 * “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
—Helen Keller
 Join us then for our last Online Town Hall of the 2023 Legislative Session.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82022309831?pwd=d2pHYnpFYURBTGREUmdUenlkUFdMdz09
No real change, but…
I’ve been waiting to get this letter out until I could announce some kind of breakthrough in the impasse that has ground Senate business to a halt. The sad fact is that my early May letter still describes the state of things today; you can read here about why this stalemate is so tough. And here’s a letter from a coastal newspaper to a Republican Senator that I found worth reading.
A new conversation quietly began just this week, likely the last search for a path to resuming our legislative work before we have to adjourn on June 25. There’s still a slight chance we’ll find it, if Senators from both parties are willing to swallow bitter pills. But the cost of avoiding those pills and watching the session collapse, measured in the loss of critically important legislation and billions of one-time-only federal dollars, would likely taste worse. We’re still trying to figure out which of our options is the least bad.
 How do we pay for wildfire protection going forward?
The unusually good final revenue forecast means that the unprecedented wildfire programs investment that SB 762 mandated in 2021 can continue through the 2023-2025 biennium. But what about after that? We can’t continue to expect the state General Fund to continue carrying the load. The tug-of-war for those all-purpose dollars is constantly getting more intense, and that won’t change.
I’m offering an answer to this question with Senate Bill 502, which would grab a one-time opportunity to pay for wildfire protection out into the distant future. I was excited to present it to the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee last week, here.
I’m honestly concerned that passing on this opportunity would lead to serious regrets in years to come. I have the same feeling about wildfire legislation we’ve already moved out of committee this session and sits waiting for votes on the Senate Floor. That’s what I used my turn at the microphone to talk about in a big press conference this morning on the Capitol steps. We wanted to be clear about what’s at stake with the bills that are on life support.
 The "Joint Committee on Oversight and Accountability"
In the midst of their walkout last week, Republican Senators invented something new. They created a “Joint Committee on Oversight and Accountability” and convened for an introductory meeting last week in one of the Capitol committee hearing rooms. The group is made up of three Representatives and three Senators (five Republicans and one Independent, which prompted the Chair to call the group “bipartisan”).
It happens that only the House Speaker and Senate President can appoint legislative committees. Despite the serious sounding name, this group is a PR tool, a megaphone to promote their version of current events, and to ferret out the supposed government corruption that’s among the varying reasons they cite for the walkout. They opened their meeting, as an actual committee would, to citizen comment. That turned out to be…awkward. Scan the first four minutes of this story to see what happened.
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I guess it’s clear that we’re at a volatile and precarious moment. It’d be a pleasure to report in the next newsletter that we straightened out this mess and pulled good legislation over the finish line before going home. We’ll see. All of us, inside and outside the Building, are right to expect better from the Oregon Legislature.
All best,
 Senator Jeff Golden, Oregon Senate District 3
Do you know about Double Up Food Bucks? Double Up Food Bucks is a program that matches SNAP benefits, dollar for dollar, for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. Double Up is also available at participating small grocers, farm stands, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. Check the map here for locations that participate in our district.
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