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Hello Senate District 19 and beyond,
Happy Holidays! I sincerely hope everyone has the opportunity to spend some extra time with their family and friends this festive season. Whether it's sledding on Mt. Hood, hiking along our rugged coastline or finding a coffee shop to pass a rainy day, there is so much our beautiful state has to offer this time of year.
The end of the year is always a good opportunity to look back on how we each grew and made progress toward our goals over the past 12 months. This year was certainly noteworthy for the Oregon Legislature — we passed 653 pieces of legislation this year (94% with bipartisan support), many of which had a direct and immediate impact on communities around the state.
- We committed more than $200 million to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing, positioning Oregon to continue our leading role in the advanced manufacturing industry. When paired with federal money from the CHIPS and Science Act, economists estimate Oregon will see 7,000 new high tech jobs and 1,000 new construction jobs.
- We continued to respond to our housing affordability crisis by:
- Limiting rent increases to no more than 10% each year, while maintaining exemptions for new construction to support housing development.
- Committing more than $200 million toward increasing our housing supply, helping rehouse and shelter people experiencing homelessness and preventing future homelessness.
- Further investing in critical housing and homelessness services, including $130 million for navigation centers, Project Turnkey and new shelters; $5 million in direct funding to tribes to prevent and address homelessness; $12.5 million to support homeownership for low income families; $6 million for tenant services; and more.
- We responded to the U.S. Supreme Court's disastrous Dobbs decision by preserving and protecting access to reproductive health care in Oregon by:
- Keeping politicians out of the deeply personal health care decisions made between a patient and their doctor
- Ensuring parents and guardians who are abusive, neglectful or absent cannot deny a minor access to an abortion
- Shielding health care providers from anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-freedom laws in other states
- Myself and House Speaker Dan Rayfield also created the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response to tackle the drug crisis from both a public health and public safety perspective. Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber and Representative Jason Kropf have been working extremely hard as co-chairs of the committee as it has meet throughout the interim. The committee is actively working on a comprehensive proposal that is going to keep our communities safe and save lives.
I know I'm going to be taking a few days to spend time with my kids back home from college this holiday season, because as soon as we enter 2024, the work starts with earnest. January legislative days are the 10th, 11th and 12th and less than a month later the 35-day short session will start on February 5. It's going to be a busy time and I'm excited for what the Legislature is going to be able to do together to help the people of Oregon.
 Met some inspiring student government leaders from OSU and UO at the Oregon Business Plan 2023 Leadership Summit last week.
Since my last newsletter I've had the opportunity to celebrate some of our recent legislative wins, discuss the future of our state and meet with people in my community about the issues most important to them. I am always struck that no matter where I go in our state, everyone cares about the similar issues. We all want great schools, we all want safe communities, we all want to be able to access health care and jobs and be able to pay our rent or mortgages.
And as the Legislature takes on these important issues, I love to see how our work translates to action on the ground.
Habitat for Humanity Project
A few years ago, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government passed the American Rescue Plan Act to get money into critical projects across the country to help revitalize and rebuild. In Oregon, state leadership provided legislators the opportunity to invest a couple million dollars into district projects of their choosing. The idea was that each legislator would know where that money could have the biggest impact.
Housing affordability is a major concern for our state, and my community is no different. So, I partnered with then-Rep. Andrea Salinas to help purchase a plot of land for an affordable homeownership project in Lake Oswego.
Last week, I got together with the group of people that made this project possible and celebrated as groundbreaking was about to begin. Many thanks to Congresswoman Andrea Salinas, Mayor Joe Buck, Clackamas County Commissioners Paul Savas and Martha Schrader, Metro Councilors Lynn Peterson and Christine Lewis, OHCS Director of Homeownership Keeble Giscombe and everyone who was instrumental in moving this project forward.
I'm excited to continue partnering with cities, counties, business and nonprofits to get more communities like this built and make homeownership more accessible for Oregonians across the state.
Celebrating Senate Bill 3
I was thrilled to be able to take an evening to celebrate the passage of Senate Bill 3 with a few of the bill's biggest advocates, including the leaders from Oregon's Credit Unions. Senate Bill 3 adds to Oregon high school graduation requirements one half-credit of personal finance education and one half-credit of higher education and career path skills.
This bill will help ensure our young people are leaving school with the skills they need to make good financial decisions now and throughout their lives. Classroom instruction can include: resume writing, filling out job applications, applying for college, finding scholarships, developing employable skills, taking advantage of community-based learning, and acting as a self-advocate for mental, physical and financial health.
Many people had fought for this idea to become law for years, and I was thrilled to be a co-chief sponsor alongside Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp and help pull it across the finish line in the 2023 session.
Discussing the Intersection of Education and Workforce
On December 11, I had the opportunity to speak at the Oregon Business Plan 2023 Leadership Summit alongside my friend House Speaker Dan Rayfield. We had the afternoon slot after the "news of the day" had already been announced — the recommendations from the Governor's Portland Central City Task Force.
The theme of the day was "Thinking Big" and the organizers made sure that each speaker knew that and came prepared to talk about the big ideas they care about. For me, it's all about education.
I believe that we need to better connect education to careers, particularly for those students that might find themselves losing interest in school as they get closer to graduating. We need to work backwards from the careers and jobs we will need in the 21st Century economy and position our young people to develop the skills they will need for those jobs while in school. Alongside traditional schooling, that means more available career and technical training, bolstering community colleges and ensuring universities are affordable. It also means we must position students for success starting in pre-K by investing in early learning and building the strongest K-12 system our state has ever seen.
The entire conference is available at this link. My conversation with Speaker Rayfield and Joth Ricci (CEO of Dutch Bros) begins right around the 5-hour mark.
Portland Central City Tour
Over a couple days back-to-back recently I was able to see firsthand the heartbreaking realities of homelessness and drug use on the streets in Portland and the heroic efforts underway to help save lives. I've been focused on housing affordability, homelessness and the drug crisis for some time now, but it's different seeing the situation up close and speaking with people who are struggling with addiction and unable to find the support they need.
A major part of helping people lift themselves out of these circumstances is sheltering. I was able to tour a safe rest village in Portland that is helping people by giving them a safe, clean space to live. Life on the street is all fight or flight — safe rest villages give people space to relax and figure out how to move forward.
This particular safe rest village — operated by non-profit Urban Alchemy — also provides a variety of support services on site, regularly placing people in homes.
Unfortunately, demand still far outstrips supply when it comes to shelters and safe rest villages. But there are hundreds more shelter beds that will be coming online in the next year in the Portland area. I'm hopeful that Portland can be a successful model for other cities of how best to help people struggling with homelessness and drug addiction.
SW Trails
There are so many places to hike in Oregon, that sometimes we forget that there is great outdoor exploring in our backyards. I spent an afternoon walking through different portions of the Hillsdale to Lake Oswego Trail, a section of the urban hiking SW Trails in Portland. We discussed the history of certain portions of the trail, the parts of the trail that still need to be completed and how the region could be transformed when all the segments are complete. Then-Rep. Andrea Salinas and I secured nearly $1 million in 2021 to help complete the trails and I'm excited with the progress that has been made.
Hiking is one of my passions and to have a new hiking trail fully coming online in the not-too-distant future is very exciting. Even if you don't live in Portland, I encourage anyone who finds themselves in the region with a little time on their hands to walk on the SW Trails. There's really nothing quite like it anywhere else in the state.
There's something new afoot for young, civic-minded Oregonians courtesy of Oregon Business & Industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. This year, for the first time, middle schoolers in our state will be able to compete in the Oregon Civics Bee, a multi-part competition that encourages engagement in civics and contribution to community.
The Bee is open to all Oregon students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Students who wish to participate must write a 500-word essay that identifies a community problem and explains how to address it using founding principles and civic virtues.
The deadline for submission is Jan. 8. Essays can be submitted through an online portal on the Oregon Civics Bee website, where students and their families can find additional guidance on founding principles, civic virtues and more.
A panel of judges will pick the 20 best essays and invite their authors to the Oregon Civics Bee event at Willamette University on May 30. There, students will participate in a quiz-style competition. Second- and third-place finishers will receive awards of $750 and $500, respectively, while the champion will win $1,000 and receive an invitation to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Civics Bee in fall 2024.
There is more information at the Oregon Civics Bee website, which also features guides for teachers, students and parents and answers to frequently asked questions.
The Oregonian: Feds award $600M for new Interstate Bridge connecting Oregon and Washington
The Interstate 5 bridge replacement project got a huge surge of federal funding this week, securing a $600 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
KGW: Starting Jan. 1, which new Oregon laws are going into effect?
Beginning New Year's Day, dozens of new laws go into effect in Oregon. While most represent subtle changes to state law, they collectively impact a broad range of subjects, including criminal law, business, health care and housing.
Statesman Journal: US judge backs barring of Oregon senators from ballot after boycott
A federal judge has rejected a request from Oregon Republican state senators who boycotted the Legislature to be allowed on the ballot after their terms end.
Oregon Capitol Chronicle: Winter road maintenance will continue with $19 million promise from Kotek, Oregon Legislature
Oregon’s top elected officials pledged to spend millions of dollars on winter road maintenance after dire warnings from the state Department of Transportation that highways would go unplowed because of a budget shortfall.
If you would like to contact the Senate President's Office, send an email or call and either myself or a staff member will assist you. If you are a constituent coming to Salem and want to arrange a meeting, I'm always happy to meet, so please let us know well in advance as my schedule fills up quickly.
email: Sen.RobWagner@OregonLegislature.gov
phone: 503-986-1600
address: 900 Court St NE, S-201, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/wagner
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