Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays with family and loved ones. The new year brought a final round of legislative interim committee days to the Capitol earlier this month, followed by a brutal snow and ice storm. I am thankful to our first responders, electrical, tree, and road crews that have been hard at work to restore power and maintain safety on our roadways in such treacherous conditions. I hope you are doing well and were able to stay safe and extend help to check in with those nearest to you during this challenging time.
Thank you for reading along. This update will highlight January’s interim committee days, provide a preview of some of the concepts I will hear in my assigned committees during the 2024 session, as well as outline my top priorities. It is my honor to represent your voice in Salem and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
 Rick Lewis
State Representative
House District 18
Oregon’s Christmas Tree District
In this issue:
View previous newsletters and information here.
The final in-person community meeting for the Joint Committee on Transportation, Special Subcommittee on Transportation Planning took place on January 6th. The information focused on the Oregon City/West Linn/Gladstone areas. It was disappointing that the committee leadership chose to focus the meetings only on the metro area when tolling, should it occur, impacts more than that region as drivers travel the state. As with the previous community meetings, the presentations from local officials and community members covered congestion pricing/demand management, diversion mitigation, alternative transportation options, and mitigating impacts on low-income families.
I greatly appreciate all who took the time to participate in these events. Your testimony and emails provided critical information about your thoughts and concerns on tolling Oregon’s roadways. Recordings of all community meetings can be found on OLIS here.
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A Deep Dive into Expected Outcomes of Tolling on Driver Behaviors and Travel Patterns
The House Interim Committee On Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans met on January 11th. Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) and other stakeholders provided an update on the Roseburg Veterans Home.
For background, in 2011, the Legislature, via HB 2578, directed a third veteran’s home to be built in Roseburg, OR. Currently, there are two statewide. ODVA in conjunction with the Roseburg VA, has been working to collocate the facility. There are federal grants available through the USVA that can award up to 65% of construction funding for initial costs, with 35% of funding required for a state/local match. The total cost of the Roseburg Home will range from $63-$81 million in total funds. In 2023, A bill (SB1009) passed out of HEMGGV committee that would have authorized $100 million in General Obligation bonds for the Roseburg Veteran’s Home, but the bill died in Ways & Means.
We also received an Airport Readiness Report from the Oregon Department of Aviation. There are 97 public-use airports in the State of Oregon. In 2023, the Legislature directed the Oregon Department of Aviation to study airport resiliency and report back to the Legislature. The report found that during a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, multiple critical infrastructure systems will fail simultaneously and takes weeks to repair. Fuel storage was also a major issue identified in the report. Over 90% of Oregon’s aviation fuels are stored west of the Cascades, with 70% of it stored at one airport (PDX). The report recommended adding fuel storage capacity throughout Oregon to mitigate this risk. The report found that no airport currently has a runway capable of surviving a megathrust earthquake. The report suggests that the state establish a two-year pilot program for funding of resiliency related equipment for publicly owned, public-use airports in Oregon.
The Oregon State Treasurer presented Oregon’s Net-Zero Plan. After pressure from progressive grassroots groups, State Treasurer Read is advocating the state’s $90 billion pension fund to divest itself from fossil fuels. Public Equity and Real Assets comprise the largest share of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Emissions. The Department plans to present their Net-Zero Plan to the Oregon Investment Council in February 2024, and rollout their plan thereafter. I will be watching this one closely. Investments in the State’s retirement program have a potential for a significant impact on retiree pensions. First and foremost, the State should provide the security necessary to guarantee the highest rate of return. Over the years, the PERS fund has experienced significant unfunded liability challenges.
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We also received a presentation on the Earthquake-Induced Toxic Inhalation Study from the Governor’s Office and various stakeholders.
A work session was held to introduce three committee measures for the 2024 session as follows:
LC 76 – Earthquake-Induced Toxic Inhalation
Requires DEQ to study risks related to toxic inhalation caused by earthquakes and to submit a report by December 1, 2024.
LC 89 – PERS Reclassification
Reclassifies District Attorneys under PERS as a “Hazardous Position” for purpose of benefits. The bill lowers the retirement age for police officers and firefighters under PERS. Establishes a class of hazardous positions for 911 telecommunicators and State Hospital employees under PERS and increases retirement benefits for employees in the category.
LC 75 - Honors Dick Tobiason and all of his work for veterans
The committee also took the privilege to invite Lieutenant Colonel Dick Tobiason to express their gratitude for his advocacy and decades of dedication to Oregon veterans in the federal, state, and local legislative process in the introduction of this committee bill. |
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As a veteran and in my role as the committee’s vice-chair, it is my great honor to recognize Dick’s contributions that have inspired many and mean so much to our veterans and their families. More than half a million Oregon veterans and their families have been honored through the work of Dick and the Legislature in the designation of a number of state highways as veteran memorial highways. Dick is also the founder of the Bend Heroes Foundation and the work he has done for Central Oregon veterans is amazing. It has been my honor to work with him over the course of the past 7 years and I look forward to many more years because I know his heart for our military veterans, and I strongly suspect his work is not yet finished.
More will come later after we work to honor Dick’s service to our State.
Meeting materials and a replay of the committee meeting can be viewed here.
On January 11th, the Joint Interim Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Public Safety heard an overview of the following requests from state agencies and held work sessions on the individual items to pass them to the Interim Ways and Means for consideration in an omnibus bill for February 2024 short session.
3. Public Defense Services Commission – Unrepresented Defendant/Persons Crisis
Hourly Program
4. Public Defense Services Commission – Executive Branch Transfer
20. Oregon Military Department – Capital Construction Limitation Increases
21. Oregon Military Department – Facility Enhancement Projects
22. District Attorneys – Nonunanimous Jury Convictions
24. Department of the State Fire Marshal – 2023 Fire Season
25. Department of Emergency Management – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
29. Department of Justice – Internet Crimes Against Children
30. Department of Justice – Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor
Meeting materials and a replay of the committee meeting can be viewed here.
The Joint Interim Committee On Ways and Means met on January 12th, to approve the following reports and grant applications to secure funding for projects throughout the state.
The following Consent Grant applications received approval:
26. Department of Emergency Management - Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
27. Department of Emergency Management - Flood Mitigation Assistance
28. Department of Emergency Management - Post Fire Hazard Mitigation
33. Housing and Community Services Department - Rental Assistance for Persons with
Disabilities
39. Department of State Lands - GIS Wetlands Inventory
40. Department of State Lands - South Slough Visitor Center
43. Department of Fish and Wildlife - Fish Hatchery Maintenance
49. Department of Energy - Home Efficiency Rebates
50. Department of Energy - Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates
54. Department of Land Conservation and Development - Estuary Resilience
The committee acknowledged receipt of the following individual reports that were moved out of various sub-committees earlier in the week:
1. Secretary of State – Administrative and Operational Adjustments
3. Public Defense Services Commission – Unrepresented Defendant/Persons Crisis
Hourly Program
4. Public Defense Services Commission – Executive Branch Transfer
5. Higher Education Coordinating Commission – Educator Professional
Development Programs
6. Teacher Standards and Practices Commission – Licensing and Investigations Backlog
7. Department of Education – Director of School Facilities
8. Department of Education – Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education
9. Department of Education – Early Literacy Success Community and Tribal Grants
10. Department of Early Learning and Care – Birth Through Five Literacy Plan
11. Oregon Health Authority – Ballot Measure 110 Implementation
12. Oregon Health Authority – Substance Use Disorder Provider Accreditation
13. Oregon Health Authority – Jail Diversion Programs
14. Oregon Health Authority – Rebalance
15. Oregon Health Authority – Emerging Contaminants
16. Department of Human Services – Rebalance
17. Department of Human Services – Home and Community Based Services
18. Department of Human Services/Oregon Health Authority – Office of Financial
Services Positions
19. Department of Human Services/Oregon Health Authority – Non-State Employee
Collective Bargaining
20. Oregon Military Department – Capital Construction Limitation Increases
(Representative Lewis, carrier)
21. Oregon Military Department – Facility Enhancement Projects
22. District Attorneys – Nonunanimous Jury Convictions
24. Department of the State Fire Marshal – 2023 Fire Season
(Representative Lewis, carrier)
25. Department of Emergency Management – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
29. Department of Justice – Internet Crimes Against Children
(Representative Lewis, carrier)
30. Department of Justice – Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor
32. Employment Department – Office of Administrative Hearings
34. Housing and Community Services Department – Statewide Rehousing Program
35. Department of Veterans' Affairs – Home Loan Service IT System Replacement
36. Oregon Business Development Department – State Small Business Credit Initiative
37. Oregon Business Development Department – Cultural Trust Administration
38. Oregon Business Development Department – Emerging Contaminants
41. Department of State Lands – Land Administration System
42. Parks and Recreation Department – Park Acquisitions
44. Department of Forestry – 2023 Fire Season
45. Department of Forestry – Urban Forestry and Forest Legacy Programs
46. Department of Energy – Financial Oversight
47. Department of Energy – Grid Resilience
48. Department of Energy – Climate Action Plan
51. Department of Environmental Quality – Information Technology Services
52. Department of Agriculture – Resilient Food Systems
53. Department of Land Conservation and Development – Agency Level Change
55. Water Resources Department – Dam Rehabilitation
56. Water Resources Department – Strengthening Dam Safety
57. Water Resources Department – Walla Walla Groundwater Study
58. Land Use Board of Appeals – Strategic Plan
59. Columbia River Gorge Commission – Climate Action Plan Position
60. Columbia River Gorge Commission – DEI Outreach Initiative
64. Department of Transportation – Statewide Transportation Improvement Funds
65. Department of Transportation – Headquarters HVAC Upgrades
66. Department of Transportation – Federal Grant Award Limitation
67. Department of Consumer and Business Services – Financial Regulation Positions
68. Department of Consumer and Business Services – Salary Selective Adjustments
69. Board of Pharmacy – Investigation Position and Reclassification
70. Board of Nursing – Investigation and Administrative Support
71. Board of Dentistry – DAS Shared Financial Services Transition
72. Bureau of Labor and Industries – Registered Apprenticeship Program Compliance
73. Bureau of Labor and Industries – Civil Rights Division Performance
74. State Library of Oregon – Digital Documents
76. Oregon Racing Commission – Revenue Impacts
77. Department of Revenue – 2023 Session Budget Adjustments
78. Department of Revenue – Child Tax Credit Fraud Prevention
79. Department of Revenue – Certificates of Tax Compliance
80. Department of Administrative Services – Compensation Plan Changes
81. Department of Administrative Services – New Positions to Address
Organizational Changes
82. Department of Administrative Services – Position Reclassifications
83. Public Employees Retirement System – Position Reclassifications
Meeting materials and a replay of the committee meeting can be viewed here.
Due to extreme weather conditions on Friday, January 12, the House and Senate Interim Committees On Judiciary met jointly for a virtual meeting.
Informational hearings to preview individual member bills were held. The committees also held work sessions to introduce committee concepts for the 2024 session as follows:
House Judiciary Committee Legislative Concepts Introduced:
LC 256 – Rap Back Program
Permits the Oregon State Police to submit fingerprints of participants in Oregon’s voluntary Record of Arrest and Prosecution Background (Rap Back) program to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Rap Back system and permits the FBI to retain those fingerprints for the purpose of future search submissions. (One Pager)
LC 224 – Omnibus Cannabis Bill
Aims to address the illicit cannabis grows and associated problems involved with illegal grow operations.
LC 260 – SATF Funding
Appropriates money to the Department of Justice to fund the Sexual Assault Task Force’s management of the Oregon Sexual Assault Examiner/ Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Certification Commission. Appropriates $400,000 from the General Fund.
Senate Judiciary Committee Legislative Concepts Introduced:
LC 218 - Relating to Construction Agreements
Provides that a public body may not include certain provisions relating to payment of its defense costs in a contract with a person or entity providing architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, photogrammetric mapping, transportation planning, land surveying services or related services.
LC 228 – Relating to Civil Matters (Civil Omnibus)
Directs the Judicial Department to study civil laws in this state. This placeholder will be amended to include (1) authorization for the Attorney General to disclose documents obtained in consumer data privacy investigations or enforcement actions to the Attorney General’s hired experts, and (2) privacy protections for minors’ personal injury settlements. It may also include (3) temporary adjustments to the recreational immunity statutes, pending stakeholder input about what may be needed in 2024 while workgroup discussions continue during the interim.
LC 202 – Relating to Public Safety (Public Safety Omnibus)
Designates as a sex crime abuse of a corpse in the first degree that involves sexual activity. Operative date of January 1, 2025.
Clarifies that humane special agents commissioned under ORS 181.345 are “law enforcement officials” for the purpose of receiving driver’s license and identification card photos from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and adds humane special agents to those who may request disclosure of personal information from ODOT under ORS 802.179. Operative date of January 1, 2025.
Modifies for consistency references for definitions of “law enforcement agency” and “law enforcement officer” as they relate to the Commission on Statewide Law Enforcement Standards of Conduct and Discipline. Operative date of January 1, 2025.
Clarifies that hearings of the State Board of Parole and Post Prison Supervision and hearings of the Psychiatric Security Review Board are exempt from the requirement that a meeting be published online. Applies to hearings conducted before, on or after the effective date of the Act. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.
Addition Informational meetings and presentation covered topics related to Property Tax Foreclosure, Parole Reform, a Public Defense Services update, and a report from the Oregon Department of Justice relating to the Commission on Statewide Law Enforcement Standards of Conduct and Discipline.
House and Senate meeting materials and a replay of the committee meeting can be viewed here.
We are two weeks away from the 2024 Legislative Session. Friday, January 12th was the deadline for legislators and committees to drop their bills for introduction. House and Senate members were allotted two bills each. The measures will be first read on opening day, Monday, February 5th and will be posted on OLIS for review.
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The coming session is a short 35-day “sprint” in contrast to the regular 160-day “long session” that occurs in the odd-numbered years. Much of the groundwork for the February short session has been put into place. I am ready to get started. We have a lot of work ahead and a short time to get it done.
The Oregon Legislative website contains a wealth of information and resources to help you navigate the process and get involved. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office if you have a particular interest or concern about a proposed bill. We are here to listen and to help.
I will continue to serve on the following committees during the 2024 Session:
- House Committee On Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans - Vice-Chair
- Joint Committee On Ways and Means
- Joint Committee On Transportation Special Subcommittee On Transportation Planning
- Joint Committee On Ways and Means - Subcommittee On Public Safety
- House Committee on Judiciary
Issues involving Measure 110 and Housing are sure to get a lot of attention this session. My two bills for the session propose common sense solutions to address Oregon’s addiction crisis and housing shortage.
HB 4046 (LC 74) – Relating to Housing (Family Dwelling Unit)
Allows rural residents to build an extra house for their families. Allows an occupying homeowner outside of an urban growth boundary to site one additional family dwelling unit on the tract of the home.
HB 4036 (LC 61) - Relating to Controlled Substances (Measure 110 Fix)
It recriminalizes possession of hard drugs to a Class A Misdemeanor. It also puts into place a number of other provisions to get people on the road to recovery. It stops the cycle of giving away money to non-profits for use in enabling addicts to continue using drugs and sets the funding on the path to treatment. It fully funds specialty courts and reinstates the leverage judges used to have to get people into treatment.
I am pleased to be joined by many of my Republican colleagues in this joint effort to end the devastating impacts of Measure 110’s failed policy. The following press release highlights those joint efforts and an opportunity for you to participate in a discussion in a telephone townhall later this month.
The drug overdose death rate is off the chart. Drugs are exacerbating the homeless problem, the mental health crisis and community safety and livability. We lead the nation in Meth use. The Oregon State Police reported during the 2023 Session that enough fentanyl was taken off the street to kill every Oregonian twice over. That is not the Oregon we want or deserve! I am tired of hearing people say there are no victims in drug use and that it should be a personal choice when, in fact, drug use destroys lives and families. We should be asking whether drug abuse is worse now than it was before Measure 110. Like with any other crisis we face, we should be attacking this problem with every resource available to us. Instead, we are taking baby steps at a time when there is a call for action.
HB 4036 is an omnibus bill with many components. It opens the door for the addicted to get treatment as opposed to services that enable continued drug use. It provides for a level of accountability while giving addicts all the tools they need to be successful in treatment, including expungement of an arrest upon successful completion of treatment. It ensures that specialty courts like drug courts are fully funded. It provides criminal penalties for the delivery of drugs that result in death and enhances the penalty for those who are convicted multiple times for delivery of drugs. And it ensures that the funding that is supposed to get people off drugs actually accomplishes getting people the help they need. Recent polling shows the majority of Oregonians would like to see Measure 110 repealed. HB 4036 can accomplish a great deal and get us well on our way to fixing this crisis. My hope is that it will be given a chance to succeed. If we don’t take the steps necessary now, we will be back in a few years working to take those bold steps in order to get a handle on the problem. Lives are at stake.
 
On December 27, the House of Representatives welcomed its newest member, Dwayne Yunker. It was my honor to attend his swearing in held at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem. Congratulations Representative Yunker - I look forward to serving with you.
 Thank you to the Oregon Alliance and Oregon Child & Family Center for Excellence for honoring my legislative work to secure state matching dollars for critical Behavioral Rehabilitation Services (BRS) programs in the 2023 session. I am grateful for your recognition and your partnership in service to Oregon’s children and families.
Congratulations to the Kiwanis Club of Silverton on reaching your remarkable 60th Anniversary! This remarkable group of 28 members have a combine 375 years of Kiwanis service. Thank you for all you do! I wish you continued success in your mission of serving our communities and making a positive impact. Cheers to many more years of services and dedication!
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Congratulations to Dr. Nakeia Daniels on her appointment as the Director of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA). I am grateful for her dedication and leadership on veterans’ issues and for her service to our state and our country. I look forward to working with Director Daniels in my role as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Emergency Management, General Government and Veterans.
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January 15th, we celebrated a courageous leader who dedicated his life to the pursuit of equality, justice, and civil rights. As we reflect on his legacy, let us remember the enduring impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision and advocacy for a more inclusive and compassionate society.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1418
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-385, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.RickLewis@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/lewis
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