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Hello Friends,
Last time we checked in, we’d just wrapped up the 2023 legislative session. After landing the plane, we dove into interim work: meetings to recap session, task forces to continue conversations that didn’t get enough momentum during session, and believe it or not, planning for the upcoming short session. Flash forward four months, and we’re gearing up for the holiday season and honing in on our plan for February.
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Three months away from the short session. During odd years, we have six months to pass bills and build budgets. During even years, we only get one month.
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Finishing up November legislative days. We have three sets of three day periods in September, November, and January where committees meet and receive updates on existing legislation and on issues we’re working to address in the short session.
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Entering the holiday season: pumpkin spice lattes, lots of family time, and a lot more layers.
As we reflect on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re headed, we look forward to continuing to hear from Oregonians across the state about what’s important to you. During the interim, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office. You can contact us by email at rep.danrayfield@oregonlegislature.gov or by phone at 503-986-1416.
Take care and see you soon,
Yours truly,
 Representative Dan Rayfield
House District 16
It's important to us that you can easily access our work at the Capitol so you can share your concerns, insight, and questions to make sure we're on the right track. You can follow along on our meetings, events, and big legislative moments by following our Rep. Dan Rayfield social media accounts:
 We also recently added a tab on our “news and information” page where we’ll archive all of the newsletters we send out. You can also find all of our press releases on the News and Information page.
If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to our email updates by subscribing in the upper right hand corner of the same page:
Now onto our news...
During September legislative days, we heard updates on how our healthcare system is functioning to provide affordable, accessible care, progress being made to house all Oregonians through last session’s housing package, and our work to make childcare accessible for all Oregon families through our first-ever state-based child tax credit, among other strategic investments.
We also announced a new Committee during September legislative days, the Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response (JCACSR). The committee will serve as the Legislature's hub for the coordination of an urgent public health and safety response to the drug crisis. Through the 2024 session and beyond, this bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators will provide oversight of state programs and funding while seeking short and long-term solutions to keep Oregonians safe and healthy.
You can read more about key issues we worked on here, including promising job growth stemming from Oregon CHIPS highlighted in articles like this one. Read more about our update in our press release here.
This week during November legislative days, we continued our conversations about housing production and affordability, held our second JCACSR meeting, and heard updates on the progress we got rolling with Oregon CHIPS to create family-wage jobs and our ongoing work to modernize Oregon’s economic incentives. The full November legislative days agenda and recordings of each committee meeting can be found here.
Everyone has a friend or family member who has been impacted by addiction. We know that the addiction crisis is taking a toll on our communities and Oregonians are frustrated. Our new Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response (JCACSR) is working urgently to find sustainable, effective solutions to help Oregonians struggling the most. The committee met for the first time on October 18th to testimony about Oregon’s current treatment and mental health system, which will inform legislation making our crisis-to-care system better and assist with our oversight of dollars and programming intended to help make our communities safer and get people the treatment they need.
You can watch the full hearing here or read our recap here.
Following our behavioral health-focused meeting, the second meeting focused on our public safety and criminal justice system and how the legislature can support law enforcement in connecting people to care.
You can watch the full hearing here or read our recap here.
 Our third JCACSR meeting will focus on alternative models and policy solutions implemented in other communities outside of Oregon to address substance use disorder through a coordinated public health and public safety approach.
Meeting with university presidents to talk about career readiness, touring local businesses, talking equity with local faith leaders, and more - some of which already live on our Instagram. Click here to see a montage of few other highlights from interim.
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HP currently employs 2,700 Oregonians and plans to expand their team significantly alongside company development, thanks in part to Oregon CHIPS. Our visit highlights the state legislature’s work to grow and modernize Oregon’s economy, preserve and create family-wage jobs, and empower programming connecting universities and businesses. Our work to draw down federal funding and link shared interests will set our kids up for fulfilling and sustainable careers - with our state's top economists forecasting thousands of new jobs in the coming years.
Read more about my visit here.
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Interim is a great time to get to speak with local leaders, get updates on state-funded infrastructure projects and programs, connect with local leaders, and learn about our strong local industries. Don’t take our word for it, take our words from two months ago for it!
“After a busy legislative session, it’s great to get out into Oregon communities around the state to see the impacts of our strategic investments firsthand,” said Speaker Rayfield. “We appreciate Representative Elmer taking the time to show us around the heart of Oregon’s world-renowned wine country and for all of her hard work fighting for projects, policy, and investments that directly benefit her constituents. Throughout fall legislative days and in the upcoming 2024 session, we’ll keep making progress to ensure that Oregonians are seeing the outcomes of our good governance.”
Read our full release here.
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It was amazing to be able to see a glimpse of the future Portland Airport. Our airports serve as hubs for recreational travel, cultural exchange, and business connections. PDX is known for its artsy flair (hello, in-house movie theater), street-price food, and friendly service. During our tour, we got to talk about a different kind of landing the plane this session…and got to hear more about the port and their renovation teams’ work to connect cities, families, friends, and industries in style. Even better, they're doing so using locally produced, sustainable materials.
Check out our Instagram post about our tour here.
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I meet frequently with press during legislative sessions so to keep an open line of communication. But aside from our hallway conversations, we don't frequently have time to properly catch up. In October, veteran reporter Dick Hughes and I got to catch up over breakfast to recap the 2023 session and look towards 2024. We also spoke about building trust, the power of strong relationships, and finding common ground.
Read his full column here.
 Another veteran member of the Capitol press corps, Peter Wong, wrote about a conversation with the Willamette Women Democrats where we spoke about my upbringing how it has shaped my service in the legislature.
You can read the full story here.
email: Rep.DanRayfield@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1416
address: 900 Court St NE, H-271, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/rayfield
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