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May 7, 2023
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well, staying healthy, and looking out for your neighbors and friends during this past week.
In tonight’s newsletter I’ll give you an update on the Senate Republican walkout that began last Wednesday as we were about to vote on an important bill focused on reproductive health rights. It’s now in its fifth day.
You’ll also get a report on the last of our Ways and Means road shows. This final one was a hybrid of in-person and virtual, with testimony coming from all over the state.
On the COVID front, the overall metrics remain relatively low and continue to decline. As you’ll see below, all 36 Oregon counties are again reported to be at Low Risk, and wastewater analysis shows a declining level of virus in the state. We are in the final days of the declared national health emergency, which is resulting in a number of changes related to requirements and reporting. More on that in the links below.
Until next week, please do your best to stay happy, healthy and safe. And let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about anything in this week’s newsletter.
The Republican Walkout 2023 Edition: 5 Days and Counting
When I last wrote about the walkout, it was in its second day. I explained (or attempted to) that this fourth walkout by Senate Republicans (following the one in 2019, the one in 2020 that killed the session, a brief walkout in 2021, and now this one) was the result of an effort to keep SB 2002, the bill guaranteeing reproductive rights in Oregon, from coming to the floor for a debate and a vote. At that time the pretext for the walkout was the discovery that SB 2002 (along with nearly every other bill that we’ve passed this session and for the previous nearly fifty years) did not pass an 8th grade reading standard.
As I send this, we’re in Day Number 5, and it is now increasingly clear that this supposed motivation is indeed—in the words of KGW TV commentator Pat Dooris—“a bunch of baloney.” By the way, I’d encourage you to check out Pat's story last week. in which he explains the walkout; last November’s constitutional amendment approved by the voters (with majorities in every Senate district around the state) in an effort to make sure that no party again holds a session hostage in this way; and why he thinks the walkout cannot last more than 11 days in total. Pat really does a great job of explaining all this, and it’s quite entertaining.
What we learned today from a story in the Capital Chronicle by Julia Shumway is that Republican Minority Leader Tim Knopp of Bend has moved the goal posts again. The walkout now appears to be about killing—not one or two--but twenty Democratic House and Senate priorities. Senator Knopp has refused to say what those are exactly, or what kinds of agreements need to be in place before Republicans return to continue the work of the session, so it’s difficult to know how to respond at this point.
Measure 113, which was passed in November by 68% of Oregonians, made clear in the Constitution that all legislators must attend every floor session unless they have an excused absence for a legitimate reason. If they have ten or more unexcused absences, that is considered “disorderly behavior,” and they are barred from being reelected. Except for those who might have decided not to run again anyway, it’s a serious consequence.
At this point we have four members—Senators Bonham, Boquist, Hayden, and Linthicum, who have been absent without excuse for five days. Senators Robinson, Brock Smith, Thatcher, and Weber had three days of pre-arranged excused absences, and two days of unexcused absences. Senator Bill Hansell has two days of excused absences and three days of unexcused absences. Republican Leader Senator Tim Knopp showed up for two of the failed sessions, had an excused absence for one, and now two unexcused absence. Senator Lynn Findley had unexcused absences the first two days and has appeared for the last three days. Senators Girod (R-Stayton) and Gorsek (D-Wood Village) have long-term excused absences due to serious medical issues. Only Senator Dick Anderson (R-Lincoln City) has appeared every day.
On Friday, Senate President Rob Wagner announced on the Senate floor, prior to adjourning the failed session that day, that henceforth excused absences will only be offered in the most serious of circumstances. Here’s an excerpt from his remarks:
Several members have asked for an explanation regarding excused absences contained in Senate Rule 3.10 - so here it is. We have two members who have been granted sustained medical leave - prior to the orchestrated obstruction we have seen this week.
At this point - unless it is for an extraordinary circumstance - no member -Democrat or Republican - will be granted an excused absence from the floor until we achieve a quorum to conduct the affairs of this state.
The voters this fall gave everyone 9 days to be gone for any reason - outside business, family, a doctor’s visit, to attend a service, and even to protest the actions of the work we do. AND - To be clear - We are not sending process servers or the State Police.
But - we have a constitutional obligation to adjourn the session after 160 days - which is Sunday, June 25 at midnight.
In order to make sure we complete our work before that deadline, we will hold a floor session every single day, if we have to, including weekends.
You can watch his remarks in their entirety at Senate President Rob Wagner Calls on Senate Republicans to Return to Work - YouTube
Again, it takes 20 members to be on the floor to achieve the quorum needed to do business. (That’s not the case for committees, which just need simple majorities, so you’ll continue to see committees meeting and passing bills while we wait for floor to resume.) That means we need at least three Republicans on the floor at any one time (so far—not surprisingly--we’ve not had more than two). By the end of this week, assuming they don’t return sooner, the four Republicans who now have five unexcused absences will be at their limit, and by early next week, so will the remainder if they don’t come in. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
In the meantime, I can tell you that Senate Democrats remain committed to getting these important bills passed We would of course rather be with our families on the weekends. We have members who would prefer to be in synagogue or church on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It’s painful to see our Senate staff members and state troopers having to give up their family time to come in (today was in fact the birthday of those Senate staffers); but they are true professionals and assure us that they are committed to doing the people’s business.
That’s the spirit that keeps us doing this work.
I’ll let you know if, when, and how this is all resolved.
Ways and Means Road Show Concludes in Salem
The fifth and final Ways and Means road show took place on Wednesday evening at the Capitol, though this was also an opportunity for Oregonians from all over the state to testify remotely, and that’s what most of those who testified did. Unfortunately, there were some technical glitches, which slowed down our ability to hear from people who had signed up to testify remotely. As a result, we heard from a few less people in the two and a half hours of the hearing: a total of 58.
We heard many of the same themes that we’ve heard in past weeks. Each of the elected officials had a request for financial support for one or more capital construction projects. We again heard multiple pieces of testimony about the needs of college and university students, K-12 funding, childcare, Direct Service Providers (those who work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities), and some environmental priorities.
Here are my notes on the 58 pieces of testimony.
ON THE COVID FRONT
Weekly Data Report:
OHA now updates and reports COVID metrics once a week, on Wednesdays. Here are the most recent set of weekly results, for this past week from 4/27/23 through 5/3/23.
This week’s report shows continuing overall declines for the COVID metrics in Oregon.
- The 7-day average for newly reported infections is 168 (down from 176), from per day this last week. The number of new cases is likely an undercount, as many people are using home tests to determine their infection status but are not reporting those results.
- Average test positivity went up very slightly last week from 7.3% to 7.4%. The number probably skews high because it likely reflects a higher proportion of people showing COVID symptoms (and thus reporting or going in for a test, rather than self-testing and never reporting).
- On Wednesday there were 143 COVID hospitalizations, a further decrease from the previous week’s 161 COVID-19-related hospitalizations statewide. Hospitalizations are now our best indicator of disease spread. Again, however, most of these hospitalizations are not in and of themselves due to COVID—most are those who tested positive after having been admitted for other reasons.
- The number of COVID patients in Oregon’s ICUs on Wednesday went down again last week, from 26 to 16 statewide. These are the most serious COVID infections.
- There were 6 COVID-19-related deaths reported during the last week, down from the previous week’s 8. However, it’s important to remember that many of every week’s reported deaths actually occurred in earlier weeks but were just reported to the state, and others that likely occurred have yet to be reported. The newsletter’s final graph shows when the deaths actually occurred, and you’ll see that the number of COVID deaths each day continues to remain consistently low.
Weekly County Report: All Oregon Counties Again at Low Risk
The CDC assigns risk levels based on a combination of the number of new COVID cases and the number of people in hospital for COVID.
According to the CDC Daily Counter (updated each Thursday), all 36 Oregon counties are again at Low Risk.
We can also track the cases, deaths, and test positivity rates for each county at this website.
Two of the three Metro-area counties saw their positivity rates go up a little last week. Clackamas County is now at 7.3% (up from 6.6% the previous week). Multnomah County is now at 5.5% (down from 4.5%). Washington County is again at 8.3% (same as last week).
Remember, though, that these are all based on reported test results, and so are more likely to be a little higher than the total percent positivity (i.e., if one were to include all tests taken).
 
This Week’s Wastewater Monitoring Report: Decreases Overall
With testing reports giving us just a fraction of infections out there, wastewater monitoring has become a more reliable indicator of the amount of virus in cities around the state. That report is updated each week.
This week’s report, updated on Wednesday, reveals that 6% of the cities tested showed increases or sustained increases last week (down from 9% the previous week). Twenty-one percent showed declines or sustained declines (up from 15%). The remaining 73% (down from 74%) showed no change.
Durham was the only city showing sustained increases last week.
COVID Q & A from OHA (from OHA weekly newsletter)
Dr. Melissa Sutton, OHA medical director of respiratory viral pathogens, and Dr. Paul Cieslak, OHA senior health advisor and medical director, Communicable Diseases and Immunizations program, answered this week’s questions.
Q: I read in the OHA newsletter about unsolicited COVID-19 tests being delivered to people who didn’t order them. I was one of those people and promptly reported it to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as you suggested, but also Medicare. My Medicare account had already been billed and paid for them by the time I contacted Medicare, and I was told that it is Medicare fraud. How do I know if the tests are legitimate COVID-19 tests? I looked up the company online as well as through the FDA website but the FDA wasn’t able to tell me if the tests would actually work. The name on the box is Indicaid. Thank you. – Barb, Damascus
A: “I would definitely be suspicious about the legitimacy of those tests. The FDA lists a couple brands that have counterfeit look-a-like products circulating, and Indicaid is not one of them. The FDA does have a webpage that talks about counterfeit test kits, how to spot them and where to report it if you suspect you received a counterfeit test kit. I might also contact the manufacturer with the lot number listed on the test kit. Most manufacturers have customer service emails listed on their websites and ask them directly. Indicaid’s is care@indicaidusa.com.
“There is a wide variety of scams involving COVID-19 services designed to collect your personal information or money, or both. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers examples and information on what to look out for and how to report it.”
Q: I know that people 65 and over as well as those with underlying conditions can now get a second bivalent booster. But what about first responders and others in the medical community? They are exposed repeatedly, and it seems there is supply. – Anne, Eugene
A: “You’re right that first responders and others in the medical community are probably at higher risk for exposure to COVID-19, but if they are young and have well-functioning immune systems, they are at low risk for serious disease from it. The decision to authorize the second booster was based on the vaccine’s waning effectiveness at preventing severe disease from infection, not the infection itself. So, at this time, first responders and others are eligible for a second booster only if they are 65 or older or have underlying conditions that compromise their immunity.”
Additional COVID Updates and Links
Here again are some COVID resources that you will find useful:
If the above links are not providing you with answers to your questions or directing you to the help that you need, please consider me and my office to be a resource. We’ll do our best to assist you or steer you in the right direction.
Sincerely,
 Senator Michael Dembrow
District 23
email: Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
web: www.senatordembrow.com
phone: 503-281-0608
mail: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301
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