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Hello Friends and Neighbors,

I hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July spent with loved ones this past weekend. Although Session is over, our work is far from done and we are already starting to prepare for the Short Session next year. During the Interim, we will be examining which of our bills didn't pass and which one's we'd like to bring forward again. Bill drafting is in effect for 2024, which means that each Representative and Senator must submit no more than two drafts of measures for request to the Office of the Legislative Counsel and each Interim Committee must submit no more than three drafts of measures for request to the Office of the Legislative Counsel. Below is the timeline for the process:

• November 9, 2023: Members, committees, the Governor and the Chief Justice shall submit requests for drafts of measures to the Office of the Legislative Counsel no later than 5:00 p.m. 
• January 8, 2024: The Office of the Legislative Counsel shall deliver drafts of measures back to requesters on or before 5:00 p.m. 
• January 12, 2024: Requesters shall submit drafts of measures for introduction to the House Desk (same for Senate Desk) no later than 5:00 p.m. 
• February 5, 2024: Regular session starts.

In addition to new measures being introduced, the Interim will also mean new workgroups and task forces, which bring together legislators with expertise on a particular issue to collectively focus on strengthening a policy area. I am looking forward to productive conversations with my colleagues, especially surrounding Education, Transportation, and Land Use issues.

Lastly, I have two big events coming up this month. Next week, I will be attending the National Workshop for State and Local Transportation Advocates at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. This annual event brings together lawmakers, public officials, industry professionals and other experts to share best practices, learn new funding strategies, discover new economic research, and discuss strategies for advancing transportation infrastructure investment. I will be speaking on the panel during the Transportation Funding—A View from the State House Session. It is one of the most popular sessions annually, where legislators will discuss the politics of transportation funding in our respective states. I will be discussing the progress and importance of the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program and I look forward to answering questions from the audience. At the end of this month, I will be attending the Bi-State Bridge Committee meeting online. The Oregon committee members of the I-5 Bridge Committee  will be meeting with our counterparts in the Washington State Legislature to discuss updates on the bridge replacement program. We will be covering the following items:

• Recent activities and updates
• Conceptual bridge visualizations
• Updates on estimated funding sources, such as an overview of cost estimate and funding 
• Timeline of current and upcoming work 
• Draft supplemental environmental impact statement process 
• Overview of design options being studied
• Next steps!

I will post information on how you can view the Bi-State Bridge Committee meeting and associated materials in a future newsletter.

We will continue to send out newsletters periodically throughout the Interim when we have updates. Please never hesitate to reach out to our office in the meantime via email: rep.susanmclain@oregonlegislature.gov with any questions, comments or concerns. We always enjoy hearing from you!

Some photos of my colleagues and I during Session. Shoutout to Lynn Howlett, the talented photographer who captured these moments in the building.

2023 SESSION: REVIEW OF COMMITTEE WORK 

I had the distinct honor of Co-Chairing two important committees this Session: the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education and the Joint Committee on Transportation. Each one had its own challenges and rewards, but I was very pleased with the policy and budget work that came out of both committees, and I am confident that the work we did will benefit all Oregonians. Below is a brief review of each committee and just some of the important outcomes from the 2023 Session: Joint Transportation:  The Joint Committee on Transportation (JCT) considered 99 bills this Session and voted out 16. We lost regularly scheduled meetings due to bad weather, late Senate Floors, and other competing Committee times. Despite our shortened meeting schedule, we still managed to consider a wide variety of policy bills and had robust debates on everything from the expansion of rail and other multimodal transportation options, to increased safety on our local roads, and also the replacement of the I-5 Bridge. For a complete summary of all the transportation-related bills this Session, I recommend reading the Legislative Summary of Transportation & Infrastructure bills. It is important to note that some of the bills that are listed as "not passed" on this document are actually bills whose policy ideas were funded in a budget bill at the end of the Session. For example, JCT took testimony on HB 2098, a bill to fund Oregon's $1 billion commitment to the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project, but did not vote on it. However, the funding was allocated in HB 5005 instead. Another example of this is my bill, HB 3113, to increase funding for the "Great Streets" safety program. The bill passed out of JCT but did not receive a funding vote in Ways and Means and technically died, but the program did receive a $1 million allocation in one of the final budget bills of the Session. Here is just a snapshot of some of the good policies that passed out of JCT this Session:

• HB 2095 - This is a safety bill sponsored at the request of the Oregon League of Cities. It authorizes the use of photo radar and designates authority for cities to set speed limits up to 10 miles lower than statutory speeds.

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Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education: 

The Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education is a budget committee where we determine the operating budget for Oregon's public education institutions and also consider policy bills referred by the Education Committees that require funding to implement. We considered 32 bills in the Committee this year, and all 32 bills were successfully passed out to the full Ways and Means Committee. Here is the Legislative Summary of Education bills passed in 2023. We had historic wins for Education, including a record $10.2 billion for the State School Fund and over $3 billion for our community colleges and universities. Of particular note, we funded the following:

FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION

Featured are photos of this year's 4th of July Parade down in Ashland and a photo of Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and me from a previous Hillsboro parade. 

AROUND WASHINGTON COUNTY

Adelante Mujeres Funding Success

As I've mentioned before, I am very proud to have Adelante Mujeres working to empower and assist Latinx families in our city of Forest Grove and throughout our district. Last month, they held a successful gala called Fiesta of Hope, where they raised substantial contributions and celebrated with local music, food and culture.

With your contributions, Adelante Mujeres raised over $200,000 to empower more Latina leaders in our region and beyond. They are sending out Muchas Gracias, and a special thank you to @nwnaturalgas for being their presenting sponsor. Lastly, a huge congratulations to Miriam Calderon for being the recipient of their Latina Leadership Award!

Thank you to our amazing community!

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¡Gracias a todos los que nos apoyaron viniendo a Fiesta of Hope 2023! Con sus contribuciones, recaudamos más de $200,000 para empoderar a más líderes latinas en nuestra región y más allá. ¡Muchas gracias!

Un agradecimiento especial a NW Natural por ser nuestro patrocinador principal. Gracias a todos nuestros patrocinadores por hacer posible este evento. ¡Nos encantó tener a Y La Bamba y DJ Blas en nuestra fiesta posterior! Por último, ¡muchísimas felicitaciones a Miriam Calderón por recibir nuestro Premio al Liderazgo Latino!

¡Gracias a nuestra increíble comunidad!

BENEFITS AND SUPPORT

Introducing the Department of Early Learning and Care

Effective this week, the Oregon Early Learning Division (ELD) and the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) program will officially become the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC). The Legislature created this new state agency in 2021 via HB 3073 that is dedicated to ensuring high-quality, family-centered and culturally appropriate early learning and care opportunities for families and child care professionals. They have been working diligently over the last two years to ensure there is minimal impact to child care providers, grantees, and partners during this transition.

With that in mind, I want to make sure that you know what this change will mean. Here’s what to expect beginning July 1, 2023:

• New name, look, email addresses* and website.
• Customer service phone numbers will remain the same.
• Child care licensing services and processes such as billing forms, payment processes, licensing applications, inspections and background checks, will remain the same.
• ELD staff will transition from Oregon Department of Eduction to DELC.
• The ERDC program and about 25 staff will transition from Oregon Department of Human Services to DELC (Important note: families will still apply for and receive benefits through ODHS).
• Early learning and care programs under ELD such as Relief Nurseries will not change. 

More families eligible for ERDC

Starting July 1, families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) can get ERDC to help pay for child care at the same time.

There will also be fewer reasons for child care assistance to end within 12 months. Cases will no longer close if a family cannot find a provider within three months. ERDC benefits will continue if a caretaker loses their job or stops attending school.

Here’s what families need to know:

• Families currently receiving TANF: Families can ask their family coach for ERDC to help pay for child care. This will not change the family’s TANF cash assistance. The TANF child care program will be phased out because ERDC will provide more flexible child care assistance.
• Families currently participating in ERDC: Families may be able to get TANF if they have a job loss, are on unpaid leave from work, or meet TANF income requirements. Child care assistance can continue while families receive TANF. 
• Families new to benefits: Families can apply for cash and child care assistance at the same time.

Families should go to their local ODHS office or call 1-800-699-9075 if they have questions about any of these changes.

I appreciate the different food access programs at the Farmer's Markets in our district. Make sure to attend this Summer to use your benefits to purchase local, quality and nutritious food.

This summer and fall at the Forest Grove and Cornelius farmers markets, the coordinators are making sure everyone in the community feels supported.

SNAP, EBT, and P-EBT cards will be accepted and matched at both markets, allowing those who need food assistance the chance to get fresh produce grown in their community and more.

Both markets also offer additional help to those who need it.

The Forest Grove Farmers Market is on Wednesdays from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. on Main Street between 21st and Pacific Avenue from May 3-October 25. The Cornelius Farmers Market is on Fridays from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. at 1370 North Adair Street behind the Cornelius Public Library from June 2-September 29.

Free Utility Funding - Hillsboro

I encourage Hillsboro residents to apply for free utility assistance if you have past-due costs.

ACT IMMEDIATELY -- FREE utility assistance funding - with NO REPAYMENT required - is now available to qualifying @CityofHillsboro customers with past-due water and wastewater costs on their city utility bill. Visit www.Hillsboro-Oregon.gov/UtilityAssistance to learn more!

PUBLIC HEALTH

Sun Protection Tips

Just a reminder to always check the weather forecast and apply sunscreen when needed to protect your skin this Summer - encourage friends and family to do the same in order to keep our community safe and healthy!

IMPORTANT RESOURCES & INFORMATION

WILDFIRE-RELATED RESOURCES Click here, or on the image to the right, for important resources related to wildfire prevention and recovery. This list includes links to current fire restrictions and recreation site status maps, the Oregon Department of Forestry's fire prevention tip page, and important resources for wildfire victims.

RESOURCES FOR OUR VETERANS Click here, or on the image to the right, for a list of important resources for Veterans, including links and phone numbers to the various divisions of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, local Washington County assistance, supportive and community-based groups like the American Legion, and mental health resources.

EDUCATION RESOURCES Click here, or on the image to the right, for a list of Education-related resources. This includes links to the Forest Grove and Hillsboro School Districts, the Oregon and US Departments of Education, information on how to pay for college, student lunch programs, and much more!

STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT  Click here, or on the image to the right, for links to important local and state government pages, including the Hillsboro, Forest Grove, and Cornelius city government pages. You can also access the Oregon Legislature's page, and other important state agency sites, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Unemployment Department, and the Oregon Health Authority.

Beautiful scenery from the 4th in Southern Oregon. Home away from Home!

Yours truly,

Representative Susan McLain
House District 29

email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-489, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain