|
If you're having trouble viewing this message, please visit my legislative web page at http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/prozanski/, click on "News" in the lower left-hand column and scroll down.
Dear friends,
On Friday, March 4, the Legislature concluded its 2022 "short" session. We worked long hours and passed significant legislation to help Oregon get back on track. Below in this bulletin are some highlights from the session.
I'm happy to report that numerous local priorities were selected for funding this session. These include, among other projects that I pushed for: Lane County emergency communications infrastructure improvements, South Lane Health Clinic construction (Cottage Grove), Willamette Activity Center renovation (Oakridge), and the McKenzie River Discovery Center.
Click here to listen to my most recent interview (2/21/22) with Kyle Bailey on KQEN's "Inside Douglas County," where I shared an update of the legislative session.
On the floor of the Oregon Senate on February 24, I delivered a remonstrance in support of Ukraine (available to view on my Facebook page). Please join me in keeping the people there in your thoughts as they are forced from their homes and face an uncertain future. My office has in the past hosted several Ukrainian professional exchange fellows through the U.S. Department of State. Two of those fellows are still in Ukraine fighting for the sovereignty of their nation. Below in this bulletin for your consideration is a list of nonprofits that are providing assistance to the people of Ukraine.
Below you will find information on:
- Major Short Session Legislation
- $289 Million Rental Assistance to More Than 40,000 Oregon Households
- 2022 Tax Tips from the Oregon Department of Revenue
- How to Help the People of Ukraine
- State Graduation Policy Community Conversation
- Afghanistan Veterans: You Are Not Alone
- Student Loan Forgiveness Webinar
- State Awards for Lowell City Hall and Library, Veneta Food Bank Projects
I hope this information is helpful and informative for you or someone you know. As always, feel free to share your comments, questions or concerns with me by phone, mail or e-mail.
Major Short Session Legislation
Here's a rundown of key policy and/or funding packages and important bills from the 2022 session:
$400 Million Package to Respond to and Prevent Homelessness
Oregon Democrats pursued a $400 million investment package to urgently address immediate needs around homelessness, build on investments to increase the supply of affordable housing, keep people in affordable homes, and prevent displacement. The package, which contains several components, invests in proven programs and policies, and supports local governments that are working to address community needs, with a focus on programs that can deploy funds quickly to help Oregonians.
Addressing homelessness ($165 million): Investments to help Oregonians out of homelessness will address immediate statewide needs, including for more shelter capacity, rapid rehousing, resource referrals and housing stability. Local governments will receive grants for shelter capacity, hygiene needs and outreach. This funding will also go toward innovative solutions, like Project Turnkey 2.0, which acquires and repurposes hotels and other buildings to convert into shelter or housing. Other investments will support unaccompanied homeless youth.
Building and preserving affordable housing ($215 million): A critical piece in addressing homelessness will be investments in affordable housing. This funding will: keep housing affordable for families in supported units; prevent displacement; help build new affordable homes to rent and buy; support affordable housing construction projects struggling with market and supply chain disruptions; acquire and produce manufactured housing parks; and support land acquisition for additional projects.
Supporting homeownership ($20 million): Making homeownership attainable for working families and individuals is essential to helping Oregonians climb the economic ladder and build generational wealth. These investments will increase capacity for homeownership centers and other nonprofits to help Oregonians achieve homeownership and navigate mortgages and the home-buying process.
Transforming Justice
On March 1, I carried SB 1510 to passage in the Senate. This legislation will reduce unnecessary traffic stops, improve law enforcement best practices, and distribute funding to culturally specific organizations and service providers.
Communities need police to be able to focus on preventing and solving crimes, especially violent crimes. We should reduce traffic stops for equipment violations like broken taillights that aren't dangerous, so police can focus on stopping real crime, and we need to re-establish trust between communities and law enforcement. SB 1510 will help create a safer Oregon by helping law enforcement focus on doing their jobs effectively.
SB 1510 directs the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to establish a program to award grants to public and private entities for restorative justice programs, improves law enforcement best practices and directs Justice Reinvestment Equity Program funds to be distributed to culturally specific service providers.
$150 Million Summer Learning Package
In 2021, the Legislature passed a historic Summer Learning and Child Care Package, investing over $200 million in summer school, enrichment activities, and community programs. The investments from that package made it possible for school districts across 35 of Oregon’s 36 counties to create nearly 6,000 new summer programs, allowing 89,000 more K-12 students to participate in summer learning and activities than in previous years. Last year’s package also established grants for community organizations to create programs—such as day camps and park programs—that kept kids engaged and learning over the summer. These grants reached organizations in every Oregon county and potentially served as many as 340,000 students.
This session, Oregon Democrats have introduced a $150 million Summer Learning Package to keep Oregon kids learning and active over the summer months. The 2022 package allows school districts and community organizations to continue these programs and ensure Oregon's kids can keep learning, growing, and staying active over the summer. It funds new and existing summer programs by distributing grants in three areas:
Summer K-8 enrichment grants: Allows school districts to fund new and existing summer programs for K-8 students, including enrichment activities (robotics, dance, art, music, outdoor programs, etc.), academic learning and readiness supports (summer school, tutoring, kindergarten transition programs, etc.), and social-emotional and mental health services.
Summer high school academic grants: Provides funding for school districts to offer summer school programs, helping high school students recover or acquire new academic credits to stay on track for graduation.
Summer community activity grants: Delivers grants to community organizations through the Oregon Community Foundation, supporting new and existing summer enrichment activities for K-12 aged students such as day camps, park programs, and tutoring.
Expand Access to Capital for Small Businesses
On February 22, the Senate passed HB 4015. This legislation permanently increases access to capital for Oregon small businesses and start-ups through the Entrepreneurial Development Loan Fund at the Oregon Business Development Department.
HB 4015 increases the maximum loan amount to $1 million and the cap on annual revenue to $1.5 million. The measure requires Business Oregon to adjust both amounts in accordance with changes to the Consumer Price Index starting in 2023. Additionally, the bill adds a new alternative criterium for a business to be eligible for a loan: businesses with fewer than 25 employees. Finally, the measure amends the required amount of equity funds that a business must provide for loan eligibility.
Ensuring Acceptance of Cash at Businesses
While credit card and mobile payment options offer conveniences for many, not everyone has access to a bank account or credit cards. SB 1565, which I chief sponsored, would require businesses to accept cash, with limited exceptions, to ensure that everyone can have access to goods and services.
Enhancing Oregon Voter Registration Practices
On February 24, the Senate passed HB 4133. This legislation allows Oregonians to register to vote online with the last four digits of their Social Security number and an image of their signature. Oregonians without a state-issued ID do not have an official signature on record with the Secretary of State, meaning they must currently register to vote using a paper registration card.
HB 4133 improves access to voter registration by allowing individuals to register to vote online with the last four digits of their Social Security number and to electronically submit an image of their signature for use in elections. The measure also allows approved third-party organizations to securely submit registration cards electronically on behalf of individuals, enabling Oregon’s existing voter registration system to work seamlessly with national voter registration tools.
Universal Representation
On March 1, the Senate passed SB 1543, which I was proud to co-sponsor. This legislation creates a statewide universal representation program to provide certain immigration services, including legal services, access to community-based navigators, and referral coordination.
Unlike in criminal court, immigrants facing deportation in civil immigration court are not guaranteed access to an attorney. Access to an attorney is one of the most important factors into determining whether an immigrant will defeat their unjust deportation. Without an attorney, Oregonians with a lawful right to remain in the United States are routinely deported. SB 1543 is an expansion of a successful two-year statewide pilot called Equity Corps of Oregon that has protected more than 1,300 Oregonians from an unjust or unfair deportation.
SB 1543 appropriates $10.5 million to a newly created Universal Representation Fund to provide a statewide, integrated, universal navigation and representation system for immigration matters, and $4.5 million for the Oregon State Bar's Legal Services Program to provide legal services to individuals on immigration matters.
$289 Million Rental Assistance to more than 40,000 Oregon Households
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) reports having reached a milestone of paying $289 million through the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program (OERAP) earlier than expected and ahead of the federal deadlines. As of February 23, the emergency response program paid out $289.6 million in federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) to 40,593 households, up from $282.4 million and 39,797 applicants last week through OERAP.
Due to demonstrated ongoing need and feedback from community and housing stakeholders, OHCS is dedicating additional resources to tenants applying for OERAP. These funds are in addition to the $100 million the Oregon Legislature allocated for emergency rental assistance and the $1.1 million in reallocated funds the U.S. Department of the Treasury awarded OHCS for high performance in late December 2021. OHCS continues to advocate for more reallocated federal dollars but at this time, the agency does not have specific details on how Treasury plans to administer additional reallocated funds.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, there have been numerous emergency measures taken by state and local governments to protect renters from eviction during the pandemic. Landlords with tenants with outstanding rent debt who have applied for rent assistance may be eligible for the statewide Landlord Guarantee Program (LGP) administered by Home Forward. Oregon's LGP reimburses landlords for eligible non-payment costs, like rent and late fees, incurred during the statewide “safe harbor” period. Find out more at https://www.oregonlgp.org/.
OERAP portal
The OERAP portal remains open for renters and continues to accept thousands of new applications. The applications will be prioritized based on those who have the most need, not on a first-come, first-served basis, but the portal closes on March 14. The additional funding will allow OHCS to keep the OERAP portal open to new applications beyond the initial estimate of three to five weeks. The agency is committed to providing at least a week’s notice prior to closing the portal and will provide additional details next week. Tenants can apply for OERAP at www.oregonrentalassistance.org or call 211 if they have questions.
Progress and updated numbers
The program administered by OHCS is one of the nation's top-performing programs. OERAP is ranked fourth in the nation in the percentage of federal ERA funds paid out and obligated, as tracked by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Currently, 265 staff are focusing on processing applications and answering thousands of inquiries from tenants and landlords. This is in addition to the applications processed by Local Public Administrators working across the state to finish paying out ERA 1 funds.
To date, OHCS and LPAs:
- Paid $289,608,686 to landlords and tenants to help 40,593 Oregon households.
- Are currently reviewing 3,182 applications for payment that were submitted prior to December 1, 2021.
- Need applicant or landlord response for 4,073 applications that were submitted prior to December 1, 2021.
- Received 11,102 applications since the portal reopened on January 26, 2022.
2022 Tax Tips from the Oregon Department of Revenue
The Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) is offering tips to taxpayers in preparation for the 2022 tax filing season. This year's tax filing deadline is April 18.
Returns will be processed in the order they are received. A refund hold is part of DOR's tax fraud prevention efforts and allow for confirmation that amounts claimed on tax returns match what employers report on forms W-2 and 1099.
DOR encourages taxpayers to organize their tax records and check on the following items before filing their 2021 tax return to ensure that it is a complete and accurate tax return:
-
Make sure your information is current at Revenue Online.
- If you don't have a Revenue Online account, we encourage you to set one up.
- See the IRS and DOR websites for tax filing tips.
- Assemble your W-2 from your employer(s), 1099 forms and other documents you will need to file.
- Check the amount of any Child Tax Credit payments you received. Advance payments were sent automatically by the IRS to those eligible. Families who received advance payments need to file a 2021 tax return and compare the advance payments they received in 2021 with the amount of the Child Tax Credit they can properly claim on their 2021 federal tax return.
- Choose a reputable tax preparer. The Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners offers a License Lookup website and there is more information from the IRS website.
The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis confirmed a nearly $1.9 billion tax surplus, triggering a tax surplus credit, or kicker, for the 2021 tax year that will be returned to taxpayers through a credit on their 2021 state personal income tax returns filed in 2022.
You're eligible to claim the kicker if you filed a 2020 tax return and had tax due before credits. Even if you don't have a filing obligation for 2021, you still must file a 2021 tax return to claim your kicker credit. There will be detailed information on how to claim your kicker credit in the 2021 Oregon personal income tax return instructions: Form OR-40 for full-year Oregon residents, Form OR-40-P for part-year residents, and Form OR-40-N for nonresidents. Composite and fiduciary-income tax return filers are also eligible. Use the What's My Kicker calculator to determine what your credit amount will be.
Keep in mind that the state may use all or part of your kicker to pay any state debt you owe, such as tax due for other years, child support, court fines, or school loans.
Here are a few other things for taxpayers to keep in mind this tax season:
- E-filing is the fastest way to get your tax refund. On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and request their refund via direct deposit receive their refund sooner than those who file paper returns and request paper refund checks. There are several free or low-cost preparation options available for both federal and Oregon tax returns, as long you meet the qualifications. Free tax preparation services are available for low- to moderate-income taxpayers through AARP and CASH Oregon. United Way also offers free tax help through their MyFreeTaxes program. Check the DOR website for more information.
- Taxpayers can order copies of past returns, letters, or other correspondence — from 2015 to current — through their Revenue Online account. They can also order and pay for these, or older documents, over the phone at 800-356-4222.
- Anyone who needs a personal income tax return booklet can download and print it from DOR's website at oregon.gov/dor/forms. They can also order a copy online, by calling 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222, or by mailing their request—along with their name, phone number, and mailing address to:
Forms
Oregon Department of Revenue
PO Box 14999
Salem, OR 97309-0990
For more information about the Earned Income Tax Credit and eligibility, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov. For details on the Oregon Earned Income Credit, visit the DOR website. Even taxpayers who aren’t required to file taxes could be eligible for both credits. You can visit www.oregon.gov/dor to get forms, check the status of your refund, or make payments. Call 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222 (toll-free) or email questions.dor@oregon.gov for additional assistance. For TTY for hearing- or speech-impaired, call 800-886-7204.
How to Help the People of Ukraine
If you're looking for ways to support the people of Ukraine, here's a list of nonprofits that are providing assistance that you might want to consider (before making an online contribution, please always make sure that the website you're using is safe and legitimate):
- World Central Kitchen
- Razom for Ukraine
- Nova Ukraine
- United Help Ukraine
- Global Giving
- International Recuse Committee
State Graduation Policy Community Conversations
The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) invites Senate District 4 residents to participate in regional community conversations related to SB 744. This legislation presents an important opportunity to examine and review Oregon's graduation policies, compare our policies with those from other states, and connect with our communities, especially those who have not experienced the benefits of graduation equitably. Under SB 744, ODE will generate a report to the Legislature and State Board of Education by September 1, 2022, that includes recommendations that reduce disparities and ensure that every student will be on track to earn one of Oregon's high school diplomas.
The next scheduled SB 744 Community Conversation in District 4 is:
Douglas ESD
March 10, from 6-8 p.m.
Register here.
Afghanistan Veterans: You Are Not Alone
The Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs (ODVA) is encouraging veterans, especially Afghanistan veterans and family, to reach for help if you need it. And if you don't need help, please reach out to a battle buddy or a loved one to make sure they are okay and that they know where to reach for resources if they need them.
ODVA Campus Veteran Coordinator and Afghanistan veteran, Joe Mah, shares this video message to OEF/OIF veterans: "You are not alone." Information about behavioral health and other important resources can be accessed here.
If you are not available to participate at that time, you may share your thoughts by responding to the SB 744 State Survey on the High School Graduation Requirements webpage.
Student Loan Forgiveness Webinar
Oregon's Department of Justice is hosting a virtual event with the U.S. Department of Education and the nonprofit Student Borrower Protection Center (www.protectborrowers.org) on Monday, March 14, from noon to 1 p.m. Expert presenters will cover student loans generally and discuss in detail what public service workers need to know about the public student loan forgiveness limited waiver. For more information, visit www.oregonconsumer.gov.
State Awards for Lowell City Hall and Library, Veneta Food Bank Projects
The City of Lowell has been approved to receive more than $500,000 in state funding to renovate city hall operations and public library. Congratulations to city administration for your successful application!
Separately, the City of Veneta is receiving $79,750 from the Oregon Community Development Block Grant program. This program, administered by Business Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority, provides grant funds to cities and counties to upgrade public infrastructure, develop community facilities and provide essential services to the workforce and citizens. Congratulations!
|
