2024 Legislative Session Underway
Friends,
The 2024 Legislative Session is well underway! We began on Monday, February 5th and are now 11 days into the 35-day-long "short session." Short sessions occur during even numbered years in Oregon. This means, according to the Oregon Constitution, we must be wrapped up with legislative business no later than Sunday, March 10th.
You can imagine with only 35 days to address a multitude of issues how fast and furious our days are in Salem. The top issues for the session include addressing Measure 110 or the decriminalization of hard drug use, as well as addressing Oregon's housing crisis.
My committee assignments for the session, include:
Stay tuned for an update on some of the major things happening in the Oregon Legislature and within House District 9.
Rep. Wright on the House Floor for the first day of the 2024 Legislative Session.
Measure 110 Update
We are now 11 days in to the 35-day long 2024 Legislative Session, and the Democrat majority still has not taken action to address Measure 110.
At the beginning of the 2024 Legislative Session, my House Republican colleagues and I introduced House Bill 4036 which would address Measure 110 by:
- Reinstating criminal penalties for drug use to a Class A Misdemeanor.
- Mandating treatment for those suffering from addiction so they can get the help that they not only need.
- Banning public drug use which has wreaked havoc on our streets.
- Allowing law enforcement the ability to utilize welfare holds of up to 72 hours for intoxicated people that pose a risk to themselves and others.
- Requiring prison for drug dealers and manufacturers and increasing the penalties for drug dealers whose sales result in the death of a person.
- Reinvesting our state dollars to ensure that funds make it to counties to address local needs.
House Bill 4036 was scheduled for a public hearing in the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response on February 7th, but this bill has not yet been scheduled for a work session (the next step forward in the legislative process) by the Committee Chairs.
This week, I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to Senate President Wagner, Speaker Rayfield, and Co-Chairs Lieber and Kropf reaffirming our commitment to addressing this crisis.
Democrats Reject Common Sense Education Proposals
On Thursday, February 15th, House Democrats voted down three common sense Republican bills that would have provided more educational opportunities for Oregon students, as well as protected the rights of parents to be involved in their child's education.
House Bill 4095 would have re-established basic proficiency standards for reading, writing, and math as conditions for a student to receive a high school diploma or a modified diploma.
House Bill 4161, of which I am a Chief Sponsor, would have effectively removed the cap on students who can enroll in a virtual charter school without their resident school district’s approval. Current law caps the percentage of students from a school district who can attended virtual charter schools that are not sponsored by their school district.
And finally, House Joint Resolution 203 would have proposed an amendment to the Oregon Constitution to establish the fundamental right of parents to direct the education, upbringing, and care of their children.
I am disappointed that politics, once again, got in the way of doing what is best for our students.
Priority Bill - House Bill 4038
One of my two priority bills for the 2024 Legislative Session, House Bill 4038, had to do with unemployment rates that were frozen during the pandemic through 2025. This legislation would have given businesses a tax credit if they got stuck with higher rates as a result of House Bill 3389 (which raised unemployment rates during the pandemic).
According to the Director of the Oregon Employment Department, David Gerstenfeld, 45,000 small businesses would have been positively impacted by this legislation.
This legislation was given a public hearing in the House Committee On Revenue on February 12th, but unfortunately was never scheduled for a public hearing by the Democratic majority - therefore "killing" the bill. I hope to bring this bill back for discussion in 2025.
Early Literacy Council - 1st Round of Recommendations
In July, I was appointed to the Governor's Early Literacy Council which was tasked with improving reading instruction for Oregon students by focusing on teacher preparation programs and licensing requirements.
You can read the recommended standards here.
You can submit comments on these standards through Tuesday, February 20th here.
Offshore Wind Update
Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management finalized two
wind energy areas off the coast of Coos Bay and Brookings. My comments on this decision are below.
 In January, I joined the Coastal Caucus in sending a letter to BOEM regarding their proposal. We raised our deeply held concerns that the needs of existing ocean users and coastal communities were not being prioritized by the agency. We also made it clear that any decision should not come at the cost of family
wage jobs and the commercial seafood industry that is so critical to Oregon coastal constituents, their communities, and the businesses that support them.
Unfortunately, based on the recent decision, I am afraid BOEM did not take our letter to heart.
You can read this entire letter from the Coastal Caucus here.
Meeting with Local Officials
Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session, I met with local government leaders from Coos Bay, Reedsport, North Bend, Coquille, and Canyonville. I appreciated each of them taking the time to meet with my colleague, Senator David Brock Smith, and I to share their concerns and thoughts with us before we headed up to Salem.
You can read more about this meeting in The World here.
"Our Town" Conversation with KCST Radio
Before heading to Salem, I also sat down with George Henry at KCST Radio in Florence for his show "Our Town." A primary topic of our conversation was Measure 110.
You can listen to the full interview here.
You can read more about the interview here.
House Joint Resolution 201
House Joint Resolution 201 would create Oregon’s first ever statewide property tax and use it to fund public safety. Oregonians already pay higher taxes than most states. This legislation would:
- Remove current local control over property taxes from Counties/Cities by allowing new statewide property tax scheme without limits.
- Allow Portland politicians to raise property taxes on rural Oregonians for their reckless spending.
- Remove current Constitutional limits on property tax rates (Measure 5) and assessment rates (Measure 50) with sneaky exceptions.
- Risk throwing seniors, the disabled and other limited income Oregonians out of their homes as property taxes become limitless.
This resolution would be referred to Oregon voters referral to voters for a final decision should it pass the Oregon Legislature.
House Bill 4080
House Bill 4080 provides a roadmap for offshore wind. Recently, every Republican member of the Business and Labor Committee attempted to amend the bill the make it less concerning, but their efforts were blocked. As drafted, this legislation would unfairly exclude many of Oregon’s local contractors
from participating in these projects, therefore significantly increase the cost of the projects. It would also exclude a large portion of Oregon’s locally owned contractors from bidding on these projects.
Senate Bill 1583
Senate Bill 1583 would dramatically curtail the rights of local school boards to control the curriculum in schools. The intent of this bill is clear – to prevent local school boards from removing ideologically driven content that could harm our kids. They are doing this because all across Oregon, communities are pushing back against this agenda that goes against their values and common sense.
Parents are pulling their kids out of Oregon schools by the thousands – passing this bill will only increase that trend. Parents and local communities have the fundamental right to direct how their schools are run. I urge you to speak out strongly against Senate Bill 1583.
As always, thank you for reading! It is an honor to serve as your State Representative.
-Representative Boomer Wright
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1409
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-372, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.BoomerWright@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/wright
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