|
Dear Friends,
Happy Friday! I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I am so glad it's almost the weekend. Below is a quick update from this week's events at the Capitol. I hope you find this helpful. As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
 Anna Scharf
State Representative - HD 23
HB 4080 - offshore wind
This bill passed on a party line vote out of the House Committee on Business and Labor. HB 4080 defines a state policy on offshore wind and energy and directs the state agency on energy to make a roadmap on offshore wind standards. Unfortunately, this bill will make offshore wind projects virtually unbuildable off the coast and close small open-shop local subcontractors completely out of the projects. Additionally, I do not believe offshore wind is an effective use of our money spent as it produces little amounts of energy and prototypes are estimated to only have a 15 year lifespan at most.
HB 4129 - in home care agency choice
This is a complicated piece of legislation that is basically a roundabout way to force homecare workers to pay union dues. HB 4129 passed on a party line vote out of the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services. I submitted an Op-Ed with the Freedom Foundation that you can read here. It's very informative and gets into the weeds as to why this bill is the wrong direction for Oregon. I attempted to have an amended version of this bill adopted, but the base bill was voted out of committee and referred to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means on a party line vote.
SB 1577 - extends motor voter registration
This bill would automatically register applicants for admission to public institutions of higher education to vote. There have already been some major concerns with motor voter and last session's extension Oregon Health Plan (OHP) participants. SB 1577 only opens the door for nonresidents and noncitizens to vote in Oregon. This bill passed out of committee on a party line vote.
SB 1593 - library book enforcement
The claimed goal of this bill by is to prohibit discrimination in schools when it comes to curriculum, libraries, and other instructional materials. However, the main intent of SB 1593 is to ensure that teaching all forms of sexuality, gender identity, and critical race theory is enforced. SB1583 would ultimately take power away from local communities who are standing against the radicalized ideologies being brought into schools. The Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue have different posting guidelines, so this bill remains alive for the time being.
SB 1537 - housing bill
At the request of Governor Kotek, this bill is the housing and infrastructure package to build more affordable homes for Oregonians. Although I am supportive of boosting housing production, I am opposed to land grabbing. SB 1537 is a "one time" opportunity for cities to expand the urban growth boundary. The bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development on the 13th with unanimous support. There was some compromise on the funding and the acreage amount, but once farmland is paved - you cannot unpave it.
SB 1559 - greenhouse gas emissions
This bill sets more aggressive state GHG reduction goals. The new goals mirror those adopted by the Oregon Climate Action Commission of reducing emissions to 95% below 1990 levels by 2050 (with interim goals in 2030 and 2040) and an additional aspiration of achieving net zero emissions as soon as possible and net negative emissions thereafter. Of course, I support reasonable, workable climate policy. However, additional GHG regulation should be part of a more comprehensive conversation for the 2025 legislative session, not part of a rushed short session. Thankfully, due to posting deadlines, this bill died in committee.
HJR 201 - property tax increase
The House Committee on Rules held a public hearing on this resolution, which is a referral to the voters to increase property taxes. Of course, I am absolutely opposed to this. The bill has not been scheduled for a work session, but the House Committee on Rules has different posting guidelines, so at any point this bill could move forward.
HB 4002 - M110 fix
Most of us agree M110 isn't working and something needs to change, but there are different ideas as to what that change looks like. The majority party wants HB 4002, which still allows public use of controlled substances, is soft on crime, and focuses mainly on deflection programs. Interestingly enough, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court wrote a letter to the Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response, and informed the committee she was worried about the consequences of HB 4002. The letter was not shared with other committee members, but apparently amendments to the bill are being worked. Read more about this here.
 Pictured with Chemeketa Community College President Jessica Howard and students on their lobby day.
 Pictured with Council President Mike Schilling, Mayor Ken Woods, and City Manager Brian Latta on the House Floor to vote on HCR 201, honoring Dallas for 150 years as a city.
 Pictured with members from the Oregon Cattleman's Association on their lobby day.
 Pictured with members from the Oregon Nurseries Association on their lobby day.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1423
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-387, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.AnnaScharf@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/scharf
| 
