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Friends and neighbors,
The 2023 Legislative Session came to a close in late afternoon hours of Sunday, June 25th, just hours before the constitutional deadline.
My first session was a rollercoaster. You can imagine there was a learning curve from being a stay-at-home-mom to a legislator, but I can tell you that I embraced that challenge and feel even more confident in my ability to serve you as your Representative. In addition, this session had no shortage of political drama and sharp political disagreements that forced me to fight even harder for our district.
Despite the partisan fights, I was able to help pass some important legislation that will have a positive impact on our community and funding for our local trade school education.
As we move forward, these newsletters will become monthly, instead of bi-weekly. Because we are out of session, things will not be moving as nearly as fast as when we are in the building full-time passing legislation. Be assured, that your state government is still working. Agencies are always making rules that impact you. I will attempt to keep you up to date with those opportunities to get involved.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with comments, questions, or concerns at 503-986-1422 or Rep.TracyCramer@oregonlegislature.gov.
Best,
 Tracy
 Local Wins
Part of representing you at the Capitol is advocating for the taxes that we pay to the state actually come back to benefit us. As part of the budget bills that ultimately passed, several line items will benefit our communities in House District 22.
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HB 2001 and 3395 - $15,000,000 for safe and accessible housing for our agricultural workforce.
- $1 million to increase access to career and technical education at Willamette Career Academy for students in Woodburn, Gervais, and North Marion County
- $1.85 million to youth shelter services in Salem.
- $175,000 for needed air quality upgrades in the East Salem Community Center.
- $450,000 for the El Campo Community soccer field in Salem.
- $1,025,000 for Marion Polk Food Share mobile pantries
Policy Wins
While the bad legislation gets the majority of the headlines, I was able to help pass some good bipartisan pieces of legislation this session. A few of the bills that made it over the finish line are:
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HB 2645 – Gives law enforcement more tools to protect communities from fentanyl.
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HB 3584 – Requires schools to notify parents electronically in the case of a security threat at their child’s school.
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HJR 16 – Refers measure to voters to ask if Oregonians want the Legislature to have the power to impeach statewide elected officials.
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HB 3204 – Increases access to virtual charter schools.
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HB 2725 – Lowers prescription drug costs by limiting the power of pharmacy benefit managers.
I recently joined a bipartisan group of legislators to send a letter to the Oregon Department of Transportation and the DMV asking to give Oregonians impacted by their data breach 1 year of credit monitoring. This is standard practice in the private sector. Our government should do the same.
2024: Impeachment on the Ballot
In the final days of the Legislative session, on unanimous votes in both the House and Senate, House Joint Resolution 16 passed, which will ask voters in 2024 if they want the legislature to have the power to impeach a sitting statewide elected official. No matter your party, impeachment is an important accountability measure. Oregon is the only state in the nation without an impeachment process for statewide elected officials.
Pumping Gas: You Now Have A CHOICE
HB 2426 was passed in the House on March 20, 2023. Last week, the Senate passed HB 2426 giving Oregonians a choice in how they fill up at the pump. As a reminder, in the blue counties in the below map, up to 50% of the pumps at a gas station may now be open for self-serve, while the other 50% will be full-service during business hours. In the green counties, they may have self-serve at all hours.
 Tax Relief for Farmers: HB 2073 and SB 498
Another set of bills that passed in the last hours of the 2023 session were two bills to help family farms.
HB 2073 will put certain agricultural processors on the same playing field as others for purposes of paying the corporate activities tax (CAT).
SB 498 increases the estate tax credit for generational farms, ranches, fisheries, and forests. The estate tax is an unfair double tax imposed after someone’s death. Over 96 percent of our state’s farms and ranches are family owned and operated. Oregon’s tax law should not punish an industry that feeds Oregon and provides essential jobs. Nor should our estate tax policy be in direct conflict with the desire to preserve and protect our family-owned farms and ranches. While I believe the estate tax is a cruel and unfair tax on everyone, this is what we could get passed this session.
Increase Access to Justice for Sex Abuse Survivors
I proudly supported HB 3632 to increase the statute of limitations for first-degree sex crimes from 12 years to 20 years after the crime. Minors will also benefit from this extended timeline by allowing them to come forward before they are 30.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1422
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-376, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.TracyCramer@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/cramer
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