Reviews of Legislative Days and the First Transportation Tour Stop!

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To contact me, please click here: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

ABOVE: I was chairing the roundtable dialogue in Portland yesterday on the first stop of our Statewide Transportation Tour. As part of our active roundtable, we had 50+ people representing jurisdictions, system users, system workers, businesses, and topic-specific advocates like environmental organizations.

ABOVE: I was talking to a participant on the bus tour and stopping at a Portland-area DMV for a briefing.

CELEBRATING PRIDE MONTH!

Happy Pride Month! Below is a brief history of Pride Month courtesy of the Library of Congress:

"Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as ‘Gay Pride Day,’ but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the ‘day’ soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, and LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally."

Are you looking for ways to celebrate Pride Month in our area? Here are some great opportunities:

• EVENTS:
  • Events happening in our area
  • Events in Oregon/Washington

• READING LISTS:
  • Adults:
    • LGBTQIA+ Books for Adults
    • Resource List for Parents of Kids that are LGBTQIA+
    • Transgender Reads for Pride
  •  Teens:
    • Young Adult LGBTQIA+ Books for Pride Month
  • Kids:
    • LGBTQIA+ Pride List for Children
    • Express Yourself

JUNETEENTH: IN RECOGNITION OF FREEDOM

Juneteenth, officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of four million enslaved African Americans. This significant event, which originated in Galveston, Texas, marked the arrival of Union soldiers on June 19, 1865, when the residents of Galveston finally received news of the abolition of slavery. In the subsequent year, on June 19th, the first official Juneteenth celebration took place in Texas.

Juneteenth holds special importance in Oregon, where Black pioneers have long observed Grand Emancipation Day on January 1st since 1863. In 1945, Clara People, a Kaiser shipyard worker, introduced the Juneteenth tradition to Oregon, building upon these rich legacies.

How to celebrate:

This year, the Washington County Chamber Black Advisory Business Council, in collaboration with various community groups, will present a vibrant and engaging celebration. Juneteenth will feature an array of activities, including food, music, art, inspiring speakers, and a diverse range of Black-owned business vendors around the theme of “The Reunion.”

Consider joining this event commemorating this historic milestone and celebrating the resilience, heritage, and achievements of the African American community:

Saturday, June 8, 2024

12:00 Noon – 6:30 PM

Jerry Willey Plaza

More Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth:

• Click here for events happening across Oregon
• The Smithsonian Juneteenth Reading List

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MAY LEGISLATIVE DAYS HEARINGS

Legislative Days are always a busy time, and this year was no exception! I've provided a review of the topics covered in my committee meetings below. If you click on each committee title, you'll be linked to the official committee pages, and if you click on the date, you will be able to see the official agenda for each meeting and access a recording of the corresponding hearing.

•House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, & Water - 05/30/2024

Co-Chairs Helm and Owens put together a great program for our committee during Legislative Days! We heard updates from the Department of Land Conservation and Development on the Farm and Forest Modernization Program and on the use of electronic labeling in the Grass Seed industry. The main topic though was water and we heard from both the Oregon Water Resources Department about the implementation of HB 2018 (2021), and from both stakeholders and the Governor's Office on how we can best update Oregon's water policies to meet our current needs. I look forward to hearing more about potential bills that will address water policies in the 2025 Session.

•Joint Committee On Transportation - 05/31/2024

The Joint Committee on Transportation kicked off with an overview of our 2025 transportation work on programming and funding by Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Julie Fahey. We also had an update on Terminal 6 Container Shipping at the Port of Portland, and heard from the Oregon Department of Aviation about drones and advanced air mobility. Director Sugahara presented on cutting edge technologies like flying cars, and needless to say, committee members geeked out about all the possible and beneficial uses of new technologies. 

•Joint Emergency Board - 05/31/2024

The Joint Emergency Board operates during the interim when the Legislature is not in session. The Board considers agency requests and allocates Emergency Funds, increases expenditure limitations, authorizes transfers, receives reports, and approves submissions of federal grant applications. We met during the May Legislative Days and below are a few of my personal highlights:

• Dept. of Transportation Grant Approval for I-5 Rose Quarter Improvements: We approved the submission of a federal grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation in the amount of $750 million to fund a portion of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. If awarded, the Department of Transportation will use grant funds to cover approximately 40% of the $1.9 billion I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. Key elements of the project include new auxiliary lanes and wider shoulders on I-5, a highway cover with community spaces, relocation of the southbound off-ramp, local street improvements, a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, and a new east-west crossing reconnecting Hancock Street. With the project planning and environmental review phases complete, the project has now entered the design phase. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025. Matching funds of $500 million will be a met through a combination of unspecified State funds and funds from the project’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant. If awarded, the Department will return to the Legislature with a request for Federal Funds expenditure limitation.

• Higher Education Coordinating Commission Allocation for Financial Stability: We allocated $18.7 million General Fund from the special purpose appropriation made to the Emergency Board for the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to award grants to support the long-term financial sustainability of Portland State University and Oregon’s four technical regional universities, which include the Oregon Institute of Technology and Southern, Eastern, and Western Oregon Universities. 

• Summer EBT Nutrition Program: We acknowledged receipt of a report on the Summer EBT program, a new national program to address the summer nutritional needs of low-income school children. Beginning in June 2024, the program will provide low-income families a $120 grocery benefit for each eligible child. An estimated 294,000 students in Oregon could be eligible for the benefit. During the 2024 session, the Legislature approved funding and positions to implement the program and adopted a budget note instructing the Department of Human Services, Department of Education, and Oregon Health Authority to report in May and September 2024 on program implementation and lessons learned. The first report submitted by the agencies indicates Oregon is on track to begin providing qualified Oregonians the benefit by the planned June 2024 program start date. 

• Housing and Community Services Dept. Shelter and Rehousing Investments: We acknowledged receipt of the Housing and Community Services Department's report on shelter and rehousing investments. A budget note approved in the 2023 session directed the agency to report on investments and outcomes related to shelter and rehousing efforts associated with the Governor’s homelessness emergency declaration in Executive Order 23-02. This is the agency’s fourth quarterly report, which focuses on funding approved to sustain the shelter beds and rehousing efforts created by Multi-Agency Planning Groups and Local Planning Groups. The report indicates that $142.6 million has been allocated out of a total of $190.5 million approved for shelter, rehousing, outreach, and unit access in areas named by the executive order. Stated goals were met as of January 2024, and funding from this point forward will be used primarily for sustaining rental assistance and shelter beds through the end of the biennium. A $39 million General Fund investment approved to expand long-term rental and rehousing assistance to 700 households has been allocated, but outcomes are not yet available. For the Rural Oregon Continuum of Care, funds have been allocated, and outcomes were made available on May 29th. Resources appropriated for eviction prevention for the biennium to date total $122.6 million.

MEETING WITH ADVOCATES FOR LEGISLATIVE DAYS

One of the things I enjoy most about Legislative Days is getting to meet with advocates on a variety of issues. Here are a few highlights from my meetings last week:

• Multnomah County Youth Commission - I truly enjoyed meeting these passionate students who were advocating for later start times for Oregon Schools. They made some very compelling arguments about later start times as a tool to fight chronic absenteeism.

• Oregon Food Bank/Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon - These great organizations teamed up to advocate for School Meals For All, a policy to end hunger for Oregon's students. If enacted, Oregon would become the ninth state to move to a School Meals for All system that would ensure universal meal programs are funded at 100% of the federal "free" reimbursement rate. 

• Environment Oregon - I don't often get the chance to hear about federal policies and actions at the Legislature, but this meeting was a nice change and provided an opportunity for me to learn more about protections for the Owyhee Canyonlands. The Owyhee Canyonlands is the largest conservation opportunity in the American West, but as of today, only 5% is permanently protected. 

STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION TOUR: PORTLAND STOP

Tuesday, June 4th marked the start of the Joint Committee on Transportation's Statewide Transportation Tour with our first stop in Portland. It was a great turnout! We began with a ODOT-hosted tour of Metro-area transportation facilities, then had a roundtable dialogue with jurisdictions, businesses, local leaders, environmental advocates, transportation system users, safety groups, and supporters of different modes of transportation, like bike/ped. We concluded the tour stop with a Public Hearing from 5:00-7:00pm. 

You can view a video of the public hearing here.

Read more about the statewide tour and all the stops we'll be making here.

UPCOMING BI-STATE BRIDGE COMMITTEE MEETING

The Joint Oregon-Washington Legislative Action Committee will be meeting for the first time in recent months on Monday, June 10th from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm.

WORK SESSION

• Program Updates, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Process, Funding, and Bridge Permitting
• Industry Outreach and Workforce Readiness
• Conceptual Visualizations of Potential Future Bridge Configurations
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

VIEW MEETING ONLINE

Watch the meeting online here.

MATERIALS

Please find committee meeting materials here.

PUBLIC TESTIMONY

To register for remote public testimony, visit https://app.leg.wa.gov/CSI/Joint. Registration will open 10 calendar days before the meeting start time, and close 1 hour before the start of the meeting. Testifiers will have two minutes. Testimony will be taken for a maximum of 30 minutes. Testimony on topics not related to the agenda, or those signed in but unable to testify because of time limitations, may be submitted in writing to: ji5b.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov.

For more information, visit: Washington State Legislature

BRIDGE PROGRAM HOSTS CONSTRUCTION EVENT

Last month, more than 300 people representing construction-related firms of all sizes came to the Portland Expo Center for an event hosted by the Interstate Bridge Replacement program. The gathering was intended to provide information to contractors, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, specialty service providers, minority and women-owned businesses about the proposed packaging and delivery of IBR investments, kindle interest in future opportunities and share how they can get involved. 

Attendees heard a presentation about IBR activities to date and future next steps, resources to encourage participation by women- and minority-owned businesses, and how to work with program partners such as ODOT, WSDOT, C-TRAN and TriMet. The audience also got a first look at the program’s draft plan to deliver program investments through over two dozen separate construction packages, potential delivery methods being considered, estimated contract value ranges and durations. These contract packages and their cost ranges are still subject to change as the program continues to collect feedback, refines its cost estimate and advances design.  

The presentation was followed by a Q&A session with several leaders representing the program’s administration, procurement and equity teams. Questions ranged from curiosity regarding Disadvantaged Business Enterprise participation goals and credit and bonding support for small businesses to federal standards for materials and testing, delivery methods, and when more detailed information will be available to contractors.  

Following the Q&A, attendees had an opportunity to chat one-on-one with representatives of the IBR program regarding details about the proposed construction packages, potential procurement methods and resources for small businesses. ODOT, WSDOT, TriMet and C-TRAN also hosted booths offering more information on how to do business with each agency and get registered as a vendor.  

The open house also provided a unique opportunity for networking between larger construction firms that might bid on bigger contract packages and smaller firms or consultants looking to subcontract on specific elements of those large contracts.  

The IBR program plans to continue hosting events for businesses of varying sizes to connect with each other and the agencies, stay up to date on the latest activities of the program and learn about new information as it becomes available.  

The program has created two new webpages intended to host information for small and disadvantaged businesses, as well as potential contracting opportunities in the near future. Please visit interstatebridge.org/DBEpartners and interstatebridge.org/opportunities to learn more.  

YAC VOLUNTEERS CLEAN UP IN CORNELIUS

Thank you to the Cornelius Youth Advisory Council (YAC) and other volunteers, who teamed up over the weekend to plant hundreds of flowers at Veterans Memorial Park in Cornelius. This was YAC's first community project, but certainly not their last. Read more about the Cornelius YAC here. 

Don't forget to stop by Veterans Memorial Park and take a look at all the fresh beautiful flowers!

WASHCO CHAMBER GIVES $25,000 IN GRANTS

Congratulations to several Hillsboro businesses that received a total of $25,000 in grants recently! Thank you to the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, InRoads Credit Union, and Fiserv for presenting the grant money, which was awarded to five businesses.

*Information from The Hillsboro News-Times

BIG CELEBRATIONS COMING TO FOREST GROVE!

I want to give a special shout-out to the City of Forest Grove along with Adelante Mujeres, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove, and the City Club of Forest Grove for hosting two fantastic summer celebrations on July 21st: the 20th year of the Forest Grove Farmers Market and the 50th anniversary of the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance Car Show. These dual events will bring thousands of visitors to our local community! 

From the Forest Grove News-Times:

CORNELIUS SHRED DAY

Free Shred Day is back in Cornelius! Get rid of your sensitive paper documents that are collecting dust in a safe manner! For more information:

https://www.corneliusor.gov/community/page/shred-day

Date: Saturday, June 8th

Time: 9:00am-1:00pm

Location: Cornelius City Hall - 1355 N Barlow St.

COMING UP: FREE FOOD MARKET OPEN

Hillsboro's Free Food Market is open every second Tuesday of the month in Hillsboro. Shop for free, fresh, and healthy fruits, vegetables, and pantry staples.

- This food is free and anybody is welcome
- No identification, name, or address needed
- Please bring bags or boxes

More details: https://www.hillsboro-oregon.gov/.../News/News/14606/4300

ODOT TIPS FOR ROAD SAFETY THIS SUMMER

BE PREPARED FOR WILDFIRES

Are you wildfire ready? Knowing what to do before, during and after a wildfire can empower you to take action. Taking simple steps to prepare today can make a big difference in keeping yourself, your loved ones and your community safe.

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!

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.

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.

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.

BELOW: Driving home after the Transportation Tour stop on Tuesday night and enjoying the beautiful sky.

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