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Dear friends,
I'm honored to be re-elected as state senator for District 4, but it's also bittersweet! Due to last year's redistricting, I will no longer represent any portion of Douglas County, nor the areas of Lane County that include Cottage Grove, Oakridge, Upper McKenzie Valley, Lorane and Veneta. All legislative districts saw some modification of their district boundaries based on the shift of the state's population over the previous 10 years. The "old" Senate District 4 (SD 4) had a larger landmass than any other senate district west of the Cascades.
Starting in January 2023, the "new" SD 4 will shift from an urban-rural district to a more urban district. The vast majority of the district will be within the city boundaries of Eugene and Springfield. It also includes rural areas between Eugene and Cottage Grove, but not Creswell.
For constituents who live in Douglas County, Sen. Dallas Heard (SD 3) will start representing you in January 2023. For constituents who live in south and east Lane County, Rep. Cedric Hayden will become the new senator for SD 6 and most of you will be represented by him. (I look forward to working with Sen. Hayden in his new role as a state senator.) For those who live in the Lorane area, Sen. Dick Anderson (SD 5) will represent you. And for Veneta constituents, Sen. James Manning (SD 7) will start representing you in the state Senate.
Turning to the new SD 4, I'm excited to welcome to the district constituents in Springfield and I'm humbled to serve you. I also look forward to working with Representatives John Lively (HD 7) and Paul Holvey (HD 8) in representing all of SD 4 residents. Please free to share your thoughts, questions or concerns with me by phone, mail or e-mail, including in reply to this e-bulletin.
Veterans Day is this Friday, November 11. More than 325,000 veterans call Oregon home. I believe we have a responsibility to support our service men and women. Details on local Veterans Day events are included below.
Click here to listen to my most recent interview (9/26/22) with Kyle Bailey on KQEN's "Inside Douglas County," during which I share a legislative update.
Below you will find information on:
- Veterans Day 2022
- 2022 Session Accomplishments: Improving Public Schools
- Feds Approves $422 million Action Plan for Oregon 2020 Fire Recovery
- Upgrades coming to Revenue Online
- Scam Alert: Home Warranty Fraudsters
- State's Oldest Rural Health Clinic Perseveres Two Years After Holiday Farm Fire
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.
Veterans Day 2022
Details on local Veterans Day events, each free of charge:
Eugene
"11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month"
Location: Veterans Memorial Building (1626 Willamette Street)
Time: 11 a.m.
Organized by: VFW Post 293 and American Legion Post 3
Contact: Nick Urhausen (nickurhausen@comcast.net)
Roseburg
Douglas County Veterans Day Parade
Veterans color guards, veteran organization floats
Location: Downtown Roseburg (Jackson Street)
Organized by: Douglas County Veterans Forum
Contact: Carol Hunt (carolhunt15@msn.com)
In addition to these local events, the Oregon Quilts of Valor Foundation will award 100 quilts to veterans in the community on Veterans Day. The ceremony will take place at Salem Armory Auditorium (2320 17th St. NE, Salem, OR 97301) beginning at 12 p.m. Members of the community are welcome to join in the celebration. If you are a Veteran and would like to be awarded a Quilt of Valor on November 11, 2022 please contact Sherry Kudna at skudna@q.com.
2022 Session Accomplishments: Improving Public Schools
Following the 2022 Legislative Session, I'm sharing in-depth summaries of bills passed by subject area. Below is a comprehensive listing of accomplishments related to improving public schools — by Senate/House bill and in numerical order:
Senate Bills
SB 1521 - School District Leadership Stability: Oregon students, teachers, and administration leadership deserve a school environment safe from outside intimidation. Our schools are experiencing polarization focused on political views instead of safety for children and staff. This legislation creates employment protections for superintendents being removed without cause. It limits the ability of the school board to require them to take action that conflicts with local, state or federal law.
SB 1522 - Expanding Oregon Promise for College Affordability: Oregon Promise, originally passed in 2015, provides Oregon students the ability to attend community college in Oregon. This legislation goes further by expanding the tuition reduction to distance education courses for undergraduate and graduate students in public universities and communities colleges and those who have served in the Armed Forces, making college accessible to all.
SB 1583 - Minimal Summative Assessment Exams: For many years, Oregon schools have emphasized standardized tests to understand how students are doing, identify gaps and understand where improvement is needed. This legislation directs the Department of Education (ODE) to ensure that standardized summative assessments are administered to a minimum extent while still providing an effective evaluation of academic achievement. SB 1583 directs ODE to apply for a federal waiver to shorten assessments and use sampling models or other strategies to assess academic achievements.
House Bills
House Bill 4026 - Wildfire-Impacted School Districts: Extreme weather events have had devastating impacts on the schools in communities hit by wildfires. This legislation establishes the School Stabilization Subaccount for Wildfire-impacted School Districts and adds $25 million to create a grant program. The program provides funding for schools experiencing a decrease in students due to displacement. These grant programs will help stabilize our schools through these next few years while we rebuild infrastructure and work to return to a new normal.
HB 4030 - Education Shortage and Solutions to Teacher Challenges: Oregon is grappling with a shortage of educators to work in our public schools. The legislation appropriates $100 million to ODE to recruit and retain educators, especially those in high-need specialist positions, while also reimbursing substitute teachers and instructional assistance for costs associated with training. HB 4030 also appropriates almost $700,000 to the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission to update background requirements, establish a statewide portal that provides a single location for job positions and common background checks, along with updating rules for professional requirements that must be completed before renewal of license, registration or certifications.
HB 4031 - Establishing Diversity Goals for Oregon Schools: To promote equality and representation in our schools, this legislation creates a goal to have the percentage of diverse employees employed by ODE match the percentage of diverse students in our public schools.
HB 4124 - Survey and Best Practices for School Assessments: Oregon schools administer a wide range of standardized tests to identify student progress, barriers and improvements needed. While standardized tests are helpful, we must understand which are the right types of assessments and when is the best time to administer them. This legislation creates a work group to administer a survey to gather information about assessments mandated by the state, federal government, and school districts. The survey will capture who provides these tests, how much they cost, the purpose, and what data this information provides back to the schools. In partnership with ODE, the work group will develop recommendations and best practices to ensure mandated academic assessments are used effectively.
Feds Approves $422 million Action Plan for Oregon 2020 Fire Recovery
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved Oregon's Action Plan to spend $422 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to assist communities and survivors who continue to recover from the 2020 Labor Day Fires. Although recovery of the more than 4,300 homes in Lane, Douglas, Clackamas, Jackson, Klamath, Lincoln, Linn, and Marion counties has taken far longer than anyone hoped, HUD approval of the Action Plan is an important step.
Administered by the Oregon Housing & Community Services, the federal money will be used to set up several new programs to help individuals — regardless of residency or citizenship status — households, and communities to recover. This effort, called "ReOregon," will begin to provide new permanent housing in the areas most impacted by the fires in 2023. In addition, a number of new affordable housing projects for fire survivors are under construction or will be built soon.
Help with navigating housing recovery for 2020 fire survivors is already available thanks to funding put into place by the Legislature called "Wildfire Recovery and Resilience Accounts" (WRRA). WRRA can help with both rent and move-in costs and, in some cases, financial assistance for replacing lost homes. Find a local contact for WRRA at www.re.Oregon.gov by clicking "assistance available now."
ReOregon includes several programs to assist fire survivors. First is the Homeowner Assistance and Reconstruction Program (HARP), which will launch early next year. The first phase of HARP will be open to fire survivors who are low or moderate income and have not yet completed their recovery, i.e., do not yet have a permanent, safe home. Low or moderate income will be defined as an annual household income, adjusted for household size.
For example, a two-person household earning $58,150 or less would qualify for phase one. For eligible survivors who have not started rebuilding, OHCS will provide new manufactured or modular homes to replace lost homes. The size of the replacement home will be based on the size of the home that was destroyed and, in some cases, by need based on number of individuals in the household. For homeowners who have already started to rebuild or have already made a substantial down payment toward the purchase of a new manufactured home, the HARP program can help fund remaining costs. Survivors will contribute any previous benefits, such as an insurance payment or FEMA structural damage award, toward the project.
Survivors should take several steps this fall to make sure they are ready to apply for ReOregon benefits:
- Connect with a disaster case manager (DCM). A DCM provides a case management approach with a defined plan and recovery goals that identify unmet needs. They work toward those recovery goals with the survivor and provide services such as referrals for housing navigation, employment training and procurement, family stabilization resources and mental/behavioral health connections. If survivors aren't currently connected to a DCM, they should call the DCM hotline at 833-669-0554.
- Housing navigators are the best point of contact for housing recovery issues, including help with finding a new rental or accessing financial assistance to help rebuild or replace the home. Find a local housing navigator at Re.Oregon.gov by clicking on “Assistance available now."
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Collect the documents that survivors will need to apply:
- Evidence of fire impact (type of home, proof of loss, household size);
- Income and bank statements (survivors will need their most recent documents at the time of application);
- Record of any other benefits or recovery supports received, including insurance payments;
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Photo ID for all household members over the age of 18; and
Sign up for (bilingual) email updates at Re.Oregon.gov.
In addition, multiple affordable housing options, including rental and homeownership opportunities, are in various stages of development and will be accepting applications in the coming year. Projects with OHCS funding will provide hundreds of new homes that will be built for low- and moderate-income households with a preference for survivors in the counties hardest hit by the 2020 Labor Day Fires.
Upgrades coming to Revenue Online
Beginning Monday, November 14, the Oregon Department of Revenue's Revenue Online (ROL) will have a new look and feel and offer an enhanced taxpayer-friendly experience.
The improved ROL will have additional functionality and built-in responsiveness to various screen sizes. Other upgrades will include better authentication options, an easier to understand layout, fewer menus, simpler navigation, and easier filing and payment options.
No taxpayer action is necessary. To facilitate the upgrade, Revenue Online will be down for scheduled maintenance from 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, until 7:30 a.m. on Monday, November 14. Please visit the Revenue Online FAQ for more information.
Scam Alert: Home Warranty Fraudsters
Oregon's Attorney General is warning homeowners about a home warranty scam. A number of Oregonians have reported receiving a letter in the mail from "Home Warranty Solutions" urging them to purchase a home warranty claiming the current home warranty “may be expiring or may have already expired.” Each letter contains the same claim, even if the homeowner has never purchased a home warranty.
The letter also implies an affiliation with the homeowner's mortgage company and the "county deed records" office. The individuals responsible for these letters are in no way affiliated with the homeowner’s mortgage company or the Register of Deeds office. The letter asks for a response to the notice by a certain date and threatens that failing to respond could result in a potential loss of coverage.
Many consumers wonder how these scammers know the name of their mortgage company. Some information about mortgages, such as the name of your lender and servicer, are public record and that information can be found online. These scammers use the name of your mortgage company in the letter to appear legitimate.
If you have received this letter or one like it, you can file a complaint with Oregon Department of Justice online at www.oregonconsumer.gov or call 1- 877-877-9392 and ask that a complaint form be mailed to you.
State's Oldest Rural Health Clinic Perseveres Two Years After Holiday Farm Fire
Amid what sometimes feels like a nonstop flow of bad news, I'm happy to share this piece good news from up the McKenzie!
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