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After wrapping up the second week of the 82nd Legislative Session, we’ve officially hit the first major deadline of the year. For bills to stay alive, they had to be posted for a work session on Tuesday. With a mad dash to make sure priority bills were on track to make it out of committee, legislators across the board had to advocate for their bills to be prioritized and moved through committees.
I'm including another video update this week, you can click here or the picture below to watch.
 
Despite the chaos of a short session, I was honored to have been visited by valuable constituents. I had students from Ontario FFA stop by during the statewide FFA Day in Salem.
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I was also visited by my good friends from Midstate Electric Co-op, who were making their rounds in Salem to discuss how they serve HD 60 and opportunities for growth in the power industry.
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Beyond highlighting the great visitors I had in my office this week, there are several bills and concepts I’d like to provide updates on. Arguably, the most important piece of legislation we are working on this year revolves around addressing the consequences of Measure 110. However, this week the Department of Justice came out to clarify that our judicial system could not handle the influx of arrests if we recriminalize drugs and that our treatment centers are not equipped to serve the needs in this state. Despite this information, I am still determined to find a solution this session that helps our law enforcement have the leverage they need to get people into treatment.
I chief-sponsored and introduced HB 4150, which allows physicians and practitioners to know when a patient has had a near fatal overdose in order to avoid prescribing drugs that would further their addiction. This bill has been voted out of the House and will be heard in the Senate committee on Health Care.
I would also like to highlight HB 4133, which would help Oregonians decrease property taxes due to wildfire mitigation and protection. With the changing landscape in Oregon, it’s of the utmost importance that we find a true balance between funding our Department of the State Fire Marshal while ensuring we aren’t adding extra burdens to Oregon landowners.
Lastly, a bill that came through the House Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water was HB 4059. This is the canola (brassica) bill, and there has been conversation going on this topic since 2003 when ODA placed caps on the amounts of brassica that can be grown in the Willamette Valley. Before the bill was amended, it would have directed OSU to study this area and report back to the legislature, hopefully to find a way for a strong specialty seed market and different forms of brassica to coexist in the Willamette Valley. We should allow crop choice in the Willamette Valley, as a farmer I cannot support control over legal crops being grown. You can watch the testimony in the public hearing here and the work session here.
Our office has received dozens of calls and emails on HJR 201. I am opposed to this bill and do not think it has the ability to make it out of committee. The bill is being used as a conversation starter to and a diversion of the more important topics at hand.
At the beginning of session, we introduced 288 bills. As of today, any bills not scheduled a first chamber work session in any of the policy committees is considered dead. However, these deadlines do not pertain to bills sitting in Rules, Revenue, or Joint Ways and Means committees. You can keep up to date on which bills are still active during the 2024 legislative session by clicking here
Join me on Wednesday February 21, at 5:30 PM (PT), along with Senator Findley as we are live from Salem for a virtual town hall. We will answer your questions, update you on the current session and hear what you have to say. Please register here to join us.
- A Harney Domestic Well Remediation Fund Information Session Wednesday will be held March 6 from 5:30-7pm at the Harney County Community Center or online. To attend virtually, register here. To stay up-to-date, sign up to receive OWRD funding opportunities.
- Wallowa-Whitman National Forest will hold a local, open house for the public in Baker County on Tuesday, March 12 from 5-7pm at the Baker County Conference & Event Center. Shaun McKinney, Forest Supervisor and Kristi Tapio-Harper, Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor, will be providing updates on the forest as well as any local projects.
- The Harney County Youth Career Fair will be held March 14 from 10am-2pm at the Memorial Building on the Harney County Fairgrounds. Eastern Oregon colleges and businesses will be providing information to local students on career pathways and opportunities.
Congratulations from the following HD60 students for making the 2023 Fall University of Oregon Dean’s List:
- Russell Xiang Anderson
- Savannah Angelyka Brown
- Payton Kathleen Hobson
- Georgia Ellen Johnston
- Logan Jamison Lewis
- Phoebe Leigh Wise
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Capitol Phone: 503-986-1460
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-475, Salem, OR 97301
Capitol Email: Rep.MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Capitol Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/owens
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