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Friends and neighbors,
As a first-time legislator, I am learning a lot. One of the most important things I have learned so far is the importance of building relationships with local community leaders. In order to represent our community well, I have to be in the community. It's simple but takes work. I have focused on building those relationships these last weeks and months. These relationships are what defines us and are helping me become a better representative for our communities.
In the meantime, a lot has been happening at the Capitol. The director of the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission (OLCC) has resigned because of recent corruption allegations that he and top officials were improperly diverting rare liquor to themselves and legislators over the last few years. The Attorney General has opened an investigation.
Last week, the Oregon Supreme Court decided to keep the order that is blocking the implementation of Measure 114, the recent gun control measure that narrowly passed last year. For the time being, Measure 114 is NOT being enforced. Whether or not Measure 114 is constitutional will be decided in the coming months.
I have heard concerns recently about the continued mask mandate in health care settings. Last week, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) signaled that they may reverse that policy "in the coming months."
In this newsletter, you'll find information about:
- the housing and homelessness package that the legislature is currently debating
- an alert on a bad education bill
- how to claim your property that the state of Oregon might have
- and how Measure 110 is working and what we are doing to fix it
As always, don't hesitate to reach out to with concerns or questions you have.
Talk soon,
Tracy Cramer
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Tracy with Salem City Councilor Jose Gonzalez. He represents Ward 5, which covers much of NE Salem, which is also in District 22.
I was pleased to speak with Councilor Gonzalez about the needs in NE Salem. It is a unique community that often goes overlooked. There is a high concentration of Hispanic and other minority-owned business. The community is struggling with homelessness, trash, and graffiti. I appreciated Councilor Gonzalez's common-sense approach to these issues. I am working with him to get ODOT to clean up some graffiti on the I-5 sound wall adjacent to Livingston and Hawthorne. The graffiti has been there for months, and it's time to get it cleaned up.
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Tracy with Marion County Undersheriff Jeff Wood.
Undersheriff Wood and I chatted about the current funding challenges at the department. With crime on the rise and our economy teetering, government should get back to basics: make sure people feel safe to leave their homes, open businesses, and shop in our communities. Public safety has a huge impact on our economy, and when spread too thin, it has deadly consequences. I was heartbroken to see that a North Salem man was killed, and a teenage girl shot earlier this week north of the Oregon State Fairgrounds. I look forward to working with the sheriff's office to see what tools the legislature can give them to keep us safe.
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This week, the Oregon Library Association held its lobby day. I walked across the street from the Capitol to the State Library to pick out a book to donate to a local library. I chose "A Rebel in Auschwitz: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Fought the Nazis from Inside the Camp" by Jack Fairweather to donate to the Woodburn Public Library.
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Tracy with Center for Hope & Safety Executive Director Jayne Downing.
Last week, I toured Mosaic, a project of Center for Hope & Safety. Thank you to Executive Director Jayne Downing for hosting me.
Once a NE Salem motel, Mosaic now serves as transitional housing for domestic violence and abuse survivors. After the Governor's COVID shelter-in-place orders, they saw an 86% increase in requests for assistance due to people staying at home with their abusers.
It only has 52 rooms, but last year they had over 39,000 contacts with people needing assistance. The well-trained staff is working hard to serve our community. Thank you for all your hard work!
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Tracy with Ron & Beth Hayes of Cornerstone Apartments.
This week I toured Cornerstone Apartments. Community Resource Trust, a community development nonprofit in Salem, codeveloped and own the apartments, which is a 180-unit affordable housing community with resident services on North Portland Road. Community Resource Trust also served as fiscal agent for and owned Salem-Keizer CTEC just down the road from Cornerstone. They donated the building to the school district in November 2021. Both projects are in District 22.
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Cornerstone has a full-time Services Coordinator on site. Through a partnership with the Good360 program, they provide a non-food pantry where residents can get extra trash bags, dental floss, diapers, etc if they need a little help between paychecks. During COVID, their on-site manager helped residents navigate rental assistance programs. Their community garden provides residents a way to share food and learn new skills.
The legislature has begun debating HB 2001, one of the session's housing and homelessness bills. Earlier this year, the Governor declared a homelessness state of emergency and has asked the legislature to approve a $130 million package to address it. The chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness has said that HB 2001 will be separate from the Governor's $130 million request. As I have said before, I do not believe spending more tax dollars alone will solve our housing and homelessness problem. We must have structural and regulatory reforms to lower the cost of building housing.
There are some good provisions in HB 2001, but some concern me. There are negotiations happening now in the Housing Committee. I hope we can find a bipartisan way forward. Here are some of the provisions of the first amendment proposed to HB 2001:
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Extends the homelessness state of emergency statewide (currently, under Kotek's executive order the only counties that were included were Mulnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion, Polk, Lane, Jackson, Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties.)
- Expands Youth Homelessness Services
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Requires landlords to give 10 day notice of eviction to tenets who dont pay rent and gives the courts the right to vacate the eviction if the landlord fails to give this notice
- Provides a $20 million in grant funding for the construction of Modular Housing
- Provides a $3 million subsidy of predevlopment costs for moderate income rental projects
To most of us, it's not a surprise that legalizing something causes it to become more common. That is exactly what is happening to hard drug use because of Measure 110. For example, the collection of dirty needles on Portland streets has increased by 450% between 2019 to 2022.
Measure 110 needs serious reforms. The emphasis on treatment within Measure 110 was good, but we don't need to legalize deadly drugs to prioritize treatment. Plus, state bureaucracy has been slow to get money out the door to fund these treatment programs. We are now learning that Measure 110 has hurt local governments' budgets. Cities and county officials supporting HB 2089, which would rework the formula for how money from state cannabis taxes is spent. If passed this would return money to local governments and state police that were diverted under Measure 110. There have been two public hearings on this bill already, and I am watching it closely.
I am proud to sponsor HB 2645, which passed the House this week. This bill increased criminal penalties for carrying certain amounts of Fentanyl and updates the law so that Fentanyl in pill form will be treated the same under the law as Fentanyl in powder form.
I’ve talked before about the value of opening up educational choices to more Oregon students. Our school system should not be a one-sized fits all approach. That is why I am celebrating National Career Technical Education (CTE) Month this February.
CTE is a great option for students looking to learn a skill and enter the workforce. CTE engages students for whom a traditional, in-classroom, at-the-desk education may not be the best fit. It prepared them with the skills they need for fulfilling careers in vital, in-demand industries. CTE programs tend to have higher student engagement and reduced rates of dropout.
I am proud to have introduced HB 3236, which would support a local CTE program – Willamette Career Academy (WCA). WCA is a first of its kind in Oregon, serving Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties and offering six different educational programs to help address the demand for highly-skilled workers in our region. Those programs include cosmetology, health services, diesel technology, construction technology, IT & computer science, and forest product manufacturing.
In the 2021-22 school year, they had a 97.4% graduation rate. Nearly 56% of students were students of color, and 65% were female.
SB 767 would limit charter and virtual charter schools and paves the way for further restrictions on charter and virtual charter schools in Oregon. The bill is scheduled to be discussed in a work session Monday, February 20 at 3 pm in the Senate Education Committee.
This proposed bill seeks to “limit the scope by which public charter schools may conduct operations in school district that is not the sponsor of the public charter school.” It would make it very difficult for charter schools to gain support from non-sponsor districts, and makes it more difficult for new charter schools to emerge. This is a direct attack on parents' choice and the right to alternative education options.
Here are some reasons to oppose SB 767:
- Charter schools offer parents an alternative to traditional public schools without the financial burden of leaving the public education system.
- This bill puts the power into the hands of school districts instead of empowering charter schools to be able to offer an alternative to parents.
- The waiting lists for charter schools of parents seeking alternatives for their children tell us that there is a clear demand for charter schools.
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72% of Oregonians support school choice, including 60% of Democrats. As elected officials, it is important to represent the views of your constituents, the majority of whom likely support school choice and charter schools. By opposing SB 767, you can demonstrate your commitment to representing the will of the people and preserving their right to choose their child's education.
- Parents deserve choice in their child's education, and charter schools provide that option. This bill seeks to limit parents' choice and will ultimately lead to more parents leaving the public school system in favor of private institutions and homeschooling options.
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Lauren Ferschweiler and Rachael Hobson of Gervais FFA earned their FFA State Degree this month! The State Degree is the highest award a state FFA association can bestow upon its members. The State Degree recipients earn a charm that can be worn on the official jacket or on a gold chain. They will walk on stage to be honored this March at FFA State Convention.
From Crater Lake, to Mount Hood, to the beautiful Willamette Valley - we are blessed to call Oregon home. Oregon turned 164 on Valentine's Day - Happy Birthday!
Oregon’s Unclaimed Property Program has been helping Oregonians access their unclaimed funds for more than 60 years. The Dept. of Treasury began managing the program in 2021, with the goal of connecting more Oregonians with money the state is protecting on their behalf. Over the last 25 years, the Unclaimed Property Program has returned more than $500 million back to individuals. Nearly 1 in 7 people have unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property is any asset — such as uncashed checks, forgotten security deposits, tax refunds, and more — being held by a business, nonprofit, or government entity for which the owner cannot be found. When an organization is unable to contact or return unclaimed property to an owner after some time, usually 1-3 years, they must report the property to Treasury to be held until claimed by its rightful owner.
Go to Unclaimed.Oregon.gov to search for any unclaimed property under your name. Searching is free and easy, and you never know how much unclaimed funds Treasury might be holding for you.
Marion and Polk Counties need a third bridge over the Willamette River. For years, the project has been kicked down the road. I have sponsored HB 2137 to create a Task Force to finally get the project over the finish line. I submitted testimony when the bill had a Public Hearing before the Joint Committee on Transportation.
This potential bridge is a regional issue, as it connects the mid-Willamette Valley in several ways. It would provide a shorter and more convenient route between the agricultural communities of McMinnville, Newberg, and Dayton on the east side of the river to I-5 and our state highways. It would also provide another route to connect our communities on the west side of the river (Aurora, Woodburn, Gervais, Keizer, and north Salem) to the Oregon coast.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1422
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-476, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.TracyCramer@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/cramer
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