Southwest Oregon's Fish, Farm & Forestry District

Hello Friends,

We have one week left before the end of the 2024 Legislative Short Session. 

I went into this '24 Legislative Short Session with two top priorities. To repeal/reform Measure 110, that would give law enforcement the tools they need to save lives while protecting our residents, and to secure the needed $35 million dollars to begin the process of establishing Oregon's Third Veterans' Home in Roseburg. With Friday's historic vote, we have one top priority accomplished and we have until constitutional Sine Die on March 10th to get that critical investment for our Veterans. We will continue to be all hands on deck working to get the Roseburg Veterans Home funding done. 

Yesterdays Press Release

Oregonians Win as the Oregon Senate Recriminalizes Hard Drugs through Historic Vote in Repealing/Reforming Measure 110

Contact: Shelia Megson Chief of Staff Sen.DavidBrockSmith@oregonlegislature.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 1, 2024

SALEM – Today, the Oregon State Senate voted to repeal/reform Measure 110 and end the decriminalization experiment that has cost so many Oregonians their lives and has torn families and their communities apart.

“Since the Majority Party refused to address recriminalizing drugs in the 2023 Legislative Session, I called for a Special Session to repeal Measure 110 in October of last year, to save lives and give our law enforcement officers the tools they need to protect the health, lives, and safety of our residents, said Senator David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford). As the Joint Committee On Addiction and Community Safety Response was formed and began their work, my Senate and House Republican colleagues joined Representative Reschke and I on the call for a Special Session to repeal the failed experiment that was Measure 110 and recriminalize hard drugs.”

Today’s historic vote (Click the link to the right to see my Floor Comments) is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work by a broad group of stakeholders including the Oregon State Sheriffs Association, the Oregon District Attorneys Association, the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police, the League of Oregon Cities, the Association of Oregon Counties and many more departments, agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals.

“HB 4002 A goes well beyond a repeal of Measure 110 and is the first step for law enforcement to have the tools they need to save lives, get drug dealers off the streets, get users the treatment services Oregonians wanted and to begin to give back our communities to their residents and families. There is more work to be done, and I will continue to work with our law enforcement officers, community leaders and fellow elected officials to make sure we strengthen this work in the 2025 Legislative Session”, concluded Senator Brock Smith.

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Senator David Brock Smith represents Senate District 1, which includes Curry, Coos, and Douglas Counties. This press release and an archive of previous press releases issued by Senator David Brock Smith’s office are available on the web at: www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd

Click Here for Senate Republican Leader Knopp's Press Release. 

Click Here for my original testimony to the Joint Committee On Addiction and Community Safety Response that starts at 8 minutes. 

Click Here for my next testimony to the Joint Committee On Addiction and Community Safety Response where I discuss my two amendments below.

Click Here for my -4 Amendment that flag U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when a fentanyl dealer and manufacturer is in violation of federal immigration law. 
Click Here for my Press Release with Representative Goodwin. 

Click Here for my -39 Amendment that would require trial lawyers in Oregon to have training in criminal defense law and then to provide 120 hours of public defense services before December 31, 2027. As the Republican Senator on the Joint Ways & Means Committee on Public Safety and the Council of State Governments West 

This is by far the most support on a single Floor Letter that I have ever witnessed in my 14 Oregon Legislative Sessions in the Capitol. Thank you for all of your collaborative work. 

How HB 4002 A, our Measure 110 Repeal/Reform Legislation, brings more tools to our Law Enforcement Officers and District Attorneys than just a straight repeal of Ballot Measure 110. Thank you to Clatsop County Sheriff Phillips for putting together this comparison and all who worked on this critically important fix for our communities, their residents and the businesses that support them. 

Oregon Coastal Caucus Urges BOEM to Address Concerns Before Advancing Offshore Wind Projects
Time to Submit Testimony to BOEM Ends March 15th

As I stated in a recent Press Release, (Click Here for the link) Federal BOEM has moved forward in their designated Wind Energy Areas (WEA) off of the southern Oregon Coast. My Coastal Caucus colleagues and I continue to be opposed and push back on BOEM to have honest engagement with us, our fishing and ocean users and other stakeholders. 

Please see the link above that will take you to the Press Release from our Legislative Coastal Caucus Chair, Representative Gomberg and myself. There are links within the Press Release that will take you to our recent letter to BOEM Director Klein. You can also Click Here for an article on our collaboration with our fishing industry stakeholders and others, as well as the  previous letter of opposition to Director Klein and a link to that letter within the article. 

The 30 day BOEM comment period will end on the 15th of March.

Click Here to go to BOEM's website.

Click Here for more information on BOEMs WEA. 

Click Here for additional information and the link on page 19 to submit your comments. 

Thank you again for all of your incredible advocacy in opposition to this project. Please remember that this is a federal agency proposing a project in federal waters. We are State Legislators and have no control over federal projects. That said, our combined efforts have produced results by reducing BOEMs Wind Energy Areas by 86% from what they originally proposed! 

I want to also personally thank Englund Marine for all of their work and support. i am truly honored to work with you and your team on these and other critical issues for our residents. 

Senator Brock Smith discussing Federal BOEM’s OSW with Englund Marine’s Josh Bettesworth and Dylan Meek

Some Recent Legislative Wins for Oregonians

This last week resulted in not only the end of the decriminalization of drugs experiment in Oregon, but also had some key bills I sponsored with my colleagues clear the Oregon Senate unanimously. We've had devastating wildfires due to the lack of the federal government managing federal lands, that have impacted our Senate District and others around the state. Residents have lost their homes, their lives and their livelihoods. These steps that we have taken should have happened long before now, however I am happy they are moving forward. 

As to the lack of management by our federal agencies on federal forest land, we had the first step in my plan when Senator Bonham and I passed our Good Neighbor Authority Legislation, HB 4118 a number of sessions ago. We then finally passed my bill, SB 862 in the last 2023 Legislative Session, that I have previously shared with you. In a future newsletter soon, I will present to you how I have worked with my colleagues to lay the foundation for active management of those federal resources that I mentioned during committee HERE and HERE. Building this coalition will not only begin to protect our rural communities by making our forest more resilient to wildfire, but it will also bring timber to market, and workforce jobs to our communities that will help protect and keep our most valuable resource, our youth, from having to leave our communities to find work and raise their families elsewhere. 

However I digress, the first legislative win this last week was SB 1520 that creates an Oregon tax subtraction for amounts received in [settlement] resolution of a civil action arising from wildfire. It allows taxpayer to amend return to claim refund for earliest tax year in which subtraction is allowed. Applies to declarations and executive orders issued on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2026, and to amounts received in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2020.

Click Here for my Joint Press Release.

Click Here for my Senate Floor Comments. 

The second was SB 1545 that authorizes a county to allow a homestead rebuilt by the same owner on the same lot to replace the homestead destroyed by the September 2020 wildfires to have a specially assessed value equal to the destroyed homestead's real market value for the 2020-2021 property tax year, to the extent of the square footage of the destroyed homestead. Provides that the specially assessed value continues until the earliest of the date on which the rebuilt homestead is no longer the owner's principal dwelling, is rented to another person for any duration or is transferred to new ownership.

Click Here for my Senate Floor Comments. 

I want to thank my Senate colleagues for their unanimous support of these bills and respectfully request my House colleagues to unanimously support them as well. 

Sportsmen's Show

I was able to get away from the Capitol for a bit and attend the Sportsmen's Show. As the longtime Co-Chair of the Oregon Legislatures Sportsmen's Caucus, I sincerely appreciate what the Oregon Hunters Association does for all of us in and outside of their Capitol. I had the opportunity to visit with two of their best advocates, Amy Patrick and Mike Totey. Thank you for all of your incredible advocacy and collaboration for our sportsmen activities. 

Douglas County Sheriff Hanlin & Lt O'Dell 

I sincerely appreciate the incredible public service by these two dedicated law enforcement professionals, along with Sheriff Hanlin's deputies and staff. Sheriff Hanlin has served with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office for 35 years, and the last 15 as Sheriff.

Lieutenant O'Dell has served the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for 18 years and during last year’s fires in Douglas County, did exceptional work as the DCSO Communications Officer.

I was honored to give both of these incredible public safety professionals courtesies from the Floor of the Senate at the end of our Senate Floor Session as they were in the building advocating for public safety issues for our residents during the start of our Floor Session. Thank you and your team Sheriff, for all that you do for our communities and their residents. 

Glide Revitalization and Wildfire Victims Testify 

I appreciate Glide Revitalization Director Jeana Beam, and Glide residents Cheryl Niquette and her partner Jerry Schwartz for coming to their Capitol to advocate for our wildfire resident relief bills that I mentioned above and in my comments on the Senate Floor. I wish we could have moved this legislation in previous sessions, however I am so glad we were able to get these important bills out of the Senate and on to the House of Representatives. 

Oregon Optometric Physicians Association

I have worked with Dr. Walker for many years and want to thank him, Dr. Grove, Dr. Calvert and others for coming to their Capitol to check in this legislative session while they were in Salem for their annual conference. Thank you for providing your expertise and services to our residents of the south coast. 

Roseburg Optimist International Respect for Law 48th Annual Awards Banquet 

I had the privilege to join Representative Osborne, Commissioners Freeman and Kress, Sheriff Hanlin, Lt O'Dell, Chief Klopfenstein and dozens of Law Enforcement Officers, public safety professionals and guests at the 48th Annual Roseburg Optimist International Respect for Law Awards Banquet. Thank you to the Optimist International members of Roseburg, all of the sponsors and attendees for an incredible event honoring our Law Enforcement Officers for their incredible and dedicated work protecting the health, life and safety of our residents. 

Roseburg High School Boys Varsity Basketball

I was also able to catch the last half of the Varsity Boys Basketball game. What an amazing game these young men played, and it was the final game for a number of the players. Congratulations to our Seniors Mykah Mendoza, Jullian Lopez, Asher Vredenburg, Vincent Ash, Michael Bosley and Jazz Mac Lean. We wish you the best!

I want to give a shout out to Head Coach Jordan Humphreys for all of his great work! A reminder to all of you in and around Roseburg, the Roseburg High School Boys Basketball Annual Dinner Auction is coming up on Saturday, April 6th at 5:00 pm at Bar Run Golf and RV Resort. I attended the great event last year and was able to give Coach Humphreys and his crew courtesies from the Senate Floor for all of their efforts. 

Port Orford Rotary Annual Crab Feed Fundraiser

I also had the opportunity to get down to the south coast and join over 225 attendees at the Port Orford Rotary Annual Crab Feed. I've had the privilege to serve on the Rotary Board and this annual event is always a hit and sold out event.  Attendees travel from other states and across Oregon to attend. All of the proceeds go towards the high school scholarship endowment fund and local projects. And, they still use my recipe for their baked beans! Thank you to all of the Rotary volunteers and all who attended to support Rotary scholarships. 

Southern Oregon Hospital Leaders 

The Hospital Association of Oregon held their annual Oregon Hospital Leadership Summit in Salem and I want to thank Southern Coos Hospital CEO Raymond Hino and CFO Antone Eek visited with me in our Capitol Office. 

As many are aware, I have been a huge supporter of Coast Community Health Center since its inception when I was the City Council President many years ago. I want to personally thank Linda Maxon for her vision and years of dedicated leadership at Coast Community Health Center. I also want to thank all of the healthcare leaders that have come together at my request, bringing their experience and expertise, to make sure that Coast Community Health continues to provide the needed healthcare services to the residents of the south coast. You can watch my courtesy to them from the Senate Floor by Clicking Here.

Governor Kotek Visits to Talk Roseburg Veterans' Home

I want to thank Governor Kotek for taking the time to stop by our Senate District 1 Office to speak with me about the need to secure the funding for Oregon's Third Veterans' Home in Roseburg and other issues facing our Senate District in southwest Oregon. 

OIT President Nagi G. Naganathan

Oregon Institute of Technology President Nagi G. Naganathan and were over in the House having a conversation about career and technical education when we realized we were wearing almost identical ties. I appreciate President Naganathan for his work and advocacy. 

Cape Blanco Lighthouse by Ray Diehr

Ray Diehr of Ray Diehr Photography planned this perfect shot on February 22nd and it is absolutely incredible. The Cape Blanco Lighthouse located at Cape Blanco State Park is a true gem of the south coast. I sincerely want to thank Ray Diehr for sharing his talent with us. 

As you know, I personally put these newsletters together. I usually have staff proofread them, however it's nearly 9:00 pm on Saturday so I am not going to ask them to help as they work incredibly hard every single day for our residents. So please forgive any errors I may have missed in this newsletter.  

Thank you again for all of your advocacy during this 2024 Legislative Short Session. We are only a week away from the end of the 2024 Legislative Short Session but there are still a number of Bills of Concern and Bills to Support. My legislative colleagues and I sincerely appreciate your efforts in submitting testimony, sending emails and making phone calls.

As I mentioned above, I had two top priorities during this 2024 Legislative Short Session. The first was to repeal/reform Measure 110 and after many months of work, we accomplished that goal Friday. We crafted and passed a bicameral, bipartisan piece of legislation that will give our Law Enforcement Officers the tools they need to save lives, protect the health, life and safety of our residents and get users the treatment they need. There is still work to be done and I will continue to work with our Law Enforcement Professionals over the next year to prepare for the upcoming 2025 Legislative Session so that we are ready to give them the additional tools they may need and advocate for when we are back in session in January. 

The other top priority is to secure the needed resources for Oregon's Third Veterans' Home that, because of the previous good work by our Veterans' and then Representatives Freeman and Hanna, is written into Oregon Law to be located in Roseburg. I cannot thank everyone enough for their incredible advocacy on this critically important project. As of this writing, we have 8 days to go before constitutional Sine Die (end of session) and we will continue to push collectively to secure this important funding for our Veterans. 

As always, thank you for the privilege and honor to work for you in the Oregon State Senate. Be safe and God Bless you, your family and your neighbor.

Yours Truly, 

Senator David Brock Smith

Together, We Will Build a Better Oregon

Senate District 1
Curry, Coos, and Douglas Counties
Southwest Oregon’s Fish, Farm, and Forestry District.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1701
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-316, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.DavidBrockSmith@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd

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To contact me, please click here: Sen.DavidBrockSmith@oregonlegislature.gov