Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Five short days ago we finished the 2024 Short Session. We cleaned up the office, filled out all the paperwork for end of session. This Newsletter will share accomplishments and future work for the Interim. Listed below in topic sections you will see important issues that were addressed:
- Housing and Homelessness
- Measure 110, Public Safety, and Treatment
- Education
- Infrastructure
Yesterday, Governor Kotek also sent a letter to the Transportation Commission to halt their work on the Tolling Project for funding future committed projects. The Legislature is in the process of looking at the best way to fund present and future projects and programs that make up the Multi-Model System. As I have said many times over the last few years, nothing is off the table. Funding tools must be stable, sufficient, diversified, and able to create a fair and equitable user system.
The State infrastructure system must be safe, resilient, maintained, and include modern options for new technology. It includes Freight movement, Buses, Trains, Bikes, walking paths, and opportunity for Bridges, Culverts, and State Facilities to be preserved and updated. We work with our local partners: Cities and Counties on their local roads as well by supporting them with their local projects. If the State does not have solid funding, we can’t share the 50% that we have in the past.
The State Legislature is continuing to tackle this important modernization conversation and future services for our Communities, State, and the West Coast.
UPCOMING TOWN HALL:
Please join me, Senator Sollman, and Rep. Sosa for a Town Hall on March 21st. We will be debriefing the 2024 legislative session and answering questions from attendees. There will be Spanish interpretation available at the event and we have also included a Spanish version of the Town Hall flyer.
Register for the Town Hall here, or by clicking on the image below:
This is the last year of construction at the Capitol! Our office is freshly organized after the end of the session and has a great view of the resiliency work being done!
  
OUTCOME OF MCLAIN BILLS IN THE 2024 SESSION
As I mentioned last week, each House and Senate member was only allowed to introduce two personal bills this Session due to the time constraints of the 35-day Session. My two primary bills were House Bill 4082 to fund Summer Learning and House Bill 4084 to provide educational support to foster youth. In addition to our two personal bills, Members can also sign onto another Member's bill as a Co-Chief Sponsor or as a Regular Sponsor. I was proud to sign on as a Co-Chief Sponsor of two bills: House Bill 4156 to update Oregon's stalking laws and Senate Bill 1553 to make drug use on public transit vehicles a crime under Oregon's Interfering with Public Transit statute.
Bills I Supported as a Regular Sponsor
As mentioned above, I was a Chief Sponsor of four bills this Session, but I also signed onto 11 other bills as a Regular Sponsor. These were bills that I was proud to support because they each identified an important change that I believe is needed in our laws. Below is a list of those bills and I've included their fate at the end of the Legislative Session. Thank you to all the Chief Sponsors of these bills for their hard work and for bringing forward important ideas. Whether the bills passed or failed, they all brought needed attention to issues that I believe deserve deliberation.
House Bill 4013 - The measure temporarily excludes glass wine containers as a covered product under the producer responsibility program until July 1, 2026. - DID NOT PASS COMMITTEE
House Bill 4083 - The COAL Act directs the Oregon Investment Council and the State Treasurer to make efforts to eliminate certain investments in thermal coal companies and funds without monetary loss to funds. - PASSED
House Bill 4127 - The measure sets quotas and guidelines for some warehouse workers. It allows workers to file a claim with the Bureau of Labor and Industries if an employer violates the measure's provisions. - PASSED
House Bill 4134 - Requires the Oregon Department of Administrative Services’ Oregon Business Development Department to provide grants to cities for specified infrastructure projects that will benefit housing developments that will make at least 30 percent of the dwelling units affordable to workforce-income households. - PASSED
House Bill 4146 - The measure provides that a petition for a Family Abuse Prevention Act order, Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Abuse Prevention Act order, or a sexual abuse restraining order may be filed in the county where the abuse occurred. The measure also removes the word “identifiable” from the crime of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image. - PASSED
Senate Bill 1532 - Directs the Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide education plan for students who are asylum seekers, refugees, or any other immigrant. - PASSED
Senate Bill 1556 - Senate Bill 1556 directs the Oregon Department of Transportation to conduct a study of the segment of U.S. Highway 30 that lies between milepost 49 and milepost 94. The purpose of the study is to determine deficiencies, to develop a plan for improving the segment to a state of good repair, and to provide a cost estimate for those improvements. - DID NOT PASS COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 1569 - Requires the Oregon Health Plan to cover cognitive assessment and care planning for its members who experience signs or symptoms of cognitive impairment. - DID NOT PASS COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 1583 - Prohibits discrimination when selecting textbooks, instructional materials, program materials or library books that are used in the public schools of this state. - DID NOT PASS COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 1595 - The Unlawful Debt Collection Practices Act (UDCPA) controls how a creditor, including a collection agency, may attempt to collect a debt. Unlawful debt collection practices include the use of obscene, threatening, or abusive language; communications without permission or threats of communication with employer; communications in writing without clear identification of debtor and debt collector; or pursuit of debtor for an incorrect amount or for a debt not owed. A creditor who willfully violates the UDCPA may be liable for minimum damages of $200, legal fees, and in some cases punitive damages. Senate Bill 1595 A exempts from execution of judgment or garnishment specific property and funds of a judgment debtor and increases the amount of damage award that is available for violation of UDCPA.. - PASSED
Senate Bill 1596 - The Right to Repair Act requires a manufacturer to make available to an owner or independent repair provider on fair and reasonable terms any documentation, tool, part, or other device or implement that is used to diagnose, maintain, repair, or update certain electronic devices if it is made available to an authorized service provider. - PASSED
At my desk on the House Floor!
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2024 SESSION ACCOMPLISHMENTS
This was the best Legislative Short Session I have experienced since I was elected to the Legislature in 2015. After reflecting on what we accomplished in just 35 days, I am genuinely amazed at all the issues we were able to tackle. Not only did we address Housing, Measure 110, Education, Infrastructure, and the Environment, but we were able to do so with in-depth deliberations and bipartisan collegiality. I came away with a much greater appreciation of Leadership, of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, of the amazing staff that works in the building, and of the Legislative process itself. Below are just a few of the highlights from the 2024 Legislative Session:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS
In this session, the Legislature invested $376 million in addressing homelessness and affordable housing through the Emergency Housing Stabilization and Production Package.
Affordable Housing: We established a fund to finance production of affordable housing and moderate income housing projects. The fund will be seeded with $75 million. SB 1537 also creates and allocates $10.6 million toward the Housing Accountability and Production Office to support local governments as they work to achieve their housing production goals. An additional $3 million will be directed toward the Housing Infrastructure Support Fund to provide technical assistance to small and rural cities for grant writing and other purposes. House Bill 4134 includes $7.1 million in additional direct allocations to cities for shovel-ready projects. In total, the Emergency Housing Stability and Production Package commits $376 million to address the most urgent housing needs facing Oregon.
Housing and Homelessness: The Emergency Housing Stability and Production Package makes investments directed at the immediate needs of Oregonians struggling with homelessness, having trouble paying rent, or needing a place to live while recovering from a substance use disorder:
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$65 million for to fund emergency shelters, Project Turnkey sites and navigation centers.
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$34 million for homelessness prevention services, through Oregon Eviction Diversion and Prevention and Eviction Prevention Rapid Response Programs with 30% set aside for culturally responsive organizations.
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$7 million to the Urban League of Portland for homelessness prevention services.
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$18 million to maintain and expand capacity for 27 recovery housing projects.
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$5 million into individual development accounts that can be used by first-time homebuyers.
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$1 million to Community Warehouse to support the furnishing of reused household goods to low-income residents.
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$1 million to Seeding Justice for education and support of tenants at risk of rent increase or possible eviction
Housing Infrastructure and Production: To support Oregon's ambitious housing production goals, legislators looked for projects statewide that the Legislature could assist with infrastructure investments and existing sites that could be purchased and developed into affordable housing. We invested $94.3 million in direct allocation to cities for 44 infrastructure projects across the state to support shovel-ready housing production.
MEASURE 110 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND TREATMENT ACCESS
Protecting Riders on Public Transit: Drug use on public transit significantly impacts Oregonians across the state. TriMet reports a 30% drop in riders feeling safe on buses and trains. Schools are reporting that students are finding drug paraphernalia on transit vehicles provided by ride connection partners. Senate Bill 1553 makes drug use on public transit vehicles a crime under Oregon's Interfering with Public Transit statute.
Oregon Drug Intervention Plan: the Oregon Drug Intervention Plan (House Bill 4002, House Bill 5204) to give providers and law enforcement the tools they need to keep people safe and save lives from the drug crisis. Learn more about both bills here.
HB 4002 will:
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Increase access to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) by eliminating health insurance barriers and allowing pharmacists to provide emergency prescription refills.
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Update the welfare hold timeline from 48 to 72 hours to respond to fentanyl.
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Expand Certified Behavioral Health Clinics to treat Oregonians with both mental health and substance use needs and improve care coordination.
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Ensure consistent, high-quality care statewide by applying CCO network adequacy standards to addiction treatment providers.
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Build up the drug treatment and mental health workforce by studying how to reduce barriers to credentialing.
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Initiate a strategic plan to prevent and treat youth drug addiction.
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Improve Oregon’s treatment system with the Task Force on Regional Behavioral Health Accountability.
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Stop more drug dealers by restoring Boyd deliveries and enhancing sentences for dealers who target people living in shelters, those in recovery, and people in parks.
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Intervene on public drug use and connect Oregonians to treatment via deflection programs.
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Monitor law enforcement interactions for racial and other demographic disparities through data collection and legislative review.
HB 5204 invests $211 million in shovel-ready projects to expand behavioral health treatment, apprenticeships and training for behavioral health workers, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in jails, addiction prevention programs and education, deflection-to-treatment programs, drug courts, and public defense capacity.
EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE
Employment Related Day Care: Through a combination of new general fund revenue, federal funds and special purpose appropriations, the Oregon Legislature is committing $171 million to the state's Employment Related Day Care program. ERDC helps working families pay for child care, which has become increasingly unaffordable for many Oregon families. The program saw a spike in enrollment in recent years due to program changes that expanded eligibility and access.
Summer Meals for Kids: For families experiencing food insecurity, the summer months can be extremely challenging as their children are no longer able to receive meals through school. In an effort to reduce food insecurity among those children, the Legislature is allocating $12.2 million in general fund through several state agencies for the implementation of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program. The program will provide low-income families a $120 grocery benefit for each eligible child. An estimated 294,000 students in Oregon could benefit from the program.
Summer Learning Programs: We invested $30 million in school districts this year to provide high-quality and culturally relevant summer learning programs in partnership with community-based organizations and tribal nations. These funds will immediately expand Oregon students’ access to school and community-based programs that boost youth engagement; accelerate academic success; nurture social and emotional learning; promote mental, physical, and behavioral health; and support college and career readiness.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Bridge Safety: Infrastructure across Oregon is in need of seismic retrofitting to ensure it remains standing and operational in the event of a large earthquake. Bridges are especially important so the flow of goods can continue during an emergency. With this in mind, the Legislature committed $6 million to the Port of Cascade Locks to fund engineering analysis, site investigations, project cost estimating, external outreach, and impact analysis for a seismic retrofit of the Bridge of the Gods.
Road Maintenance: The Legislature dedicated infrastructure maintenance funding to the Oregon Department of Transportation; $19 million for winter maintenance including snowplowing and $20 million to support graffiti and trash clean-up along ODOT property.
We ended the Legislative Session by electing a new House Speaker! Representative Julie Fahey is giving her first remarks as the new Speaker!
ONGOING AND IMPORTANT WORK WITH WASHINGTON
When Governor Kotek announced yesterday that there will be a halt to ODOT's tolling work on Portland-area freeways, she also made it clear that her decision would not affect plans to toll the replacement Interstate Bridge. State transportation officials will continue to work with Washington officials to keep planning for tolls on the new bridge.
Tolling is an important piece of the funding package for the replacement bridge and is estimated to cover $1.237 billion of the project's cost. The Oregon and Washington Transportation Commissions have toll rate setting authority and tolling will be implemented through a bi-state process. Toll revenue collected on the facility will be dedicated to the Interstate Bridge.
Initially, the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program had identified Oregon as the operator of tolls on the Interstate Bridge to ensure seamlessness with other regional toll facilities in development. With Governor Kotek's announcement that our regional toll program is not moving forward at this time, the IBR team will work to transition operation of tolling for the replacement bridge to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The Interstate Bridge Replacement program represents a long and close partnership between ODOT and WSDOT and WSDOT's "Good To Go" tolling team has a track record of setting up and managing complex tolling systems. WSDOT has been involved throughout the development of a tolling program for the Bridge, and given the agency’s experience establishing and managing complex tolling systems, the IBR program team is confident in WSDOT's ability to successfully make this transition. The Oregon and Washington Transportation Commissions will continue their work to jointly determine toll rates and policies for the Interstate Bridge.
You can learn more about the bi-state toll subcommittee, find meeting materials and view videos of past meetings on each commission’s website:
You can also read more about tolling plans on the Interstate Bridge here.
LEARN ABOUT THE UPCOMING DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT PROCESS FOR THE BRIDGE
The IBR program recently launched a new page on their website that provides the community with information about the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), including what the community can expect to find in the document, why the environmental review process is important, and how you can provide your input during the upcoming 60-day public comment period. A comprehensive notification process will inform the public when the Draft SEIS is published, and a full digital copy will be available on this webpage.
Additional information on other ways to access the materials and provide comment will be shared as we draw closer to the release of the Draft SEIS. The IBR program invites members of the public to use this page as their first point of reference when they have questions about the environmental process and how they will be able to provide input. Also, they invite you to learn more about the environmental review process by joining them at one of these upcoming meetings.
What is the Draft SEIS?
What should you expect to see in the Draft SEIS?
The IBR program studied the Modified LPA to understand its potential benefits and effects on the community and environment compared with the No-Build Alternative. The Modified LPA is not the program's final design, but identifies key foundational design elements. The Draft SEIS presents the Modified LPA's major design elements and the potential associated benefits, impacts, and proposed mitigation measures. Additional refinements and adjustments will be made to the proposed program investments in response to public comments and other design considerations. The No-Build Alternative is analyzed and compared to the Modified LPA to understand what would happen if nothing is built.
What opportunities will there be for review and input?
The public plays an important role providing feedback on proposed investments and design options, the potential impacts and benefits identified, and potential mitigation options. Following the release of the Draft SEIS, a 60-day public comment period will open for the program to receive input from the public. During this 60-day window, the program will offer many opportunities to provide feedback as part of the public comment period. That includes joining a public hearing to provide testimony or submitting your comment in non-public settings by using a web form, sending an email, writing a letter or leaving a voicemail. Language interpretation and ASL services will be available to ensure accessibility for all community members.
LOOKING FORWARD TO INTERIM WORK:
Now that the 2024 Legislative Session is over, it's time to begin thinking hard about the 2025 Session, the critical issues we need to solve, and what policy outcomes we can achieve by working together. The 2025 Legislative Session will be a big year for Transportation as we put together an updated Transportation Package that serves the needs of all our communities and users.
As the Co-Chairs of Joint Transportation, Senator Chris Gorsek and I are prioritizing and diligently working on the conversation framework we will use in the coming months to plan for the next session when the Legislature focuses on updating Oregon's funding tools. You can read a draft version of our initial planning document here or by clicking on the picture below. Please note that any dates included in the document are examples only and are likely to change.
As we continue to invest in a multi-modal system that can function as the spine that holds and links our communities and economy together, our guiding principles will be the safety, functionality, efficiency, and stability of the system. Safety must be a priority for all modes of transportation, including public transit, bikes and pedestrians, and roadway systems. Second, funding must be stable and sufficient to create resiliency, support our climate goals, maintain our facilities, and be equitable statewide.
During the Interim, Senator Gorsek and I will attend speaking engagements with business, environmental, and community leaders who want to share their thoughts about what's important in Oregon's multimodal system. The first engagement I'm attending will be the Westside Economic Alliance's Policy Conference on "Directing our Growth through Collaboration." I look forward to being on a panel with Metro Councilor Juan Carlos Gonzalez and many others!
If you would like a member of Joint Transportation Leadership to come to a meeting or event that you're hosting, please reach out to my Chief of Staff, Carolyn Lee, to get us the information. The best way to reach either of us is via my Legislative email address: rep.susanmclain@oregonlegislature.gov.
Starting March 22nd, the “blackout period” begins, meaning Legislators running for office are prohibited from using state resources or official social media accounts for mass communications with their constituents 60 days prior to an election. I will also not be on Facebook or Instagram during the blackout period, but I will send newsletters periodically via another listserv as I am allowed to use my own resources to communicate with you. And you can always reach out to my office via email or phone. Email is the quickest way to reach us as we are not currently working from the Capitol and can't answer our phone directly.
 
TELVET OPENS LOCATION IN CORNELIUS LIBRARY
Telvet Coffee opened their second location this week! There are deals all week long to celebrate the grand opening of the Cornelius Library location!
TEEN MARKET APPLICATIONS
FOREST GROVE AND CORNELIUS CHAMBER GALA
My office has compiled a list of resources for our community. You can click on the images below to open a document with the relevant links. If you know of a resource that should be included here, or you need a resource and are having trouble finding the information you need, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at rep.susanmclain@oregonlegislature.gov.
EDUCATION RESOURCES
Click here, or on the image to the right for a list of Education-related resources. This includes links to the Forest Grove and Hillsboro School Districts, the Oregon and US Departments of Education, information on how to pay for college, student lunch programs, and much more!
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WILDFIRE-RELATED RESOURCES
Click here, or on the image to the right for important resources related to wildfire prevention and recovery. This list includes links to current fire restrictions and recreation site status maps, the Oregon Department of Forestry's fire prevention tip page, and important resources for wildfire victims.
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RESOURCES FOR OUR VETERANS
Click here, or on the image to the right for a list of important resources for Veterans, including links and phone numbers to the various divisions of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, local Washington County assistance, supportive and community-based groups like the American Legion, and mental health resources.
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STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Click here, or on the image to the right for links to important local and state government pages, including the Hillsboro, Forest Grove, and Cornelius city government pages. You can also access the Oregon Legislature's page, and other important state agency sites, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Unemployment Department, and the Oregon Health Authority.
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Throughout the session, I visited with many groups, citizens, and advocates. This photo is from my meeting with Habitat for Humanity members, who advocated for housing for first-time buyers and families willing to help build their own homes!
Yours truly,
 Representative Susan McLain
House District 29
email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-493, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain
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