2/17/2023 Senate District 15 Newsletter

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Senator Janeen Sollman

Friends and Neighbors,

Upcoming Events

2023 Session - Virtual Joint Town Hall

Join me, along with Representatives McLain and Sosa, on Saturday, February 18th, from 10:30am-12:00pm, for a virtual joint town hall. Spanish interpretation will be provided, and we will be discuss what is coming up for the 2023 session. Register here or at the link below. We will see you there!

Únase a mí, junto con los representantes McLain y Sosa, el sábado 18 de febrero de 10:30am-12:00pm, para un ayuntamiento conjunto en línea. Interpretación en español estará disponible, y discutiremos lo que se viene para la sesión legislativa de 2023. Regístrese aquí o en el enlace de abajo. ¡Nos vemos allí!

joint town hall


Week 5 Committee Snaps

Senate Committee on Energy and Environment

Public hearings were heard on the following bills:

  • SB 542: Requires original equipment manufacturer to make available to owner of consumer electronic equipment or independent repair provider on fair and reasonable terms any documentation, tool, part or other device or implement that original equipment manufacturer makes available to authorized repair provider for purpose of diagnosing, maintaining or repairing consumer electronic equipment.
  • SB 543: Prohibits food vendor from using polystyrene foam container in sales of prepared food.
  • SB 544: Directs Environmental Quality Commission to establish program for source reduction of single-use plastic food ware and single-use packaging and achieve 25 percent source reductions compared to 2023 levels by 2030.
  • SB 545: Directs State Department of Agriculture and Oregon Health Authority to adopt rules allowing consumers to use own containers for refilling with food at food establishment.
  • SB 124: Establishes grant program within State Department of Energy to provide grants to fund replacement of generators that use diesel or fossil fuels with renewable hydrogen-fueled generators.
  • SB 125: Directs Department of Transportation to establish grant program for fuel cell electric vehicle and hydrogen fueling demonstration projects.
  • SB 630: Authorizes issuance of lottery bonds and transfer of net proceeds to Oregon Business Development Department.

Follow the links to watch the hearings or learn more about the proposed bills.


Senate Committee on Housing and Development

Public hearings were heard on the following bills:

  • SB 434: Creates Eviction Mediation Program within Housing and Community Services Department
  • SB 437: Allows production of food in planned community by lot owners and their tenants.

Work sessions were held for the following bills: 

  • SB 131: Extends sunset for tax credit for affordable housing lenders.
  • SB 142: Establishes sunset for continued property tax exemption for former cemetery or crematory land used for exempt low income housing.
  • SB 147: Extends sunset for exemption of single-unit housing.

Joint Committee on Semiconductors

As Co-Chair of the Joint Semiconductor Committee I am working in collaboration with three other co-leaders to get this accomplished, Co-chair Rep Janelle Bynum and Vice Chairs Sen Tim Knopp and Rep Kim Wallan. This is an opportunity of a lifetime for Oregon. Senator Ron Wyden led the charge in writing and working the CHIPS Act into passage. In Wednesday's committee, it was wonderful to hear from Senator Jeff Merkley and I am always thrilled to see Washington County leaders and SD15 constituents show up and share testimony. No matter what side of the issue you are on, we want to hear from you! Visit the committee page to sign up or submit testimony. We reserve 30-45 mins of public testimony at every meeting.

This week in committee:

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Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety

Public hearings were heard on the following bills:

  • SB 5505: Criminal Justice Commission budget bill
  • SB 5533: Department of Public Safety Standards and Training for debt service.
  • SB 5542: Department of Public Safety Standards and Training budget bill

Education Updates

Computer Science Education Survey

Shared from the Oregon Department of Education

Your feedback matters!  The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) are writing a Statewide Computer Science Implementation Plan to provide equitable access to computer science learning opportunities to every public school student in Oregon by the 2027-2028 school year. We are interested in feedback from students (K-12 and higher education), educators, education leaders, families, and industry professionals about their experiences with computer science and their hopes for the future of computer science in Oregon. Please complete the brief Computer Science Education Survey. The survey is available in the languages linked below. The survey will be open until Monday morning, March 6th, 2023. Additional information regarding the computer science implementation plan can be found on the front page of the survey. Please share with your communities. If you have others in your communities or networks who you think would be interested in sharing their perspective, please share these survey links. Thank you for your time, support, and feedback! We look forward to hearing from you! The links to the surveys are below.

Questions? Email us at: ode.csinitiative@ode.oregon.gov.

Thank you, CS Initiative Team

Survey Links:


Out and About in Senate District 15

Visit to Coffee Creek Correctional Institution

coffee creek

Last week, Maria Gomez and I visited the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility to learn about their Hospice Program. Senator Dembrow is introducing SB 520 which establishes Medical Release Advisory Committee within State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision, which could address expensive care outside of the Department of Corrections budget. We were able to meet with patients in care, hear about how this bill will help them as they face end of life care and met with other Adults in Custody (AIC’s) that volunteer their time as hospice care providers.


Week 5 - Oregon State Capitol Visits to #S207 (Your Senate District 15 Capitol office)

wheat growers league

Oregon Wheat Growers League

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OSU President Jayathi Murthy, North Plains Mayor Teri Lenahan and team, Library Day Advocates, Cleveland High School students

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Credit Union Day Advocates, Multnomah County D.A. Mike Schmidt, Forest Grove constituents, Ralph Davis Brown family with former Mayors Pete Truax and Former Cornelius City Manager Rob Drake


Intern Corner

HSD Jazz Festival

On February 15, Hillsboro High schools jazz finally returned to the Venetian! The jazz
bands from all four of the HSD schools, Liberty, Glencoe, Century, and Hilhi gathered together in the ballroom of the Venetian to perform for guests and each other. Their hard work paid off!

From 7pm - 9pm, guests were entertained by all of the amazing performers/ All of these jazz
bands meet in the mornings before school, showing great dedication to their program. It is
wonderful to come together to showcase the work they have done throughout the year, and the atmosphere is very supportive and encouraging.

“I thought it connected the bands very well, and gave us an opportunity to connect with
others in the activity.” -Declan Coggin (Liberty High School, Trumpet)

-Mari Park


Community Outreach

Unclaimed Property Program

Visit Oregon's Unclaimed Property Program website at 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.

unclaimed property

Additional Resources

 Senate District 15 Links

Federal Delegation Links

Education Links

Food and Housing Assistance

Be good to yourself and each other. ❤

Onward & Upward,

Janeen

Senate District 15 lies on Kalapuya land. The Atfalati were the northernmost band of the Kalapuya that lived along the Tualatin River in present day Washington County. Many of the Atfalati descendants are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon today. The Indigenous Peoples of this land experienced a painful history of colonial violence, sickness and removal from their land. The Atfalati are the foundation of Oregon’s past and we must honor them well into our future.    

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1715
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-207​, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen​​​.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman