|
Hello Friends and Neighbors,
It has been a busy month since the 82nd Legislative Swearing-in Ceremony on January 9. As one of many freshman legislators, I spent some time getting up to speed on legislative procedures and office management. We have also been busy reading bills, attending committee meetings, talking to other legislators and with members of the community regarding bills needed for our district. Through committees I am able to get information from citizens and local businesses that are impacted by the legislation we pass here at the capitol.
Pictured at right is your 82nd Oregon House Republican Legislators.
Oregon House Republicans recently put out a press release detailing their legislative objectives. Some of the issues that House republicans are focused on include but are not limited to the following:
- Addressing Housing, Homelessness & Mental Health
- Prioritizing Fiscal Responsibility
- Supporting Law Enforcement & Increasing Community Safety
- Protecting Rural Oregon & Our Natural Resources Economy
- Enhancing Student Achievement & Success
- Creating Job Opportunities for Oregonians
- Reforming Oregon's Broken Tax System
- Improving Government Accountability & Transparency
- Providing Quality, Affordable Health Care
- Lowering the cost of housing.
|
Many of the priorities above resonate with you, which is one of the reasons you vote. I want to encourage you and all constituents to follow your legislature and to be informed of what goes on every day. You can watch committee hearings and floor proceedings. You can track bills and be notified when they are up for a hearing. I encourage you to visit www.oregonlegislature.gov and spend time getting to know it. I have attached links that bring you directly to the tutorial videos on each of the "How To" lines below.
Here are a few upcoming bills that impact our community.
HB2510 Our fairgrounds serve as economic hubs in our communities each year with millions in output, value-added income and hundreds of full and part-time jobs. In addition, they have stepped up when our counties needed them most as we saw during the wildfires of the past few years and through the COVID relief and support efforts. County Fairs, by statute, receive 1% of state lottery dollars but that amount is capped at $1.53 million annually – this equals about $55,000 per year per county. HB2510 eliminates the cap, giving fairgrounds a full 1% of lottery funds as originally intended. The bill also funds a statewide capital improvement and infrastructure study that will help ensure our fairgrounds are ready for us when we need them.
|
HB3205 Did you know that in Oregon it is illegal to offer signing bonuses if you a government employer? The reason is that ORS 652.210 included hiring bonuses and retention bonuses as compensation for purposes of pay equity requirements. This bill will amend the definition of compensation to exclude "a hiring bonus offered to a prospective employee" and "a retention bonus offered to an employee". While other states can offer attractive hiring packets for entities like law enforcement and first responders, we cannot. This 2023 Act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety.
My staff and I are here to help you! If you have a problem, question or comment, please feel free to email me at rep.brianstout@oregonlegislature.gov. I do ask you to PLEASE include your phone number and your address. This allows me to call you to follow up or ask any questions I might have. Your address lets me know that you're a constituent. I get hundreds of emails every week, but I always make sure that constituents get top priority. If you'd prefer, you can call us at 503.986.1431.
If you'd like to visit me in Salem, you're always welcome to come by! If you drop by without an appointment, I'll do my best to meet with you, but to ensure that I don't have any other commitments, please call or email first for an appointment. That way I can make sure to give you my undivided attention.
To stay connected, please follow me on Facebook or sign up to receive my e-newsletters as they are published emailing me or calling my office.
Thank you so much for this opportunity to be your State Representative.
Sincerely,
|
House District 31
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1431
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-380, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.BrianStout@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/stout
| 
