Hello Friends,
I hope this finds you and your family well. It has been busy in the District and around the state.
Oregon Outdoor Recreation Summit
Oregon Coast Trail - Moving From Planning to Action
I had the opportunity to join hundreds of Oregonians at the Mill Casino in Coos Bay to present our work, six years in the making, on moving the Oregon Coast Trail forward. During my first year in the Oregon Legislature, I drafted HB 3149 which required a development plan for completing the Oregon Coast Trail. A short time later, we were able to have Governor Brown move it forward as an Oregon Solutions Project, which allocated resources to assist in the development of the action plan. I had the privilege to co-convene the Oregon Solutions Project with my friend, Oregon State Parks Commissioner Doug Deur.
I want to thank all of the coastal county commissioners, mayors and councilors, agency staff, community members and volunteers for all of their work and engagement to get us to the action plan. A special thank you to Oregon Coast Visitor Association Director Marcus Hinz for his incredible work, support and the creation of the Oregon Coast Trail Foundation, which will be critical to the success of the OCT as we move forward. I would also like to add that Oregon Parks & Recreation Department is a state agency that receives no state general fund dollars. I appreciate the leadership from OPRD Director Lisa Sumption and her staff. They truly do the fantastic work for Oregonians with the limited resources they have to do so.
 Battle Rock Beach, Port Orford
 OPRD Jenna Marmon, OCVA Marcus Hinz, Ann Hanus and myself
 Me & OPRD Coastal Regional Director Dennis Comfort
 Me, Coquille Indian Tribal Chief Jason Younker and Representative Court Boice
 Me and Richard Stillwagon, Stillwagon Distillery and the Oregon Coast Artisan & Trade Education Collective.
Douglas County Livestock Association Annual Meeting
Honored to Receive Legislator Award from Oregon Cattlemen
As a member of the minority in the Oregon Legislature, legislation does not get a public hearing without the majority allowing it to happen. I introduced HB 3372, the legislation to create the State Meat Inspection Program, during our 2019 Legislative Session. I was able to have a hearing and move it out of committee. Unfortunately, it was not allowed to proceed through the process nor given a vote on the floor of the House Chamber.
Covid exposed serious issues in our protein supply chain in 2020, as well as the need for my previous bill. Leading up to the 1st Special Session of 2020, I worked with then Speaker Kotek and we were able to bring my State Meat Inspection Program legislation forward through HB 4206, where it passed both the House and the Senate unanimously.
I then came back in the 2021 Legislative Session, with my eastern Oregon colleague Representative Mark Owens, for some resources to assist our small processors in meeting the requirements of the USDA. We asked for $10 million for the grant program and received $2 million. These resources were critical and some of our local processors within the district received hundreds of thousands of dollars for their upgrades.
Representative Owens and I came back again in the 2023 Legislative Session for more resources to assist our processors. With his efforts in the House and mine in the Senate, we were successful in obtaining $9 million dollars for the grant program for our small processors. We were also able to allocate $600 thousand dollars to Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) to run our new State Meat Inspection Program and keep costs down for our ranchers.
Many of you that have received my newsletters in the past may already know, but for those that have not, here you go.
So, what does it do?
As a former 8-year Chamber Director/President, former 7-year City Councilor/Council President, County Commissioner, as well as many other locally elected positions, it always frustrated me that we were unable to purchase local protein (beef/lamb/pork) commercially at our local grocery stores. There are thirteen large processors in the state that have USDA Certified inspection. However, there are backlogs in processing timelines, increased travel costs, along with the associated processing costs, that make it difficult for the product to come back to our local stores. Imagine the cattle operation in Brookings, having to travel to Springfield for processing.
This legislation essentially created a USDA meat inspection program through ODA for Oregon, where small processors that meet USDA standards can process and package the product that can then be sold commercially within stores in Oregon. It is a huge win for our producers, our small processors, our rural communities across the state and their residents. I want to thank my friends at Mobile Ranch Butchering, who gave me the idea years ago and are moving forward with this opportunity on the south coast!
I am humbled and honored to receive the top legislative award from the Oregon Cattlemen's Association for this work. I appreciated OCA's President, Commissioner Todd Nash, for coming down and presenting me the award at the Douglas County Livestock Associations Annual Banquet. I want to also thank the hundreds of ranchers, farmers and attendees. Old and young, it was an incredible evening and I enjoyed speaking with so many of our local residents. Thank you for all that you do for the industry, our communities and their families.
 Commissioner Boice, Commissioner Freeman, myself, OCA President Nash and DCLA President Marwood
November Legislative Days
Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee
As your Senator, I sit on the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee. We had a number of fires within our district this season and I am again grateful to all of our firefighters and first responders for their swift and coordinated action to protect life and property.
Although many of the fires within our Senate District threatened lives and property, coordinated initial attack efforts kept acres burned low and saved structures.
Management of the federal forests is critical for our communities and their residents. We have made some progress in these areas. As I have reported before, last session I drafted and we passed SB 872, which positions the State of Oregon to the federal forest managers that we as a state want:
(A) Increasing forest thinning.
(B) Reducing ladder fuels and other hazardous fuel loading.
(C) Restoring meadowland.
(D) Increasing biomass utilization.
(E) Increasing post-disturbance recovery and restoration activities.
I want to thank my legislative colleagues for supporting this important piece of legislation, that again outlines Oregon's priorities of forest management on federally managed lands within the Wildland-Urban Interface of our District 1 that encompasses Douglas, Coos and Curry Counties, as well as throughout the State of Oregon.
Douglas County Constituents & Others Visit Their Capitol
Advocating for the Repeal of Measure 110
On Monday during November Legislative Days, we had a number of constituents and Oregonians advocating in the Capitol and speaking to legislators regarding the need to repeal Measure 110 to protect our communities and their residents. As I work first and foremost, for the people of Senate District 1, I appreciated the opportunity to have them visit their Capitol and Senate District 1 Office. I want to thank all those who took the time to visit their Capitol. I appreciated the opportunity to have these and other discussions about our work together for District 1 and Oregon.
 Shawn, myself, Sheri Brady from Douglas County & Jessica Davidson from Marion County
Holding the Majority to Follow the Law
Last week I attended a court hearing brought by Oregon Right to Life and two of my Republican colleagues, Senator Weber and Representative McIntire. At issue in the court case is a law that the majority party of the legislature refused to follow. The law in question requires summaries of bills to be written in a manner that meets an objective standard of readability so all Oregonians can understand how the law may effect their livelihoods. It was meant to bring transparency and accountability to the laws that your Senators and Representatives pass. Unfortunately, my colleagues on the left refused to follow this law. The only way to get them to comply with the law was to take them to court.
Below I am pictured with Lois Anderson, Executive Director of Oregon Right to Life and the attorney arguing our case to have the majority party comply with the law. The Department of Justice (executive branch) was representing the majority party of the legislature who want to ignore writing the summaries of bills according to the law. The DOJ’s argument was tongue in cheek: The Judicial branch should throw out the case because the courts shouldn’t tell the legislative branch what to do. The DOJ asserted it is a separation of power issue. As I listened to the executive branch (DOJ) make a separation of power argument on behalf of their client, the legislative branch, I couldn’t help but find amusement in the insincerity of such an argument. The irony of such an argument was apparently lost on the DOJ attorneys as they represent and defend the actions of another branch. The judge took the arguments into consideration and we are now awaiting his ruling that will presumably come in the coming weeks. I will continue to keep you all apprised of any developments on this case.
Oregon Senate Republicans Call on Governor Kotek to Declare a State of Emergency on the Failure of Measure 110
Special Session to address Oregon's Drug Addiction Crisis
I want to thank my fellow Senate Republicans for joining me and Representative Reschke in calling on the Governor to deal with this crisis. As stated in my press release and to the Governor, “Measure 110 has failed Oregonians and the overwhelming majority want change,” said Senator Brock Smith. “The decriminalization of drug possession, the lack of incarceration and required treatment has caused a dramatic increase in drug use and addiction, increased homelessness, open drug use in our communities and increases in overall property and other crimes. Measure 110 has ultimately compromised the safety of our residents by reducing the deterrent effect of law enforcement, taking away their ability for arrest.”
We must deal with this crisis immediately and we call on the Governor and her Democrat Majority to act today! Click Here for a recent national article on this critical issue.
 
House Republicans Call on Governor to Act
I want to thank Representative Osborne, Representative Boice, Representative Goodwin and our other House Republican colleagues for their leadership and action in calling on the Governor to act on the critical failures of Measure 110.
  
More to come on our push to fulfill the overwhelming majority of Oregonians' desire to repeal Measure 110 to save lives and give our law enforcement officers the tools they need to protect our residents and their communities, as well as Umpqua Community College's Legacy Ball Fundraiser, celebrating our service men and women at Roseburg's Veteran's Day Parade and festivities, Senate President Wagner joining me in Roseburg and Bandon to listen to some of our community leaders in our Senate District and other work in and around the district.
As always, thank you for the privilege and honor to work for you in the Oregon State Senate. Be safe and God Bless you, your family and your neighbor.
Yours Truly,
 Senator David Brock Smith
Together, We Will Build a Better Oregon
 Senate District 1
Curry, Coos, and Douglas Counties
Southwest Oregon’s Fish, Farm, and Forestry District.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1701
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-316, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.DavidBrockSmith@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd
| 
