A Happy Fourth Legislative Review

7/3/2023

Hello Neighbors and Friends,

After six months of commuting daily to Salem, I’m pleased to be home. We have officially entered the Interim, or the period of time between sessions of the Legislative Assembly. It is a joy to be back and fully engaged with the communities that make up our large district.

Tuesday I spoke to the Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce. Wednesday I presented to the Rotary. Thursday I shared a few thoughts at the annual meeting of the Yaquina Bay Economic Foundation and Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County. Friday I helped cut the ribbon at the new 4-H Barn at the Lincoln County Fair, dropped in on the welcome reception for the new Yachats City Manager, and then visited the Lincoln County School District Garden Tour.

I also recorded a podcast as the first guest on the new Double R Show. You can listen in here.

Monday (today) I was pleased to participate in the opening of Southworth Park in Waldport and visited the site of a Sunday wildfire that closed Highway 101 and required evacuation of nearby homes.

During the Interim, the best way to get a quick response is to email. We’ll be checking the Salem phone for messages periodically. And of course, we are open for meetings in the district, or on Zoom. It is always our goal to maintain strong lines of communication.

At the groundbreaking of Southworth Park

Please take a moment and read my op-ed in the Oregonian from Sunday.

Last week’s update focused on legislative outcomes that had a particular effect on the Coast and our district. I was reminded that I made the first motion of the session – to accept the credentials of the 60 members of the House – and the last motion of the session – to adjourn.

This session, the Oregon Legislature introduced an impressive 2,970 measures — more than any other session in the last decade. After months of hard work, 653 of them passed — about 22% of the measures that were introduced. 

We delivered on every priority area in the Rebuilding for the Future agenda, which was created to respond to the issues Oregonians care about most, including housing and homelessness, public safety, behavioral health and addiction services, a fair economy with good paying jobs, access to reproductive health care, stronger schools, and more.

Despite some setbacks this session, nearly 90% of the bills we passed had bipartisan support. Bipartisanship doesn’t mean we agree on everything, but debate, negotiation, and compromise are an important part of democracy. From childcare to housing, semiconductors and tackling the opioid/fentanyl crisis, Democrats and Republicans did come together to deliver major victories for Oregonians. We should all care about and celebrate that.

The legislature allocated record funding for housing and homelessness and sent more money than ever to K-12 schools. We also took steps to address our public defender crisis, mitigate climate change, improve public safety, and more.

Here are some specifics. Please scan the list for things that particularly interest you.

AFFORADABLE HOUSING/HOMELESSNESS:

• Housing Supply and Stability Budget (SB 5511, SB 5505, HB 3395): nearly $2 billion, building on prior emergency investments and funding construction of new affordable housing units.
• Affordable Housing & Emergency Homelessness Response Package (HB 2001, HB 5019): $200 million investment helps shelter Oregonians living on the street, prevent more homelessness, and ramp up affordable housing production across the state.
• HB 2984: allows local governments to convert commercial buildings to residential housing.
• HB 3395: streamlines affordable housing production and increases homeownership opportunities, especially for BIPOC communities.
• HB 3215: establishes the Disaster Housing Recovery Fund to provide assistance to rebuild housing destroyed by a disaster.
• HB 2982: allows Oregonians to recover 70% of value of lost property after a disaster.
• HB 3395: reduces barriers to siting emergency shelters.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & FAIRNESS:

• Rural Infrastructure and Economic Development Package (HB 3410, HB 5506): revitalizes rural communities by investing $67 million in building critical infrastructure, bolstering key rural industries and sectors, and addressing workforce housing shortage.
• Coos Bay Navigation Improvements (HB 3382): allows Port of Coos Bay or Tribes to apply for navigation channel improvements with an eye toward attracting a major container shipping facility and creating thousands of new, clean jobs on the Central Coast.
• Early Childhood Investment: a $172 million investment that addresses the cost-of-living crisis, helps reduce child poverty and supports systemic investments in happy, healthy families. Another $1.2 billion was invested in the Department of Early Learning and Childcare (DELC) to give the newly independent agency a stable foundation for its vital work.
• Oregon Kids’ Credit (HB 3235): helps struggling parents make ends meet and lifts families out of poverty with a child tax credit that will provide $1,000 a month, per child.
• Oregon CHIPS Act (SB 4): invests $260 million to secure Oregon as a global leader in the semiconductor industry, create good paying jobs, and boost our economy for generations to come.
• Economic Incentives Modernization Package (HB 2009): aligns Oregon’s tax incentive structure with Oregon values and bolsters our economy by creating a Research and Development tax credit, extending the Enterprise Zone Program, and updating the Strategic Investment Program.

STRONGER SCHOOLS:

• Record K-12 Education Investment (HB 5015): Invests a historic $10.2 billion in the State School Fund, supporting Oregon’s K-12 students and educators.
• Early Literacy Success Initiative (HB 3198): invests $144.3 million to support evidence-based, culturally responsive literacy strategies in and outside of the classroom, setting up Oregon students for future academic success.
• SB 283: addresses the shortage of educators in Oregon’s K-12 schools by strengthening workforces.
• HB 3005: increases the availability of childcare by creating a grant program to provide financial assistance to help build and open new childcare facilities.
• Higher Ed Opportunity Package (HB 5025): invests $3.7 billion to ensure Oregonians seeking postsecondary education obtain high quality education. Includes $1 billion for the Public University Support Fund, $800 million for the Community College Support Fund, $308.4 million to the Oregon Opportunity Grant, and $24.2 million to the Tribal Student Grant program.

ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE

• HB 2697: Ensures safe nursing staffing levels to support the wellbeing of our critical workers and provide quality care for all Oregonians.
• HB 2725, SB 192: Creates regulation and transparency for pharmacy benefit managers (the middle person of the pharmaceutical industry) to decrease the cost of drugs for Oregonians and protect small pharmacies.
• HB 2574: Improves access to life-saving HIV-prevention treatment, PEP.
• SB 1089: Creates the Universal Health Plan Governance Board to develop a comprehensive, flexible system for providing every Oregonian with affordable health care.
• Reproductive Health & Access to Care Act  (HB 2002): restores the abortion rights Oregonians had under Roe v. Wade, expands insurance coverage for gender-affirming care, and protects Oregon medical providers' ability to give the best, most appropriate care to their patients.

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT:

• Climate Resilience Package Investment (HB 3409, HB 3630): invests $90 million in community-focused and forward-looking solutions to increase our energy efficiency, keep Oregonians safe from extreme weather, maximizing federal funding opportunities, and build a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable energy system.
• Drought & Water Investment (HB 2010): invests $100 million in new and existing resources to ensure families, farms, and wildlife across Oregon have clean, safe water-- now and into the future.
• Abandoned and Derelict Vessels (HB 2914): establishes a process and a fund to removed abandoned vessels from public waterways.

CONSUMER PROTECTIONS:

• Oregon Consumer Privacy Act (SB 619) - empowers Oregonians to protect their privacy online, especially children under 15.
• HB 2759: strengthens anti-robocall law to hold telemarketing companies liable for illegal robocalls.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

• Protecting the Right to Serve (HB 3028): ensures employment protections when Oregonians serve on a state board or commission. 
• Government Ethics Commission Investigations (HB 2805): creates a complaint-driven process for requesting investigations into potential violations of public meeting laws. 
• Cybersecurity in Executive Sessions (HB 2806): gives our public bodies the ability to discuss sensitive safety issues without making these discussions available to potential bad actors who aim to exploit their online vulnerabilities. 
• Impeachment (HJR 16): proposing amendment to Oregon Constitution relating to the impeachment of statewide elected Executive Branch officials.
• HB 2004: Establishes a plan for implementing Ranked Choice Voting, which ensures voters have more of a say in who they want to represent them. 
• HB 2038: Closes a longstanding loophole that allowed some politicians to shield the sources of their income from public disclosure. 

ADDICTION TGREATEMENT AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

• Behavioral Health Care Delivery Investment (HB 2757, SB 5525, HB 5026, SB 5506): Building off of the $1 billion invested in 2021-2022, $153 million this investment will help stabilize mobile crisis response funding and coordination between care centers and response systems so that Oregonians can receive the care they need. 
• HB 2757: Critical, stable funding for the 9-8-8 Suicide Prevention & Behavioral Health Crisis Line to help Oregonians in need. 
• Bipartisan Opioid Harm Reduction Package (HB 2395): address the state’s fentanyl crisis and save lives by increasing access to naloxone. 
• The Hope & Recovery Bill (HB 2513): fixes Measure 110 implementation so that Oregonians struggling with addiction can receive the care they need and get on a path to recovery. 
• HB 2645: holds bad actors accountable through penalties for possession of fentanyl.

COMMUNITY SAFETY

• Public Safety & Accountability Investment: A $4 billion investment to fund law enforcement, hold bad actors accountable, and give communities the safety and security they need. It includes an unprecedented $1.3 billion to fully fund the Oregon Department of Emergency Management.
• SB 337: Addresses Oregon’s public defense crisis by ensuring an accountable, transparent, and efficient system so that Oregonians are afforded their right to representation. 
• HB 2005: The Gun Violence Prevention Bill makes communities safer, helps law enforcement do their jobs, and respects responsible gun owners.
• HB 3443: Further protects victims of bias crimes. 
• HB 2316: Keeps Oregon’s roads safe by expanding our Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) laws.
• Disaster Education (HB 2902): encourages schools to provide instruction on preparing for, and recovering from, fires, earthquakes, safety threats and natural disasters

Of course, there is still work to be done. In the interim, I will continue to build off of the accomplishments from this session that will make Oregon a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

The potential for wind energy off the Oregon Coast continues to perplex us. We support renewable energy. We want good new jobs. And we worry that current plans by the Federal government will impact our coastal environment, marine fish, mammals and birds, and devastate our local fishing fleet. Plus we’re not even sure that new energy produced in Oregon waters will end up in Oregon homes or businesses.

In a June 9th letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Governor Tina Kotek, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Congresswomen Val Hoyle and Suzanne Bonamici, outlined continued concerns they are hearing from Oregon’s coastal communities about offshore wind energy leasing activities and requested additional time to consult with Tribal governments and engage stakeholders in coastal communities.

The letter clearly outlines support for renewable energy. It also calls for BOEM to engage in a more meaningful planning process.

Let's make sure we do this right!

I support and endorse the request that BOEM pause leasing plans, consult more effectively with local communities, evaluate the impacts that it may have on ecosystems, the economy, and ratepayers, and fully analyze a shift to areas beyond 1300 meters in depth.

We are in the midst of a lovely, long holiday weekend. I trust you will all well celebrate the Fourth and our enduring values.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Please enjoy this meaningful holiday. But also please celebrate safely. Sunday afternoon, homes south of Waldport were evacuated as a large grassfire erupted. Five local departments and firefighters from the Oregon Department of Forestry and U.S. Forest Service responded. Highway 101 was closed until 9 pm.

I met Monday with the ODF team still on site.

Thank you to the first responders who worked to bring the blaze safely under control. Fireworks are being reported as the cause.

I also want to remind you that while the holiday might be all fun and celebration for humans, it can be a nightmare for pets. 

Local pet shelters are reminding folks to take special precautions during the holiday, including the following:

• Keep all pets indoors, especially during neighborhood fireworks displays.
• Distressed pets should be kept in a room with closed windows and a secure door.
• Do not bring your dog to watch a large commercial firework display. This creates a greater risk of them running away and becoming lost in an unfamiliar area. 
• All pets, even indoor-only cats, should wear a collar with an identification tag on it.
• Owners should walk their dogs in the early evening, long before it gets dark and the fireworks start.

Here are some additional tips on keeping pets safe this Fourth of July from the Oregon Humane Society.

Every year after the 4th of July celebrations, the Oregon coast is left littered with fireworks debris, cans, and a distressing variety of refuse.

Oregon is an amazing place and worth celebrating! SOLVE in partnership with Oregon Parks and Recreation and Surfrider Foundation's Newport Chapter is calling for volunteers to help with this one-day beach cleanup effort.

Join an organized cleanup on July 5th to help get our beaches back to looking clean and pristine. Here’s a list of 5th of July events you can participate in.

Here’s a few more tips from Surfrider Foundation for greening up your holiday celebration:  

• Do not use fireworks on the beach. From noise disturbance to toxins from firework debris, our oceans and fireworks don’t exactly mix.
• Clean it up! Don’t let that bag of treasured fireworks turn into dispersed and toxic litter! When you’re done and things have cooled down, turn it into a trash treasure hunt and dispose of your debris!
• Ditch the disposables and opt for reusable items for your festivities!

Susie and I begin our own Fourth at the delightful La-De-Da Parade in Yachats. Then we head for Newport and the annual Community Concert with our Newport Symphony Orchestra at the Middle School. We’ll finish the day with friends watching fireworks over the Bay and then see how long it takes to inch our way home through holiday traffic to Otis.

Wednesday I’ll join a morning beach clean up and then have appointments with the director of the statewide Small Business (SBDC) Network and the quarterly meeting of the Oregon Ocean Science Trust. Later in the week, Susie and I are taking off for a few days of personal time.

We’ll see you when we get back!

Warm Regards,

Representative David Gomberg
House District 10

email: Rep.DavidGomberg@oregonlegislature.gov
phone: 503-986-1410
address: 900 Court St NE, H-480, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg