 * “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
—Helen Keller
 Ashland in fall
The Oregon Legislature routinely convenes three times between two regular legislative sessions for what’s called Leg (“Ledge”) Days. The second of those came and went last week. Most of our committees meet for updates from agencies and conversations about bill concepts emerging for the short session that begins in February. The shape of that session is coming into view, and there’s no mystery about what will take center stage.
Pretty much every legislator is hearing from constituents about Measure 110, approved by Oregon voters in November of 2020. The central idea was to shift policy on drug abuse from criminal punishment to treatment and healing—a sound concept if you want to move beyond the endless loop of property crime, arrest, prosecution, jail, release, crime, arrest, prosecution, jail, release…rinse and repeat.
Thousands of people all across the state are declaring M-110 a failure, citing a rising trend line of overdoses and deaths, more prevalent public drug use and petty crime as evidence. Few days pass when I don’t get mail from them (including resolutions from Jackson County and Medford city governments) urging us to override voters and repeal the measure altogether. A smaller number of emails urge us to keep M-110 in place so that new treatment initiatives have enough time to take root and make an impact. Other states that haven’t changed their laws, they point out, are seeing the same problematic upswings that we are, likely because of the persistence of homelessness, damage from the pandemic and, probably first and foremost, the tragically easy access to cheap fentanyl.
This was the focus of countless conversations during Leg Days. It’s clear that legislators from both parties are ready to make changes, so it’s safe to bet that this will be a top-tier issue in the coming session. If you want to follow along, here are some links that will get you up to speed.
- You can watch the November 6, 2023 meeting of the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response, mostly featuring testimony from law enforcement, here.
- Comments from our region’s House members and me are here. It touches on a strong belief I share with some other legislators that fully repealing M-110, which would mean re-criminalizing possession of small quantities of drugs, would be a big mistake. We have to move forward to something better instead of backward to a longtime War on Drugs strategy that so thoroughly failed us.
- A highly practical in-the-trenches perspective on all this comes through in this Portland Business Journal article.
Whatever lies ahead, I can’t see us adjourning the short 2024 session in March with Measure 110 unchanged.
People sometimes ask about the differences between Oregon’s short session (the one we hold every even-numbered year for not more than 35 calendar days) and the long session (held every odd-numbered year, like 2023, for a maximum of 160 days). One of the most obvious is the number of bills we can introduce. There’s literally no limit in the long session; I know legislators who’ll submit five or six and a couple who introduce—I’m not making this up—more than a hundred. If that sounds ridiculous, it is, and wastes time that could be spent improving and building agreement on legislation that will actually move; more on all that another day.
In short sessions like the one that begins February 5, we’re each allowed two personal bills as individual legislators, and every policy committee can submit three bills, which effectively gives committee chairs authority to get five bills into the mix.
Last week was a key deadline for submitting bill concepts. My two personal bills will be
- a ballot measure for November 2024 that asks voters to restore something like the severance tax that the timber industry paid until the 1990s. The revenue would go to wildfire programs, which currently have no steady funding source, local governments that used to share proceeds from the severance tax, and protection of water supplies that could be damaged by wildfire after-effects or timber management. This proposal will upset some people who say short sessions are the time for mid-biennium “tweaks,” not controversial bills. Sorry, but for me the inadequate funding level for wildfire programs while every summer brings the possibility of more Paradise and Almeda-type disasters is an emergency that won’t wait for the 2025 long session.
- a new collaborative program among Southern, Eastern and Western Oregon Universities, along with Portland State and the Oregon Institute of Technology, to train behavioral health workers and ease a staffing shortage that underlies our state’s mental health crisis.
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And the three bills I’ll bring to my Natural Resource Committee for introduction are
- a simplified new version of SB 509, which this committee heard in the 2023 session (we approved it and passed it on to Ways & Means, where it died for lack of funding). This bill grows the Community Risk Reduction Fund, the vital heart of the prevention component of our overall wildfire program, by improving and scaling up the neighborhood fuel reduction programs (often called “Firewise” communities) with a statewide network of Neighborhood Protective Cooperatives in high hazard areas. These collaborative programs plainly work; homeowners are energized by pitching in with neighbors who share a devotion to their own patch of ground. The state can lift this to another level by providing expertise on fuel reduction and organizing, and with small grants for folks without the wherewithal to get the work done themselves. This program has the potential to boost our fire readiness in a very big way.
- a bill that broadens that category of farm-and forest-land owners who can qualify for special property tax assessments. Right now you generally need to show certain income levels from working these lands; this bill would extend the benefit to landowners who meet certain standards for conservation and sequestering greenhouse gasses. This would be an optional program for counties, because it’s local taxing districts (local governments, school districts, fire districts, etc) whose revenue would be affected, not state coffers.
- another step in the long, sometimes fractious campaign to reduce commercial gill-netting in the main stem of the Columbia River. The bill, which would not affect traditional tribal practices, would end both the issuance of new gill net permits and a practice that has the state assuring that a certain minimum number of licenses are in circulation. It would also resume a longtime conversation with Washington State on a collaboration to buy out existing permits from fishing interests that hold them.
 Photo courtesy Jackson County Clerk's Office
It’s still early, and (though it’s fun) there’s not a lot of point to endless speculation about who’s running and who’s ahead of who for this office or that. But what’s already clear is that the current climate points to sad challenges for those in charge of running our elections, the folks who keep the wheels of our democracy turning. This describes the disturbing report that Oregon’s chief election officer, Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade, just delivered to the Legislature. Here’s what caught my eye:
“One of the clerks interviewed no longer feels comfortable telling strangers what their job is because they’re scared of the reaction…Concerns about threats and harassment also make it harder to recruit employees.”
Really? Is this where our state and nation have arrived in 2023? This report, alongside others like it across the country, can’t help making you wonder how did we get here? And maybe more importantly, how do we get back to a more grounded and rational place, based on a baseline of simple human respect and, hopefully, appreciation for the unseen people who do the mundane daily work that makes self-government possible.
I understand that some people genuinely doubt that our elections reflect the will of the people. I don’t have anything more to ask them to think about than what I’ve written in these pages before. But now that we’ve reached the point where rank-and-file election workers are justifiably frightened about going to work, can we agree across political differences that it’s time to take a deep breath and start restoring the human ties that bind our communities and country together? Where are we headed if we don’t?
You can read more of the Secretary of State’s report here.
 Elliott State Forest
In the 2022 session we passed SB 1546A to create the Elliott State Research Forest, the culmination of years of tough negotiation and compromise among conservation, timber industry and public school leaders (because state forests have a mandate to produce revenue for the common school fund). It was hailed as a model for what’s possible when longtime adversaries stretch their comfort zones and reflect on the common good.
Fast forward some twenty months. Just as we’re putting this newsletter to bed, news breaks (here) that Oregon State University, designated by the agreement to organize and administer the research forest, has decided not to participate at this point. What that means going forward isn’t yet clear. But I’ll admit that after years of tough work by key stakeholders, it’s hard not to worry about what will happen to this valuable, all-too-rare example of constructive resolution of a longstanding Oregon feud. I’ll be watching this one closely.
That’s all for now. Wishing you a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving,
 Senator Jeff Golden, Oregon Senate District 3
Department of Revenue-Agriculture Employer Overtime Tax Credit
If you are planning to apply for the new Agriculture Employer Overtime Tax Credit, you'll need to create a Revenue Online account before filling out an application. Applications must be filed electronically and will be available by January 1, 2024. No paper applications will be accepted. The application window closes January 31, 2024.
The department provides a YouTube video about how to set up and log in to your Revenue Online account. Details about the tax credit program are available at this website. For general questions about the employer tax credit for agricultural worker overtime, email: Ag.Overtime@dor.oregon.gov
Access resources:
- Access provides over 30 food pantries across Jackson County. Click here to locate one near you.
- Access hosts informative events throughout the year. You can see their upcoming events here.
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