Friends and Neighbors,

Here are some highlights from the past week and helpful community information for you! 

 - Shelly

HAPPY 166th BIRTHDAY, OREGON!

Today marks 166 years since Oregon was granted statehood and became the Union’s 33rd state on Feb. 14, 1859.

Transportation Package: An Opportunity to Shine a Light

This weekend, the Statesman Journal released a bombshell report about the failure of one of Oregon’s largest agencies to responsibly manage taxpayer dollars and projects from the last transportation package in 2017. 

With so much talk about how to raise taxes to pay for another transportation package this year, this reporting couldn't have come at a better time. It has forced Democrats to take seriously the same questions I have been asking for months about how your tax dollars are being spent on transportation.

For months now, the entire conversation has been about how much and in what ways Legislators can take more money from Oregonians. That is the wrong place to start. We need to start by earning Oregonians' trust back so that they can be confident that they are getting what they pay for. Without meaningful reform, we cannot ask Oregonians to pay more. The first question to ask is: how can we establish credibility?

Sen. Bruce Starr and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis sit down with Wright Gazaway from KATU.

Transportation funding must get back to core mission. They spend tens of millions on DEI and climate initiatives while proposing massive cuts to snow plowing, fog striping, and maintaining roads and bridges. Billions have been dedicated to sidewalks and curb cuts after a lawsuit showed they were out of compliance with federal law. Should the Highway Trust Fund pay for a federal lawsuit settled by our Attorney General? I don’t think so. All the while, they are overtaxing trucks by 37%. Not all of this is ODOT's fault. Much of the responsibility for their budget woes is the Democrat-controlled Legislature and Governor Kotek. Over the last decade, Oregon Democrats have seen ODOT as a tool to further their progressive agenda.

I spoke about these things in my recent speech on the House Floor. Watch it here:

Insurance Coverage for Menopause   

I was proud to be joined by Representatives Lucetta Elmer (R, McMinnville) and Courtney Neron (D, Wilsonville) to testify in support of HB 3064.

This session, I am sponsoring legislation to ensure women have access to post-reproductive treatment through their insurer. I am proud to be joined with a group of bipartisan women in both the House and Senate in moving this bill forward. I am hopeful in addition to insurance coverage, this will further highlight the need for additional research and competent health providers for women facing changes in perimenopause, menopause and post menopause. This week, the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care held a public hearing on the bill, House Bill 3064. It was well received, and I am optimistic about its chances of passing.

Update on Anti-Second Amendment Bills

Last week, I updated you on some anti-2A bills to watch out for this session. I'll drop them again below as a refresher...

But one other bill has come up that also seems to be aimed at limiting Oregonian's right to bear arms. SB 947 replaces the term "militia" with the term "national guard" in Oregon statutes. I am not quite sure what the bill's sponsors are trying to accomplish here since, unlike the 2^nd Amendment in the United States Constitution, Oregon's constitution makes no reference to "militias." 

Article 1, Section 27 of the Oregon Constitution states: “The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defence [sic] of themselves, and the State, but the Military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power[.]”

Even if the Oregon Constitution did use the term "militia," passing SB 947 would have no bearing on the interpretation of the Constitution. The Constitution supersedes statute, not the other way around.

Regardless of what the sponsors are trying to accomplish, you can be sure that it's not an attempt to expand or protect your right to bear arms. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 18th, at 1 pm in Hearing Room B in the Senate Committee On Veterans, Emergency Management, Federal and World Affairs. Submit written testimony here or sign up to testify live here.

I look forward to the results of President Trump's executive order directing his Attorney General to investigate ongoing infringements on America's Second Amendment rights.

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There are several anti-Second Amendment bills that have been introduced that threaten Oregonians' Constitutional rights. To follow the bill and get notifications when the bill gets scheduled for a hearing or vote, click the link, and click the "e-Subscribe" button on the top right of the screen. 

• Senate Bill 429- Mandatory 72-hour waiting period to transfer a firearm
• Senate Bill 697- Raises legal age of firearm ownership to 21
• Senate Bill 698- Allows local governments to limit Oregonians' right to carry a firearm with a CHL
• House Bill 3075- Amends Ballot Measure 114 in the midst of constitutional lawsuits on the measure

You Can't Regulate Yourself Out of a Housing Crisis

Democrats are again doubling down on their "regulate-first, build-second" approach to housing this session. A new bill, HB 3054, would again cap rent prices for manufactured homes in hopes that housing providers will offer rental housing at a loss. If this bill passes, it will only shrink the number of available rental manufactured housing units and drive up costs. The laws of economics remain undefeated: you cannot force people to sell things at a loss and expect people to sell more of it. 

The bill received a public hearing last week. I will keep you updated if there is another opportunity for you to weigh in on it. In the meantime, you can email the chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness chair, Pam Marsh, with your feelings on the bill.

Kotek Doubles Down on Failed Drug Policy

Earlier this week, Governor Kotek's plan to direct over $21 million in Oregon's settlement allotment from an opioid lawsuit directly to the state's harm reduction program was killed by the state board who oversees the money. 

As you might know, "harm reduction" essentially enables drug use by providing clean needles and other resources for people to use drugs "safely." 

Kotek's plan shows you where her priorities are. Instead of proposing funding to help people get off of drugs or prevent people from doing them, she would rather reduce the harm of deadly drugs. I am glad the panel rejected her bad idea. Read more here.

Holding Government Bureaucrats Accountable

This week, the House Rules Committee heard public testimony on House Bill 2692, sponsored by Rep. Anna Scharf (R, Amity). The bill would bring more accountability to the executive branch agency rulemaking processes and give businesses more certainty about changing interpretations of those rules.

The bill sparked a conversation about recent rules Oregon OSHA passed that purported to regulate single-family homes that housed farmworkers. State law explicitly bars OSHA from regulating this type of housing. Rep. Scharf received an opinion from Legislative attorneys that explained the illegality of OSHA's rules. 

Rep. Scharf's work now triggers a process in which the Legislature can hold bureaucrats accountable for going beyond their lawful power. Given the significant impact these OSHA rules will have on farms' ability to provide housing to their workforce, that's a great thing.

Read Legislative Counsel's full rebuke of OSHA here.

Protecting Election Integrity

When I talk about ODOT getting back to its core mission, I am also asking questions as to why the DMV is spending time registering voters when we know they registered those who are not eligible to vote. Last year, after an inquiry by an out-of-state think tank, they realized they registered over 1,600 illegal voters.

House Republicans are taking action. Leader Christine Drazan (R, Canby) is introducing House Bill 3470 that would require the Secretary of State to verify the citizenship of those who are automatically registered via the DMV. You would think that would already be standard practice, but apparently not.

This is all the more relevant after Secretary of State Tobias Read just this week referred three people to the Department of Justice to be investigated for voting illegally. More are being investigated by elections officials now. 

We need to ensure the integrity of our elections, and HB 3470 is a way we can do this.

Oregon ‘most frightening place to die,’ with nation’s most expansive estate tax, Republicans say. They hope to change that.

The details, like most tax matters, are complex. Oregonians who die with estates worth $1 million or more are subject to the tax. The $1 million threshold is the lowest of 12 states that levy such a tax, and that’s what’s prompting Republicans’ push to raise the point at which the tax kicks in to $7 million...

...Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem and one of the chief sponsors of the bill, said he hasn’t been able to find data but knows of people who’ve moved out of Oregon because they wanted to avoid their children having to pay Oregon’s estate tax. “How many folks in their retirement years are moving out of Oregon to reside somewhere else, such as Nevada, or Idaho or California, none of which have estate taxes?” Mannix told the committee...

...In fact, said Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, some believe the tax has made Oregon “the most frightening place to die...”

Christine Drazan wants investigation of FTX contribution that helped defeat her in 2022

“Under ORS 260.345(2), the secretary of state must refer an investigation to the attorney general if the complaint concerns any political committee or person supporting the candidacy of the secretary of state,” Wand wrote. “[The law] requires the secretary of state to appoint an outside prosecutor to investigate and prosecute the case if the alleged violation involves a political committee or person supporting the candidacy of the attorney general.”

Wand is now pressing for an independent investigation.

Trafficking, a hidden industry: 'It’s unimaginable the way they’re living'

Victims flow through Interstate 5, which is known as a human trafficking corridor. The freeway travels along the West Coast from the Mexican to the Canadian border, being an essential pathway for commerce and in turn, a pathway providing a veil of anonymity for human trafficking. “That I-5 corridor makes it so it's really easy to get in a car, drive up… from here to Portland, they can be setting up dates that whole drive,” said Erin Martin-Fournier, the director of advocacy services at CommunityWorks. “Then a person can work all night. They can be trafficked all night.”

Oregon’s near-worst-in-nation education outcomes prompt a reckoning on school spending

Late last month, when newly released national test scores showed Oregon elementary and middle school students ranked near the bottom of the barrel in math and reading, the silence was palpable. The state Department of Education did not issue any press releases about the results of what’s known as the Nation’s Report Card, scores that were otherwise scrutinized from coast to coast for any sign that students were recovering from pandemic setbacks.

Take Care of your Heart!

February is American Heart Month, and the Linn County Sheriff's wants to remind everyone to take care of your heart!

In 2024, our Dispatch Center took 294 cardiac arrest calls, and an additional 366 calls for heart problem complaints. They also took 1,160 calls related to chest pains. Heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans, and many lifestyle choices can either be a benefit to heart health (diet and exercise) or a detriment to it (smoking and excessive drinking).

One of the main factors that can lead to heart issues, is high blood pressure. Working in law enforcement it might not come as a surprise that many situations can cause our blood pressure to spike. We know the importance of maintaining a healthy heart! Our office takes health seriously and to help our employees stay fit we offer things like an onsite gym, wellness program, physical fitness incentives, and the all-important paid vacation time!

We hope you'll join us in following these tips to keep your blood pressure down! -  Eat a well-balanced diet that's low in salt, limit alcohol, enjoy regular physical activity, manage stress, maintain a healthy weight, and quit smoking.

Please take care of yourself so you don't have to be one of our 911 statistics.

From our friends at the Jackson Street Youth Services:

Positive Youth Development Coordinator Zoe Seaders and Volunteer Coordinator Susan Richey had an incredible experience at the MENTOR!

National Mentoring Summit! This is the first year we've been able to send staff to Washington DC for this big event. These two oversee all of our volunteers, mentors, youth activities across ALL programs, our Youth Ambassadors, and a host of additional projects pertaining to our youth and volunteers, so they have a lot of knowledge to share, and still have lots to learn.

From insightful educational sessions to connecting with passionate mentors and leaders, we came away with so much to bring to Jackson Street's mentoring program. The energy there was contagious, and we are excited to grow our impact. 

You're invited to join us for our 12th annual Youth Rising fundraising reception hosted on Thursday, April 24, 2025! Doors open at 5pm, hosted at The YMCA Family Activities Center (3209 Pacific Blvd SW, Albany). The evening will highlight youth stories and how your partnership with Jackson Street Youth Services changes young lives and our community.

We're so excited to be back at the big, lovely events space at the YMCA, and we're grateful to have Town & Country Realty as our presenting sponsors once again.

To RSVP and more information, go here.

Great Job West Albany High School!

West Albany High's Bethany Lalley, left, and Jace Huskey helped lead their teams to a perfect record in Mid-Willamette Conference meets this season

From the Albany DH:

From our friends at the Albany Downtown Association:

News from Albany Civic Theater: Meet the girls of the Saint Cassian Chamber Choir! From right to left: Constance Blackwood, Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg, and... who is that?

Ride the Cyclone opens in less than two weeks and runs February 21-March 15. Get your tickets now here! 

In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other - the chance to return to life.

This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived! A Note: Ride the Cyclone contains strong language, mature themes, and references to sex, drugs, and violence.

Want to see the show for free? Sign up here to head usher or usher a performance - there are only a few spots left!

From our friends at 4-H Linn County:

This series fills up fast! Register today here! 

From our friends in the City of Millersburg:

REAL Oregon - Class 8

Half of the Members in Class 8 and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis

The 2025 Real Oregon Class 8 at the Capitol today! The REAL Oregon program stands for Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership. This program is dedicated to developing leaders in Oregon’s agriculture, forestry, and natural resource industries.

Keep up the great work! Congratulations on this accomplishment class 8! 

EveryChild Linn-Benton

Mindy, Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, and Kimberly.

I had a great visit this week with Mindy and Kimberly from our local EveryChild LB organization. We discussed respite care, the encouraging amount of volunteers (yay!) and what it means to support the foster families in our community.

More information about EveryChild LB

During the 2025 legislative session my office will continue to keep you updated and informed - and is always at your service. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any community event announcements, legislative questions, or concerns.

Talk soon,

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1415
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-389, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.ShellyBoshartDavis@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/boshartdavis

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