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Hi Folks,
The past couple months have offered us a poignant reminder that democracy requires participation, even when we don’t love the terms or conditions we find ourselves in while enacting it. Watching Senate Republicans shut down another legislative session and deny us our democracy makes it all the more clear that our system only works when people show up and use their voices.
On that note, I’d love to see as many of you as possible at this month’s constituent coffee on Sunday, June 11th, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM. We are awaiting final word but this time we plan to host it at the Woodstock Community Center (5905 SE 43rd Ave, Portland, OR 97206) and in partnership with the Woodstock Neighborhood Association. Keep an eye out for another E-mail later this week to confirm the venue. I am looking forward to the discussion and hope you can join us.
Pictured: Members of the Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee of Ways and Means pose with gifts of Tillamook cheese from Chair Gomberg.
In the spirit of civic engagement, I also want to share some of the facts surrounding the Republican Senate Shutdown. It’s important that we all have access to details of what’s happening so we can speak with each other intelligently and respectfully.
The walkout occurred due to Senate Republicans’ disagreement around HB 2002–expanding access to abortion, contraceptive, and gender-affirming health care services around Oregon. Opponents of the bill have been putting out ugly lies about it because they know that more than 72% of Oregonians support abortion, and 62% of RURAL Oregonians do too. The shutdown was also aimed at blocking HB 2005, which would pass common sense gun legislation. For those who have lost someone to gun violence, this legislation offers tangible results aimed at preventing gun related deaths, it does NOT prevent law abiding citizens from owning guns. Opponents cannot win on the truth and merits of these bills so they have thrown a tantrum and halted the state legislature entirely.
By flouting the will of the voters with their shutdown, Republican Senators are holding up more than 400 important bills that still need to make it out of the Senate. Below are some highlights, including several of my own:
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HB 3482 is my (bipartisan) bill to enable non-profits and faith communities to build affordable housing on their land, which is usually in ideal locations with accessible utilities and services
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HB 2763 is my bill to convene a State Public Bank Task Force to design the path for creating this institution, which will literally save billions of public dollars and protect our workforce
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HB 2395 is Rep. Dexter’s bill to provide emergency opioid treatments like naloxone kits in public buildings, saving lives as a direct result
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SB 868, SB 869, SB 870, SB 871, and HB 3166 (resulting from the ReBuilding Task Force) would promote energy efficiency in our building stock and begin ramping down the carbon emissions from one of the highest-emitting sectors of our society
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SB 530 is Sen. Dembrow’s bill to increase carbon sequestration and storage on our natural and working lands, which is a first step towards using our natural systems to draw carbon out of the atmosphere
- Finally, they are also delaying our ability to pass a balanced budget which addresses Oregonians’ top priorities like housing and homelessness, investing in education, growing a more robust economy, and opening more pathways to mental and behavioral health care
Oregonians have made it clear that they want their lawmakers to do their jobs. Passing Measure 113 in the last election ensured that legislators accruing 10 unexcused absences will not be allowed to run for re-election in the next election cycle after their current term expires. Measure 113 passed in every single one of our 30 State Senate districts, often by extremely wide margins. Oregonians are expected to show up to work every day. When they don’t, they face far more dire consequences - including getting fired. These 10 extreme Senate Republicans shouldn’t get to go on a taxpayer funded vacation without any sort of accountability or consequences. They’re putting people’s lives and well-being at risk. It is baffling to me that these Senators are choosing to not only give up their careers, but also to enable such harm to the people of Oregon by shutting down all of the important work we should be doing in the legislature. The constitution says this legislative session must end by June 25th. It is looking more and more likely that they will not come back and it is already over.
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Pictured: I joined fellow legislators and other community leaders for a press conference this morning on the steps of the capitol to call attention to the harms this shutdown is going to inflict on our populace.
Last month the state economists presented their final forecast before budget decisions are made. The trend of more revenue generated than expected has not just continued, but accelerated. More often than not over the past decade, the economists’ predictions have been wrong. I can’t say I blame them. Our system is set up in such a way that they are required to predict two whole years in advance what the economy will look like, and they are expected to be within 2% of the actual result. Anything above that cannot be used for all of the myriad needs facing our people.
For decades, Democrats have bemoaned Oregon’s bizarre “kicker,” under which the state sends refunds to taxpayers if tax revenues exceed the state economist’s estimate made two years prior. As most of you know, it’s not about “the state having more money than it needs;” it’s just about “the state economist was too pessimistic.” If we only hired starry-eyed optimists as state economists, there’d never be a kicker. Next year, we are projected to have a whopping $5.5 billion kicker because the state economist wasn’t as wildly optimistic as he would have had to be to predict the continuing strength of our economy throughout and after the COVID pandemic.
And here’s another moronic problem with our system: these kicker payments mostly go to rich people who don’t need them and who are more likely to invest in stocks than in our local communities. It is estimated that the top 100 wealthiest Oregonians will each receive $800,000 from this year’s kicker and members of the full top 1% will each be given more than $60,000. Proponents of this backwards system will say that this is money they are rightfully owed back from paying their taxes; to them I say outcomes matter more than process. Any system in which the government is paying billions of dollars to the wealthiest segments of our population when classrooms are overcrowded and renters are being evicted into homelessness is inarguably unjust. There are several fixes that are possible for this boondoggle and a group of us legislators is pushing hard. It remains to be seen if we will be successful.
Some wonderful news: HB 2763 (State Public Bank Task Force) looks like it will make it out of Ways and Means! By the time you read this it may have already passed out of its subcommittee. We are making some minor changes through an amendment but the bill will still establish the task force, will still require it to examine benefits and harms, and will still be charged with laying out a path to establish the bank in a future legislative session. Once we have it up and running, the state bank is going to save us billions of public dollars and allow us to invest more in projects that benefit our local communities. I have worked hard on this one and am gratified to see it progressing. Of course, if the Senate Republicans do not come back to do their jobs it is all moot.
Pictured: I testified this afternoon in the Ways and Means Subcommittee on General Government, urging them to pass HB2763 out of committee. You can watch by clicking the photo above.
Many of you are aware that I have been advocating for years on a concept to tie the minimum wage to the average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment in a given region. In the wealthiest country on earth, I believe that people working full-time should not be struggling to afford a roof over their heads. Housing is the largest single cost an average Oregon family faces and solving for it is the key ingredient in any recipe to solve permanent and unsheltered homelessness. Right now in Oregon, more than 2,000 renter households are being evicted EVERY SINGLE MONTH, the vast majority due to inability to pay rent. That is more than 24,000 households, not individuals, each year losing their homes. I believe a majority of them are directly ending up on our streets after they are unable to find anything at all they can afford. As a matter of fact, I know firsthand that many of them are working multiple jobs at time of eviction and still cannot find any possible way to maintain their housing.
On the flip side, guaranteeing a living wage has been credibly proven to be a boon to local economies. Reliable study after reliable study has shown that businesses do better, not worse, when minimum wages are increased. In my mind, this is not only the moral thing to do but also the smart thing we should do to improve our economy.
I have been in frequent talks with Representative Holvey, who chairs the House Committee on Business and Labor. I trust that we will get an informational hearing on this concept during the interim at some point. I will keep you all informed.
The Oregon State Constitution requires that the legislative session in odd-numbered years end by June 25th. That is just about three weeks left to pass a whole host of critical legislation needed to avert harms to our populace. Republican Senators have thrown a tantrum and turned their backs on us but I am holding out some small hope that they will return and allow us all to do the job we were sent here to do.
So please, come out to my constituent coffee this Sunday morning and let’s talk. I plan to be at the Woodstock Community Center (5905 SE 43rd Ave, Portland, OR 97206) June 11th, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM, and will follow up later this week with a final confirmation on the venue. There is so much to do and I want to make sure my work is reflecting your needs and desires. Even in the midst of the Senate shutdown I’m going to keep showing up to work, keep listening to you, and keep investing in the things that matter most to us, our kids, and our planet. I hope you’ll join me.
All my best,
Mark
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1441
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-477, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.MarkGamba@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/gamba
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