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To contact me, please click here: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Spring is here, and the cherry blossoms are blooming on the Capitol mall!
The new season also marks the passage of the first bill-posting deadline. Most of the 3,700 proposed bills have “died,” but what remains are an array of important bills that will meaningfully impact Oregonians.
Our office continues to make progress in Education on Summer Learning (which passed out of committee) and in Joint Transportation on the Transportation Plan. You can read about the Transportation Committee's work on the plan in the "Legislative News & Updates" section of this newsletter.
The Ways and Means Co-Chairs released their Budget Framework and you can read about it in the "Legislative News & Updates" section. Given federal uncertainty, Oregon has tough budgeting choices to make and I will continue to advocate for Education funding and safe and resilient infrastructure.
Here are the topics you can read about in this week's newsletter:
- Honoring the contributions of our farmworkers
- The Multnomah Youth Commission's hearing on school start times
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 17 to honor Colonel Richard Kidd
- The ongoing work of the Transportation Committee
- Co-Chairs Budget Framework and Ways and Means Roadshow
- Why a tunnel does not work as an alternative to a new I-5 Bridge
- The 2024 Oregon Pavement Condition Report
- Outreach highlights from Salem this week
- Honoring the contributions of local Educators
- What's happening in Western Washington County
BELOW: Former State Representative Margaret Carter, a true legend of the House, spoke at our opening ceremony on the House Floor Thursday. She was given privileges of the House to join us on the Floor and was recognized by a group of bipartisan legislators like Rep. Nelson and Rep. Smith for her enduring contributions to Oregon. It was a pleasure to see her again and to hear her wise words about the importance of upholding our democratic systems and values.
BELOW: Future Farmers of America testified in our Education Budget Committee this week!
HONORING OUR FARMWORKERS
March 25-31 is National Farmworker Awareness Week, which was established to honor farmworkers for the contributions they make to our daily lives and uplift community advocacy.
Farmworkers make up less than 1% of US workers, but they play an outsized and essential role in our country and around the world. They are literally responsible for feeding the world, with 85% of our fresh fruits and vegetables handpicked by farmworkers.
Together, Forest Grove, Cornelius, and Hillsboro make up the heart of our agricultural worker community in Washington County, and we have benefited from their contributions both economically and culturally. I feel fortunate to live in a vibrant and culturally diverse community that thrives because of the continued contributions of our farmworkers.
Our entire community benefits from organizations like Centro Cultural that were founded to support farmworkers, and our rich tapestry of cultural traditions, events, and cuisine is derived directly from the farmworkers who make Western Washington County their home.
In 2022, I was proud to vote for House Bill 4002, which ensured overtime compensation for farmworkers, a group that was previously excluded from Oregon's overtime requirements. The bill was about fairness and correcting a wrong that had persisted for far too long. I know we still have more work to do to ensure farmworkers have the respect, safety, and security they deserve.
Continued progress depends on all of us as Oregonians recognizing and appreciating farmworkers and their importance, fully valuing their contributions, and raising our voices in support.
STUDENTS TESTIFY ON SCHOOL START TIMES
This week, I was proud to support House Bill 2359, which would require that high schools begin regular courses no earlier than 8:30 a.m. I filed HB 2359 at the request of the Multnomah Youth Commission, Portland and Multnomah County’s official youth policy body.
On Wednesday, student leaders traveled to the Capitol to share their stories and perspectives with the House Education Committee. They are pictured above!
These young adults worked with legislators, stakeholders, and the Department of Education to address the chronic sleep-deprivation they observed among their classmates. Since 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended an 8:30 a.m. or later start time for middle schools and high schools.
When youth are well-rested, their academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being improves. As a teacher of over 42 years, I know that a good night’s sleep is essential to student success.
Click the image below to watch students testify on HB 2359.
SCR 17 - HONORING COLONEL RICHARD KIDD
Senate Concurrent Resolution 17, which honors Colonel Richard Kidd, unanimously passed the Senate this week. I look forward to being a Chief Sponsor of this resolution now that it is on the House side and will be a champion for it along with Senator Janeen Sollman.
This resolution is very personal to me as I worked with Richard for many years, and I know it matters to all of us in Forest Grove who have benefited from his service to Forest Grove. He dedicated his entire life to public service and to improving the world around him. He was a Colonel in the United States Army and served Forest Grove as a member of the Planning Commission, as a City Councilor, as our Mayor, and as an affordable housing advocate through West Tuality Habitat for Humanity. He is remembered as a champion for our library, the driving force behind building the City Auditorium, and his efforts to expand our Senior Center. Very few citizens have so profoundly improved our city's livability and quality of life, and we want to honor his legacy.
There will be an opportunity for Forest Grove residents to submit testimony in support of this resolution when the bill has a hearing in the House Committee on Rules. Your testimony can be as simple as a one-sentence memory you have of Richard and his impact on our community or on you personally, and I will update you and provide instructions in my newsletter when the testimony window is open.
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE UPDATE
As I have shared several times in my newsletter, the Joint Committee on Transportation has a very significant workload this session as the Legislature puts together a critical Transportation Plan to protect and sustain our invaluable infrastructure system.
Background on the Transportation Plan:
The safety and sustainability of our Transportation system are critically important and impact the lives of all Oregonians, but Oregon currently faces a severe funding crisis. The Legislature will act in 2025 to ensure there are stable, sufficient, and diversified funding mechanisms that will support our multimodal system and meet the needs of everyone now and into the future.
The fuel tax, which is our primary mechanism for transportation funding in Oregon, is in decline, but our needs statewide remain and continue to grow in cost. Without funding reform, the quality, safety, and reliability of Oregon's transportation system will continue to decline. Reduced state highway fund revenues will negatively affect roads, sidewalks, and bike lanes in cities and counties. We will not be able to meet other critical needs, like safety and resiliency, supporting our climate goals, maintaining our facilities, and ensuring equitable distribution statewide.
Transportation Plan Work:
The plan we are working on is based on our extensive conversations with jurisdictions, stakeholders, and the public over the last 10 months and our foundational work that started in 2023:
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After the Tour, the Transportation Committee held a series of topic-specific workgroups to continue the more nuanced conversations and consider ideas heard on the tour. Almost 50 hours of meetings occurred from October - January. The workgroups focused on three main categories of the transportation package: maintenance and operations, public and active transit, and HB 2017 (2017) priority commitments. All three transportation workgroups successfully reviewed extensive amounts of information about our transportation system. Together, the workgroups used the lenses of equity, safety, and environment to identify the critical needs to address in the upcoming Transportation plan.
Our Focus on Accountability:
Oregon taxpayers deserve sound stewardship of their hard-earned dollars and to know that agencies entrusted with those dollars will use them wisely. This is why Senator Bruce Starr, the Vice-Chair of the Transportation Committee, is leading the development of recommendations for an accountability proposal as a central component of the Transportation Plan. The Committee is working through a collaborative, bipartisan, and bicameral effort to identify accountability measures that will ensure Oregonians can be confident in the work of the Department of Transportation.
To learn more about the accountability work of the Transportation Committee, I recommend the following:
CO-CHAIRS BUDGET FRAMEWORK RELEASED
THE 2025-27 LEGISLATIVE BUDGET FRAMEWORK IS FOCUSED ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MAINTAINING CORE SERVICES FOR OREGONIANS
Every two years, the Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget for our entire state. It's a big responsibility that takes hundreds of hours of conversations.
The budget committee co-chairs released their framework for the 2025-2027 budget on Wednesday, which stresses fiscal responsibility, protects core services, and maintains flexibility during an uncertain economic time.
As always, the Legislature is not going to have enough resources to pay for every important program up for consideration. But Oregon's economy is stable, so unlike other states we don't have to make programmatic cuts right now.
And while budget conversations continue in the coming months, we are going to make sure that key investments are guided by Oregon values and directed toward the most pressing needs of our state.
One great part about the framework: We are able to maintain funding for existing programs, including fully funding the governor's request for $11.4 billion into the State School Fund for K-12 education, assuming the adoption of oversight and accountability measures.
We also want to hear from you. Legislators from the Joint Committee on Ways and Means will be participating in six community budget hearings across the state to provide a space for Oregonians to share their opinions about the budget.
Considering the chaos coming out of Washington, D.C., the framework also contemplates scenarios where actions by the federal administration impact Oregon's economy and budget.
If federal budget cuts happen, the federal government will own those cuts and we would not be able to back-fill those services. Oregon's budget is designed to leverage federal funds to help more Oregonians, not plug federal funding holes.
A destabilizing trade war or economic mismanagement from the federal government could also turn our country toward a recession.
Our co-chairs have been preaching "facts, not fear" so we are preparing for the worst while planning our budget with the information we have right now.
REVIEWING A TUNNEL OPTION
There has been some discussion around replacing the I-5 Bridge with a tunnel instead of building a new bridge. The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program has extensively analyzed this potential option and found that it does not meet purpose and need for Oregon and Washington. A tunnel cannot be feasibly built within the footprint of I-5 without eliminating important connections to Hayden Island, downtown Vancouver and SR-14. It also comes with significantly more operational, environmental and historical resource impacts, and would cost more than a replacement bridge. For more information about the suitability of an immersed tube tunnel, view the Tunnel Concept AssessmentOpens in new window.
The IBR program team just realized a new video that further addresses the concept of a tunnel, and you can view Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
2024 PAVEMENT CONDITION REPORT
Oregon’s highway system is facing ongoing challenges as the condition of many roads continues to decline, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation’s 2024 Pavement Condition Report. The report highlights that while 87% of Oregon’s 18,000 lane miles of pavement are still in fair or better condition, the quality of roads is slipping, with the percentage of “good” pavement reaching its lowest point since 2001.
The report points to a significant decline in the number of roads classified as in “good” condition. Over the past decade, the amount of pavement rated as good has decreased, and without adequate maintenance, many roads in fair condition are at risk of deteriorating into poor condition within the next few years.
Other Key Findings from the Report
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The number of roads in poor condition has been increasing, with more expected to deteriorate in the coming years.
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Asphalt roads typically last between 10 and 30 years, while concrete roads last 40 to 60 years, depending on weather and maintenance.
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After 2027, non-interstate routes will receive little to no paving, affecting overall road quality.
The report emphasizes the importance of proactive maintenance to slow the deterioration of the state’s roads and prevent more costly repairs down the road. While ODOT has managed to meet key performance goals for pavement condition in the past, the growing backlog of maintenance needs and the increasing age of the state’s roads present significant challenges in maintaining these standards in the future. This is why passing a Transportation Plan this session is essential. ODOT needs the funding necessary to maintain our existing roads so that all Oregonians can travel safely.
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CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS
I appreciated the opportunity to speak to the Association of Oregon Counties about the need to support local entities and provide stable, sufficient funding for our transportation systems. Stakeholders across Oregon agree that we must prioritize safety and essential maintenance in our transportation package.
This week, I also heard from advocates and community members about important healthcare, agricultural, and education issues.
I also enjoyed my conversation with the President of Oregon Health and Sciences University about healthcare education and workforce needs in Oregon.
I spoke to the Oregon Farm Bureau about the needs of growers in our state, and I heard from the Oregon Law Center about farmworker priorities this session. Having grown up on family farms in the Willamette Valley, I know the success of our agricultural industry and workers is critical.
A highlight of my week was my conversation with the Phoenix-Talent School District about how to best serve our students and educators. I began my teacher career at Phoenix-Talent, and the community in Southern Oregon holds a special place in my heart.
TEAM MCLAIN INTERN SPOTLIGHT
Our interns, Khushi and Keenan, have been a wonderful addition to our team this session. Khushi (pictured above), joined me on the House Floor to watch the proceedings on Thursday, and Keenan (pictured below) visited the Senate Floor with the Intern Caucus! I appreciate all of their hard work and dedication to learning about state government.
UPLIFTING AMAZING EDUCATORS
Congratulations to Jill Carey, Keri Imada, and Principal Angella Graves on their selection as Amazing Educators by Your Oregon News. You can click on their names above to read about their important contributions in the Forest Grove News Times. To read about all of the amazing educators that were recognized, click here.
As an Educator of over 42 years, I truly appreciate their hard work and dedication to the students in Western Washington County. I recognize how much effort they put into being leaders at their schools, and that they go above and beyond in their jobs in so many ways.
FREE HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
Dispose of your hazardous household garbage for free TOMORROW! Click here to learn what to bring and how to prepare your items for disposal.
WHEN: Saturday, March 29th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
WHERE: Hillsboro High School
HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF TRANSIT
Metro wants to know our opinion about flexible transit options. Click here to take the survey and identify destinations you think would benefit from community connector transit.
WHEN: Participate in the survey by May 4th.
SOUTH INDIAN DRUMMING PERFORMANCE
Sarada Kala Nilayam & Sankara Drumming Group presents "Jam to Our Beats," an interactive call-and-response performance. This event is supported by a City of Hillsboro Performance Series Grant. A portion of the proceeds benefits The Young Artist’s Club.
WHERE: Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro
WHEN: April 11th at 7:30 pm
TICKETS: $15 advance / $18 day of show, click here to learn more
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
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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
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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
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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
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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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The beauty of Spring!
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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