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Hello Friends,
I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer!
After six months of the ‘23 Legislative Session, I spent the summer meeting with valued community members in my district and listening to their concerns and learning how best to serve them in Salem.
Legislative days kicked off at the end of September with informational meetings and updates on agency work and possible upcoming bills. We’ll continue to work through the end of this year developing concepts and formulating bills to help solve for the critical state problems we’ve identified.
I encourage you to communicate with me as I value your insight and feedback. I’ve included contact information at the end of this newsletter. I will continue to send these newsletters to update you about what I’m working on and highlighting newsworthy events.
It is an honor to serve you and I take your concerns about the direction of our state very seriously.
Health and Happiness,
 Representative Christine Goodwin
District 4
September 27th was a special day in the Capitol to honor our fallen Veterans. In 2022 I introduced the Veteran’s Cremains Bill (HB 2147) requiring that funeral entities notify County Veteran's Officers when they had unclaimed Veteran’s Cremains languishing in storage. The VSOs will now finally give the eligible Veteran a proper burial.
Roseburg, Oregon was the epicenter of the discovery that perhaps thousands of Veterans across the country had not been honored for their service with a dignified burial. Now we have a process to make the connection between funeral homes and Veterans' advocates.
The Governor selected this bill for a Ceremonial signing in the State Library. I was so honored to be a part of this moment to honor the service of Veterans to our country. It was evident by the happy faces that this was indeed an important accomplishment for Veterans in Douglas County and throughout the State.
  
I was successful in passing HB 2725 in the 2023 Legislative session. It is now law that a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (third party administrator) may not retroactively claim fees after a pharmacy has adjudicated a point of sale. This is intended to allow a more transparent and fair transaction process for rural and critical access pharmacies that are truly struggling to keep their doors open. It is so important for patient access and safety to keep their community pharmacy!
 A big thank you to Myrtle Drug. This local smalltown Pharmacy played a large role in helping craft this legislation.
I will do all I can to support success of our new leadership team. Success is winning five more seats in the House and bringing back balance to state government. The Democrats have had autocratic rule over our state for ten years and it must stop. The Democrats agenda has led to failing policies in housing, homelessness, mental health and drug addiction, public safety and crime, lowered educational standards, and an increasingly unaffordable Oregon.
Republicans will offer better solutions. We are unified in the fight to win more seats in the next election and change the direction of our state. We do not accept an Oregon in decline.
I have been asked to participate on the ‘Joint Task Force Hospital Discharge’ as the only House Member. Hospitals have a true crisis as to where to place patients after they no longer need acute hospital care. It creates a strain on needed hospital beds when patients can’t be discharged until a suitable skilled nursing or long-term care facility becomes available. I’m willing to dig into this problem with a team of 22 appointed professionals and propose possible solutions.
I am honored to be asked to serve on Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response. The negative outcomes of M110 have become widespread in our state. No communities are safe from the mental illness/ substance abuse epidemic in Oregon. We can no longer assume this problem will be resolved with more time and more money. Our state is heading in the wrong policy directions, and we must make significant amendments or fully repeal M110. I’m eager to be involved with discussions about solutions, not excuses.
Recent bipartisan polling shows 74% of Oregon voters, including 63% of Democrats, support recriminalizing personal possession of fentanyl, heroin and meth while maintaining existing cannabis taxes for drug treatment- and making treatment required- not voluntary- as an alternative to jail.
Oregon Republicans are proposing 6 amendments to M110:
- Prohibit the use of hard drugs in public places.
- Make possession of lethal drugs like fentanyl, meth and heroin a crime again.
- Replace voluntary with required addiction treatment.
- Prioritize diversion, treatment, and recovery over prosecution and jail.
- Maintain cannabis taxes for expanded prevention, treatment, and recovery; improve oversight and accountability.
- Expand penalties for drug dealing.
In January of this year, Gov. Tina Kotek declared homelessness an emergency and then laid out a plan to get people off the streets and into permanent housing, as well as preventing houselessness. She signed three executive orders to implement it. And early in the legislative session, lawmakers signed off on a $200 million package to fund the governor’s plan.
The special initiatives director for Oregon Housing and Community Services, presented in a committee during Legislative Days last week only captured the state’s progress on Kotek’s goals through July 31, so understanding is limited. A data dashboard will be launched sometime this fall, but he did not give a specific date.
Kotek’s initial emergency order did not include 26 rural counties, so lawmakers also approved around $26 million as part of the funding package to create 100 new shelter beds and rehouse 450 households in those counties by June 30, 2025.
While money that fell under the governor’s executive order went out the door in April, for the rural counties, money will go out this month.
Funding for Rural Counties in Homelessness Response
The following funding amounts are based on many factors, including the appropriation made available by the Legislature, detailed plans that local communities submitted, and a distribution formula developed by the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department:
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Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa counties: $1.2 million to rehouse at least 33 households
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Benton County: $2.4 million to add at least 50 shelter beds and rehouse at least 31 households
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Clatsop County: $3.8 million to add at least 80 shelter beds and rehouse at least 33 households
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Columbia County: $867,453 to rehouse at least 20 households
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Coos County: $1.9 million to add at least 8 shelter beds and rehouse at least 32 households
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Curry County: $594,000 to rehouse at least 14 households
- Douglas County: $1.4 million to rehouse at least 34 households
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Gilliam, Morrow, Umatilla and Wheeler counties: $2.1 million to add at least 25 shelter beds and rehouse at least 40 households
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Harney and Malheur counties: $1.3 million to rehouse at least 34 households
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Hood River, Sherman and Wasco and counties: $1.9 million to add at least 34 shelter beds and rehouse at least 29 households
- Josephine County: $2 million to add at least 16 shelter beds and rehouse at least 31 households
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Klamath and Lake counties: $1.4 million to rehouse at least 38 households
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Lincoln County: $856,178 to add at least 70 shelter beds and rehouse at least 16 households
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Linn County: $1.9 million to add at least 30 shelter beds and rehouse at least 32 households
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Tillamook County: $769,404 to add at least 20 shelter beds and rehouse at least 12 households
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Yamhill County: $1.3 million to add at least 14 shelter beds and rehouse at least 21 households
Communities established 16 Local Planning Groups with designated leads to coordinate and create a plan to achieve the outcomes. Local Planning Groups are made up of experts from local governments, non-profits, and people with lived experience of homelessness. These groups will be responsible for the implementation of funds to help move individuals and families into housing stability. Local Planning Groups submitted 29 shelter projects for consideration, with a total request of over $37 million.
I was one of the honored guests alongside Douglas County Commissioners Tim Freeman and Chris Boice for the Opening Launch of the Riddle Activity Center called ‘Riddle Roots’. This multi-purpose community center will provide a much-needed gathering place for activities and learning for both youth and adults. There are plans for partnerships with South Douglas County businesses and school districts to provide pathways to learning opportunities for youth to explore careers in local industries.
Riddle Roots will provide after school and summer programs including fitness courts and tracks, stage and concessions for events, covered playground, community kitchen, and emergency shelter are all included in the plans.
This is a beautiful example of people in small towns contributing their talents and resources and thinking big to create something that truly enhances the quality of life for families in Riddle and throughout South Douglas County.
I am very proud of our community.
I had a wonderful time with you at our Town Hall Events. From Glendale to Applegate these conversations have been extremely valuable to me as it truly helps me best represent you in fighting for the values you hold dear.
During this series of community conversations, I discussed the obstacles we faced in Salem in the 2023 Legislative Session, and heard what issues matter most to Southern Oregon communities.
Where I've been:
- Glendale
- Rogue River
- Roseburg
- Canyonville/Riddle
- Applegate Valley
Save the date!
We will be meeting in Gold Hill on Monday Oct 23rd at 5PM. I will share updates from the 2023 Legislative session, hear your concerns, and answer any questions you may have.
I look forward to seeing you there!
During the 2023 Legislative Session, I introduced HB 3523 which would have created an Oregon tax subtraction for wildfire settlement awards received in civil cases. Unfortunately, it did not make it out of Committee.
It is critical that the state lend as much support as possible to wildfire victims who, in many cases, have lost everything. It is not fair that these families must pay taxes on the entire amount of the settlement awarded, including the portion paid directly to the attorneys. After paying state and federal taxes, as well as attorney fees, families end up retaining significantly less than half of what was theirs in the first place. This is a housing issue as well as an environmental justice issue. For the state to keep dollars that are rightfully paid to families, who are trying to rebuild their lives, is egregious. I stand firm with my constituents who have suffered the life-altering tragedy of wildfire. It is my intention to bring this bill back before the Legislature during the 2024 Short Session and fight hard to see HB 3523 passed.
The Taylor Creek Fire west of Grants Pass burned all the way down to the Rogue River.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1404
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-386, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: rep.ChristineGoodwin@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/goodwin
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