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Dear Friends,
Last week, the legislature met for what is classified as Organizational Days. During this week, elected officials are sworn into office by the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, the Governor delivers their inaugural speech, mandated trainings are completed, and bills are First Read and referred to committees.
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Things to note:
- Governor Tina Kotek declared a housing emergency through Executive Order in her inaugural address. In declaring a State of Emergency, the governor then has the power to allocate any funds or new policies relating to the subject of the emergency. In case you missed it, $130 million was allocated with a goal to build 36,000 houses annually.
- Between the House and Senate, over 1,800 bills have been First Read and now await referral to committees.
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The public testimony process has changed! If you wish to testify on a bill, you must now register online. Click here for a step by step guide to register online.
The Legislative Session officially begins today, January 17th and constitutionally needs to adjourn (Sine Die) by June 25th. I have been assigned to serve on the following committees:
- House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services, Vice-Chair
- House Committee on Business and Labor
- House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water
- House Committee on Rules
Between four committees, House Floor sessions, constituent and lobby meetings, it will be an extremely busy session! My office is here to help with any questions or concerns you have! Let me take a moment to introduce you to Team Scharf as you may be working with either of them throughout the session.
Team Scharf
Abby Slaven - Joining Team Scharf as my Legislative Director, Abby brings a long history of institutional knowledge as she has been full time in the Capitol since 2011. Abby has worked for several former members and specializes in ODHS (Dept. of Human Services) issues after working at ODHS as a Child Protective Services caseworker. She spends her free time traveling back to Prineville to spend time with her husband and two boys.
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Chris Brown - Joining Team Scharf as my Policy Analyst this session, Chris is from Ketchikan, an island in Southeast Alaska. He is currently a senior at Willamette University, finishing his bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in art history; he also played football for the Bearcats for four seasons. During his time in school, he has completed several internships with the Oregon House Republican Office and Representative Mark Owens of House District 60. Chris has also spent time in D.C. interning for both of Alaska’s U.S. Senators: Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan. Living in Salem, Chris spends his free time hiking and playing disc golf. We are happy to have Chris join the office and are excited to work with him on behalf of House District 23.
***My office looks forward to hearing from you. I will be sure to keep you updated via this newsletter with hot topics throughout the session.***
Sincerely,
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 Anna Scharf
State Representative - HD 23
 2023 Oregon House Republicans
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1423
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-387, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.AnnaScharf@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/scharf
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