let the fear paralyze me - instead it became my springboard to motivation. Motivation to be the best at whatever was required. Along this journey I’ve evolved into a refined combination of many things including servant leader, emotionally intelligent, innovator, objective and little bit of whatever it takes to execute on the vision I’ve been given. And so here I am in two sizable leadership capacities simultaneously. At night, I’m Vice Chair of the Hillsboro School Board. By day, I’m the Chief Operations Officer of Oregon Dept of Human Services District 2 - Multnomah County where I support both Child Welfare and Self Sufficiency programs.

Nancy T. pic

Additional Resources

 Senate District 15 Links

Federal Delegation Links

Education Links

Food and Housing Assistance


Love for the Hillsboro Community

On Valentine's Day, I gave a courtesy on the Senate Floor to express my love for community and how in Hillsboro, we have seen the rally of support following the tragic fires that occurred over New Year's weekend. Click here to watch my courtesy. You can find more information and ways to help at Hillsboro Community Foundation.

I Heart Hillsboro

Your legislative session Senate District 15 Team Supports the Hillsboro Community – joining me from left to right: Mark Watson, Nickole Vargas and Aiden Pedroza

 

Be good to yourself and each other. ❤

Onward & Upward,

Janeen

Senate District 15 lies on Kalapuya land. The Atfalati were the northernmost band of the Kalapuya that lived along the Tualatin River in present day Washington County. Many of the Atfalati descendants are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon today. The Indigenous Peoples of this land experienced a painful history of colonial violence, sickness and removal from their land. The Atfalati are the foundation of Oregon’s past and we must honor them well into our future.    

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1715
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-207, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman