HD23 April Update

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Representative Anna Scharf

Session is over,
but HD23 is still hard at work for its constituents.

Hello Friends,

Just because session is over, it does not mean the work in the HD23 office comes to a stop.  Becky Mitts, Chief of staff for HD23 is working Tues-Thurs, and I am in the office a couple days a week. 

Administrative Rule making processes

After the Legislature passes laws, it is up to State Agencies to implement them.  Many times, this includes administrative rule making, otherwise known as Administrative Rules or OAR’s.  However, sometimes the intent of what the legislature passed and the way it is put into practice do not match.  Therefore, it is important as a Legislator to monitor the Administrative Rule making process to make sure it follows Legislative intent.  If not, then it may call for a phone call, email or formal submission to the rules making process.   

The interim does not involve working legislation, but there are administrative rules being worked by agencies that need monitored to make sure that the agency follows through with legislative intent. 

In District Tours and Constituents

The other thing that takes place in the interim involves working on constituent issues, concerns and questions.  The HD23 office has been helping constituents with many issues.  Things like uncollected child support, firearms background checks stuck in the approval process, OLCC permitting issues for a new business, etc.  Our office is happy to help you navigate issues if we can.  It’s not always a quick solution, but we are happy to see if we can help move things along.  Please reach out to our office if you need help with a State related issue. 

During one of my office days in the Capitol, I ran into these great kids with TeenPact Leadership Schools.   TeenPact is a nationwide program that “seeks to inspire youth in their relationship with Christ and train them to understand the political process, value their liberty, defend the Christian faith, and engage the culture around them”.  I was so impressed with the ways these kids were learning about their Legislature and the political process.

Rep Scharf with TeenPac Leaders

The other interim activity is one of the greatest parts of being a State Legislator.  It is having time to meet with partners in the community.  I have been able to meet with the Dallas City Manager to discuss future options for expanding the city reservoir capacity.  I attended the Falls City Council meeting and was honored with a certificate of appreciation for the $2.5M funding I was able to get for their waste water treatment project.  I was invited to take a tour of West Valley Hospital in Dallas to discuss all of the great things they are doing to serve the community.  Finally, I was also able to meet with the Newberg Housing Consortium and learn about how the General Fund appropriation I requested totaling $3M will help push their housing vision forward.  

Meeting with West Valley Hospital

 

Meeting with West Valley Hospital.  Representative Scharf and Brandon Schmidgall, Chief Administrative Officer. 

 

Certificate of Appreciation from Falls City Council:  Council members from left to right: Tony Meier, Lori Jean Sickles, Amy Houghtaling, Martha Jirovec, City Manager AJ Fiscoli.  Mayor TJ Bailey with Rep. Scharf

Certificate of Appreciation from Falls City Council.

Newberg Housing Consortium Members (below):   Rick Rogers, Newberg Mayor, Todd Engle, Executive Director at Friendsview, Abisha Stone, Yamhill County Business Retention & Expansion Manager for SEDCOR,  Vicki Piersall, CFO for George Fox University, Shannon Buckmaster, Economic Health Manager City of Newberg, Jordan Beanblossom, ADEC Corporate Communications Director, and Doug Rux, City of Newberg Community Development Director.

Newberg Housing Consortium

Legislation

Our office is also starting to work on pulling together legislative concepts for the 2023 long session.  With so many Legislative changes done over the past several years under Supermajority control and party line votes, there are plenty of things to choose from that need to be undone.  However, there are also things that need to be implemented to help Oregon be as prosperous as it once was.  If you have ideas for bills, please contact our office so we can discuss them.

Finally, every year the Legislative Policy and Research Office puts together a summary of all bills that were assigned to the various House committees during the session. It is a great way to look at legislation that was assigned to committee and if it passed the session and a summary of what it means. 

OLIS


If you want a more in depth look in the 2022 session, you can now click on each of these committees and learn which bills received public hearings. This is a great resource and always a small glimpse into what legislation may be proposed next year. 


Behavioral Health

Business & Consumer Protection

Controlled Substances

Courts

Criminal Justice

Education & Early Childhood

Emergency Preparedness

Energy & Environment

General Government & Elections

Health Care

Housing

Human Services

Labor & Employment

Natural Resources

Transportation & Infrastructure

Veterans


I’ll plan to be in touch through these newsletters once a month.  My office is open and working so please reach out to us with any questions, concerns, ideas or thoughts. As always, it is an honor to serve you in District 23.

Sincerely,

Representative Anna Scharf