Dear Friends and Neighbors,
On January 9th, the 82nd Legislative Assembly met for organizational days. Legislators were sworn into office and we officially kicked off the 2023 Session on January 17th. Over 2000 measures have been introduced for consideration in the 160-day session that under the Oregon Constitution must adjourn by June 25th.
It is a great honor to serve a fourth term as your State Representative and I am grateful for the confidence and trust you have placed in me.
It’s going to be a busy session and there are many issues being considered that may impact you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office if I can be of assistance. Your voice and your engagement is important to the process. I want to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Rick Lewis,
 State Representative
House District 18
Oregon’s Christmas Tree District
Opening Ceremonies of the House are a time-honored tradition where the House takes a moment to recognize the talents of Oregonians and the various cultural aspects of our shared state.
On the first day of session, it was a pleasure to welcome, Vince Redhouse, as my guest to perform the opening ceremony. Vince is a two-time Grammy Nominee, the most recent being in 2019 in the category of Native American Music for best flutist. He is the 2017 National Jazz Hero Award recipient and a Pandora radio artist.
The University of Arizona has partnered with Vince to reach Native youth on Reservations throughout the state. His extensive background in music creates a true musical voice embellished with his roots in the Navajo culture. Over the past 13 years, he and his wife, Diane, have also provided students with Native flutes and method books they have published.
Thank you, Vince, for coming to Salem to share time and talent with us.
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 Legislative committees are where the bulk of my work to shape legislation and public policy is done. My committee assignments include the following policy and budget committees:
In addition to my committee assignments, I serve on a number of other legislative councils, task forces and commissions.
 Many of my bills this session are public safety related, including a bill to repeal or significantly reform the failed Ballot Measure 110. I am also prioritizing bills to help farmers and several bills to assist veterans and crime victims. I will continue my work to pass an affordable housing bill for rural communities, which I proposed the three previous sessions. I am hopeful that there will be more of a recognition that the urban–rural divide is very real and rural communities have needs too.
There are many issues that are important to address in the ’23 session. Knowing that we may soon be experiencing some serious revenue concerns, my hope is that we will find a way to come together to reduce the economic burden on Oregonians with a reduction in government spending and resist adding more programs that lack long-term sustainable funding. In future newsletters, I will highlight additional bills. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along at: Representative Rick Lewis Home Page (oregonlegislature.gov)
Below is a snapshot of just some of the measures I have brought forward this session:
Public Safety/Victim Services
HB 2303 - Search Warrants
Requires Department of State Police to create electronic statewide system for application and issuance of search warrants.
HB 2310 - Ballot Measure 110
Repeals those provisions of Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act of 2020 (Ballot Measure 110 (2020) that pertain to decriminalization of possession of drugs. Retains drug treatment funds with stricter parameters on what the funds can be used for.
HB 2391 - Victim Advocates
Appropriates moneys for 2023-2025 biennium to Oregon Department of Administrative Services to fund county victim assistance programs.
HB 2400 - E-Tickets
Authorizes court to issue order requiring person to appear upon failure to appear on Class E violation citation, and to issue arrest warrant upon further failure to appear.
HB 2732 - Child Assessment Centers
Modifies allocation formula for grants to children's advocacy centers.
HB 2906 - Taylor's Law
Prescribes sentence of 58 to 130 months imprisonment if person convicted of unlawful delivery of controlled substance that results in death of another person from use of controlled substance.
HB 2933 - Oregon Domestic & Sexual Violence Services Fund
Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Department of Justice for deposit into Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Fund.
Emergency Management
HB 2300 - Seismic & Fireproofing Essential Facilities
Permits Building Codes Structures Board to adopt licensing standards for performing structural masonry in new essential facilities as defined in existing statute.
HB 2399 - Declarations of Emergency
Requires that declarations and extensions of states of emergency under certain statutes be accompanied by written explanations.
HJR 10 - Sentence Commutation
Proposes amendment to Oregon Constitution to require approval by majority of Senate of any pardon or commutation of felony conviction.
Veterans
HB 2305 - National Guard Tax Exemption for State Active Duty
Exempts from state income tax military pay received by Oregon National Guard member while in active service of state or on state active duty.
Education - School Choice
HB 2681 - Charter Schools
Removes restriction on distribution of Student Investment Account moneys to virtual public charter schools.
Agriculture
HB 2401 - Farm Equipment
Exempts from ad valorem property taxation machinery and equipment used to compress and bale harvested straw, hay, grass or other plants.
Transportation Infrastructure
HB 2301 - Electric Vehicle Charging
Provides equity between those paying the gas tax and those not paying for highway maintenance - particularly tourists operating electric vehicles. The measure would require EV operators to pay their fair share of highway maintenance, so the tax would be proportional to the gas tax and would increase as the gas tax increases. Higher title and registration fees for EV's do not make the system equitable when factoring in a $7500 tax credit for buying an EV.
This section of my newsletter highlights the importance of three of my public safety bills noted above:
*HB 2310 - Ballot Measure 110 Reform
*HB 2400 - E-Tickets
*HB 2906 - Taylor's Law
Today, I spoke on the House Floor in response to the Oregon Secretary of States Audit on Ballot Measure (BM) 110. I was joined by Representatives Helfrich and Elmer who also spoke about the failings of BM 110 and the need for the Oregon Legislature to make the fentanyl crisis a priority this session.
Click on the links below to listen to my remonstrance and my colleagues related floor speeches:
Rep. Lewis: HD 18 - Silverton “BM 110 is Failing”
Rep. Helfrich: HD 52 – Hood River “BM 110 is Wrong for Oregon”
Rep. Elmer: HD 24 – McMinville “Make the Fentanyl Crisis a Priority this Session”
Email: Rep.RickLewis@OregonLegislature.Gov
Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville), House Republican Leader Representative Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany), House Republican Deputy Leader
Representative E. Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls), House Republican Whip Representative Kim Wallan (R-Medford), Deputy Whip Representative
Lily Morgan (R-Grants Pass), Deputy Whip
Representative Rick Lewis (R-Silverton), Assistant Leader
Representative Greg Smith (R-Heppner), Ex-Officio
I am eager to get to work to improve the lives of my constituents and Oregonians across the state.
Leadership’s four key priorities for the 2023 Legislative Session include
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  Veterans in acute suicidal crisis can now go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for emergency health care at no cost — including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days.
Veterans do not need to be enrolled in VA health care to use this benefit. This expansion will increase access to acute suicide care for up to 9 million veterans who are not currently enrolled in the VA system.
The final policy, which took effect on Jan. 17, allows the VA to:
- Provide, pay for, or reimburse for treatment of eligible individuals’ emergency suicide care, transportation costs, and follow-up care at a VA or non-VA facility for up to 30 days of inpatient care and 90 days of outpatient care.
- Make appropriate referrals for care following the period of emergency suicide care.
- Determine eligibility for other VA services and benefits.
- Refer eligible individuals for appropriate VA programs and benefits following the period of emergency suicide care.
Eligible individuals, regardless of VA enrollment status, are:
- Veterans who were discharged or released from active duty after more than 24 months of active service under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former members of the armed forces, including reserve service members, who served more than 100 days under a combat exclusion or in support of a contingency operation either directly or by operating an unmanned aerial vehicle from another location who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former members of the armed forces who were the victim of a physical assault of a sexual nature, a battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment while serving in the armed forces.
If you or someone you know is struggling: Don’t wait. Reach out. Visit www.va.gov/REACH for resources and information, or call 988 (then press 1) to quickly connect with caring, qualified crisis support 24/7.
Long time legislative assistant Cindy Jones retired on December 31, 2022, after serving the citizens of House District 18 and the State of Oregon for 25 years. Cindy served a former Representative Vic Gilliam’s Chief of Staff and she has been my Constituent Services Director for the past six years. She is well-known in District 18 for her work assisting constituents with their state government concerns as well as helping them navigate the bureaucracy and finding solutions to problems. Although she is retired, I have it on good authority that she will continue to remain active in the community on the many boards and organizations she serves, most notably Habitat for Humanity, Silverton Rotary and the hospital board. Join me in saying thank you to Cindy for her service and her dedication to the people of Oregon and House District 18.
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Capitol Phone: 503-986-1418
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-385, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.RickLewis@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/lewis
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