Mandates to Defy Trump Administration?
You may have heard stories recently about Oregon’s Department of Administrative Services responding to the Trump Administration’s ramp up of immigration enforcement by requiring state employees to undergo mandatory training prohibiting them from assisting ICE agents and immigration investigations. Our office has certainly heard quite a bit of concern from constituents on this issue, with some being alarmed that a state agency could and would prohibit state employees from cooperating with federal agents.
The fact is, state agencies don’t write policy, the Legislature does; and this policy of prohibiting state employees from cooperating with ICE isn’t new – even if it’s being portrayed like it is. You may have heard that Oregon is a sanctuary state – we’ve been such since the Legislature adopted that policy back in 1987. That’s how long Oregon has prohibited any state resources (including the employees funded by them) from being used to aid in immigration enforcement.
The so-called “mandatory trainings” many people have reached out about are really just the Governor using nearly 40-year-old policy as a show of defiance against the Trump administration. Though these moves may appeal to some, polling has shown that most Oregonians support some degree of immigration enforcement, particularly when it comes to deporting violent criminals.
Segueing back to legislative matters, my version of the $1,000 Volunteer Firefighter tax credit bill, HB 3150 had a hearing on Tuesday in the House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans. If you recall from last week's newsletter, Senator Sollman's identical SB 545 had a hearing the week prior, and we are championing both bills in hopes one reaches the finish line by June's Sine Die! Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit written testimony on OLIS in support of my bill, and stay tuned for when HB 3150 is hopefully granted a work session!
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Road Legal ATV Bill: Hearing Monday!
Your advocacy is needed! HB 3155 would eliminate the patchwork of differing local ordinances for UTV/RTVs (“side-by-sides”) and create a state-wide standard, aligning Oregon with many other states that allow these vehicles to be licensed and used on roadways if they meet the standard safety requirements of passenger vehicles. If this sounds familiar, that's because it is! HB 3155 is actually a re-run of one of my bills from the 2023 Session.
There is still a lot of grassroots support for this concept, but we need your help to get it across the finish line once and for all! It will have a hearing at 5:00pm on Monday in the Joint Committee on Transportation. Register to testify with this link, or you can submit written testimony with this link.
SB 611
Establishes the Food for All Oregonians program, providing assistance to individuals under 25 and over 55 who are ineligible for federal food benefits due to their immigration status.
SB 747
Mandatory annual reporting of fertilizer application to the State Department of Agriculture on irrigated crops over 200 acres.
HB 2928
Removes the prohibition on offering gifts in excess of $50 per calendar year to a public official, candidate, or relative or member of the household of a public official or candidate.
HB 2301
Sets estate tax exclusion at $7 million and imposes a tax at a flat rate of seven percent.
HB 2305
Allows a landlord to terminate residential tenancy upon third material violation or late payment upon 30 days' notice
This week we'd like to congratulate Scio High School's FFA team on their impressive performance at the Upper Willamette District Leadership Development Event Day! FFA programs across House District 11 and Oregon at-large are a wonderful reminder that the future of agriculture is in great hands, and Scio is no exception! The team finished 2nd overall in Parliamentary Procedure, and you can read the team members' individual accomplishments from the meet below. Go Loggers!
Riley Clinton: 4th in advanced prepared public speaking
McKenzie Gilkison: 5th in advanced prepared public speaking
Caylee Arp: 2nd in sophomore prepared public speaking
Alivia Gilkison: 1st in beginning prepared public speaking
Taylen Peterson: 2nd in beginning prepared public speaking
Hadley Johnson: 1st in creed
Addison Storms: 3rd in creed
Do you know of anyone in House District 11 who deserves to be acknowledged? Send us your nominations at Rep.JamiCate@oregonlegislature.gov
Fun Run for the New Era Tomorrow
Interested in supporting amazing local journalism right here in Sweet Home? The Rotary Club is planning a fun run tomorrow, February 8th, to raise money to support The New Era as the newspaper owners work to rebuild the newspaper. Ken Bronson, a Rotary member, said that the race will be “a true fun run,” which will be timed, but rather than having an established entry fee, it will be up to participants to donate whatever they desire to support the newspaper.
The run will start and end at Sankey Park and will be timed “the old-fashioned way,” with a stopwatch at the finish line. 5K run/walk and 10K run courses will be designated for participants, and a water stop is planned at a point midway on the courses that will overlap each other. Those events will start at 10:00am, and there will also be a 1-mile run/walk for kids at 9:30am, so bring the whole family!
For more information, contact Ken Bronson at 541-954-7198, or Steelhead Fitness at 541-262-1560.
 Teen Game Day at Lebanon Library Tomorrow
Teens are invited to join the Lebanon Public Library tomorrow, February 8th, for their Teen Board Game Day event from 1:00-3:00pm! The library will provide games, or you can bring your own. Heart shaped pizza, cookies, and shirley temples will be served, so come enjoy this free event!
 Lebanon Warriors Pancake Breakfast Sunday
What's better than eating pancakes on Super Bowl Sunday? Eating pancakes for a good cause of course! This fun community event is a fundraiser for the Lebanon Warriors baseball team. Tickets are $7 or $20 for family of 4, and you can also buy $5 raffle tickets to be entered to win a Blackstone Grill!
Don't miss out! The event is held at Tallman Brewing in Lebanon, and runs from 7:30am-10:30am.
 Spring Sports Registration in Central Linn Now OPEN!
The Central Linn School District would like to share that registration is now open for its spring sports programs!
Click on this link to read through available programs!
 
A Message on Tax Fraud Awareness from LCSO
It's the dreaded tax season again, and the Linn County Sheriff's Office wants to warn you against making it worse by becoming a victim of fraud and letting someone else get your refund. Unfortunately, the crooks are not looking to pay them for you. So, to avoid making the tax filing process worse:
• Beat the fraudsters to the punch. File first!
• Don’t share all of your tax info. This means staying off public Wi-Fi where someone can steal your information.
• Yes, they can steal them from your mail, so make sure you are dropping your return in a secured mailbox.
• Find a tax preparer you trust! Be it your favorite aunt who has been doing taxes for 30 years or your local tax business, give them to someone that knows what they are doing.
• Shred the documents you don't need. This goes for other stuff too, not just tax documents!
• The IRS is not going to email, text or call you asking for information and don’t ever fall for paying anything, including taxes with gift cards!
If you believe you are the victim of ID theft, other than from Uncle Sam, please call your local police agency.
 
It’s been a whirlwind of a week as we’ve worked to stay on top of everything, but I’m happy to report we’re making it work! I have officially been given the green light to be able to schedule meetings for the office. Slowly, I have been given more and more responsibilities, which I am hoping helps take some work off of Conner's plate.
One of the highlights of this week was seeing House Bill 3150, our volunteer firefighter tax credit, have a public hearing on Tuesday. If HB 3150 were to pass this session, it would give a well-deserved thank you to our volunteer firefighters who put their lives on the line out of love for their fellow Oregonians.
We have also been getting a large volume of calls regarding Elon Musk and other Federal issues. I truly do hear each and every one of your concerns, but want to remind everyone that we are a part of your State Government and have no say in what happens Federally. With that being said, I have started a tally of just how many calls I have gotten about this issue since Saturday.
Once again, our LaserJet printer is giving me a hard time with any minor task. Luckily, we have a wonderful team at the help desk that is always here to save the day. These folks are here from 7:00am until after we usually leave at 5:30pm, always eager to help with a smile on their face. I truly do appreciate all the help they provide, as I know that I could not do my job as effectively without them.
Since I am on the subject of giving thanks, I would like to that you all for being so patient with me as I learn how to best do my job for this office and this district! Also, a huge thank you to Conner who has been working with me step by step for the past few weeks. He's maintained his patience even when I ask the same question ten times!
- Ali Ruiz
PacifiCorp was grossly negligent in Oregon’s 2020 wildfires. Now it’s asking lawmakers for protection
Willamette Week
The Santiam tragedy was part of the worst wildfire year in Oregon history. It killed five people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and ravaged some of Oregon’s environmental treasures. It also cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars—not counting the health hazards that will linger for years. (Wildfires burned 1.9 million Oregon acres in 2024, eclipsing the 2020 record.)
Oregon eviction cases still climbing despite legislation supporting renters
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Still, a housing shortage and surging rental costs have pushed many people like her to the brink of homelessness. In 2023, eviction cases reached the highest total since at least 2011, according to a recent report from Oregon Housing and Community Services.
Opinion: Use kicker now for a lifetime of funding Oregon wildfire protection
The Oregonian
Sen. Jeff Golden One idea stands out from the others. State economists recently forecasted a $1.8 billion personal income tax kicker that would normally be distributed to taxpayers as a credit on their 2025 tax return. The kicker, which is unique to Oregon, is essentially a rebate when tax revenues come in more than 2% higher than what state economists estimated two years earlier. Importantly, I often hear people say that the kicker is triggered when revenues exceed “what state government said it needed.” That’s incorrect. It’s the excess over economists’ forecast from two years earlier of how much revenue economic conditions will generate.
Large crowd opposes bill that would require farmers to report fertilizer use to protect water
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Senate Bill 747 would require farms larger than 200 acres to report their annual fertilizer use — including the quantity applied, the type of fertilizer and the crop grown on the fertilized land — to the department. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Khanh Pham, D-Portland, said she wants the state agriculture department to track fertilizer applications to help identify where and how large concentrations of nutrients found in fertilizers, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are getting into and contaminating ground and surface water...
Avalanche of bills: Oregon lawmakers file record number, spurring concern over bottlenecks
The Oregonian
Oregon lawmakers filed a bounty of bills — more than 2,200 — before the first day of the 2025 legislative session. That’s at least a 25-year record and is stirring worries that the avalanche will clog the system and limit the attention given to worthwhile proposals. The sheer volume of bills hasn’t resulted in a more fruitful Legislature: Despite the thousands of bills introduced both prior to and throughout each session over the past decade, the tally that eventually became law shrank.
Serve as an Honorary Page!
It isn’t just adults who can be engaged with their Oregon Legislature, there are opportunities for kids as well, and the Honorary Page Program is one of those ways!
The Page Program runs from February to June in odd-numbered years and in February and early March in even-numbered years, otherwise known as a "short session." Students between the ages of 12 and 17 must apply for this unique program where they will spend a day engaged in a living history and civics lesson.
As an Honorary Page, the applicant will participate in an official swearing-in ceremony, administered by the House Sergeant at Arms, an event often considered the highlight of the day, in order to be allowed onto the chamber floor. Further events include a classroom session where details of the Legislative process are discussed, performing courier services for the Chief Clerk's Office, working on the House chamber floor with the Legislators during a daily session, visiting each applicant's Representative's office, observing Committee meetings, a personal tour of the capitol building itself, and participation in any special events or activities at the capitol as they occur.
Click here for more information, or to apply for your student to join us on the House Floor!
Resuming the Fight for Volunteer Firefighters
First Official Week of Session Complete
The 2025 Legislative Session Begins!
Gearing Up for Session!
Looking Forward to the Year Ahead!
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