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To contact me, please click here: Rep.LucettaElmer@oregonlegislature.gov
April 18, 2025 Legislative Update
House District 24,
I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine! I certainly know I have. Keep reading below for this week's update from the State Capitol.
Tax Day: Republicans Force A Vote To Lower Taxes
On Tax Day, House Republicans forced a vote on the House Floor for legislation that would lower taxes for the most tax-burdened Oregonians, including middle class income tax cuts and ‘No Tax on Tips.’ My colleagues and I also forced a vote on the repeal of Oregon’s hidden sales tax on businesses and consumers, also known as the Corporate Activity Tax (CAT).
Oregon has the 5th highest individual income tax rate. Only California, Hawaii, New York and New Jersey have higher individual income tax rates. Between state and federal taxes, individual filers in Oregon pay the highest percentage of their income in taxes (24.08%).
Despite what the numbers show, Democrats voted against all three bills. My colleagues and I will continue to use every tool we can to keep fighting to lower the cost of living for Oregonians and improve the quality of living in our beautiful state.
Check out some other Tax Day Facts below:
House Bill 2944A Minority Report Attempt
Yesterday, my House Republican colleagues and I attempted to substitute a "Minority Report," or our preferred version of the bill, instead of House Bill 2944A. The premise for the bill is public employee unions are stating cities and counties are not handing over their payroll lists to them within an adequate timeframe, or remitting the dues owed to the unions quickly enough. This bill would add harsher penalties for the "bad actors," including a 30-day notice, a $1000-$5000 fine for the first violation, and a $5,000-$10,000 for the second violation.
The problem? We as Legislators were not presented with any information showing the scope of this issue, or that it is even happening at all. When we asked for one concrete example, we were told by the proponents that this information was "proprietary."
But the worst part? House Bill 2944A as drafted states that an "extenuating circumstance," so a wildfire, a flood, or a cyberattack is NOT an affirmative defense to delays that may occur in remitting information to the unions, and therefore they will be subject to the penalties.
Our Minority Report would have provided an affirmative defense for an extenuating circumstance, meaning a city or a county hit by a flood, a wildfire, or a ransom-ware attack will not be subject to the penalties House Bill 2944 seeks to implement.
Unfortunately, our common sense Minority Report failed along party lines, and House Bill 2944A passed along party lines.
Below are a few comments I posed on the House floor:
I want to be clear – No one is saying a local government shouldn’t meet their PECBA (Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act) obligations, but what we are saying is that the state should not fine a local government for being late on turning over their payroll list when there’s been a natural disaster.
Should cities like Talent and Phoenix occupied with rebuilding their facilities, conducting debris removal, and helping their citizens recover from the 2020 wildfires be fined because they couldn’t meet this obligation on time?
Or the City of Burns who was recently underwater due to flooding?
I certainly don’t think so.
Or why would we as the Legislature tell rural Tillamook County, who was subject to a serious cyberattack, that giving data and remitting funds to the union is more important that paying other vendors, meeting other obligations, or providing services?
AI-Generated Revenge Porn Bill Unanimously Passes
Under current Oregon law, “revenge porn,” or the sharing of intimate images to inflict emotional harm, is a crime. But the law doesn’t include intimate images created by artificial intelligence (AI), also known as ‘deepfakes.’
Researchers have discovered that 98% of the deepfake videos found online are explicitly pornographic and 99% of deepfake pornography features women. Moreover, the creation of deepfake pornography is rapidly increasing. There were 464% more deepfake pornographic videos created in 2023 than in 2022.
Disturbingly, there’s also been a rise in AI-generated child sexual abuse material. (AI CSAM). According to the Internet Watch Foundation, more than 11,000 images of this nature had been posted to one dark web forum in a one-month period.
Victims of deepfake revenge porn often experience extreme emotional consequences and trauma, as well as damage to their reputations and careers.
The concerning trend has prompted the Department of Homeland Security to declare that “deepfakes and the misuse of synthetic content pose a clear, present, and evolving threat to the public across national security, law enforcement, financial, and societal domains.”
My colleague Representative Kevin Mannix sought to add ‘deepfakes’ to the existing law of ‘unlawful dissemination of an intimate image’ with House Bill 2229 A. It became a bipartisan effort when two Democrats, Representatives Susan McLain and Annessa Hartman signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.
The bill expands the definition of an “image” to include: a digitally created, manipulated, or altered depiction that is reasonably realistic. The defendant must intend to harass, humiliate or injure a victim, with the victim having experienced harassment, humiliation, or injury. The unlawful dissemination of an intimate image is a Class A misdemeanor under this bill.
HB 2299 A passed with unanimous support and will head to the Senate for consideration.
Bill Banning Cell Phone Use At School Advances
It’s not a secret that Oregon students are consistently performing lower than their peers across the nation. And if you have kids, you also know that kids today are glued to their phones and the pressures of social media create a distraction that is affecting their academic performance. One idea has become a hot topic this session: ban cell phones in schools.
House Bill 2251 requires school districts to ban cellphone use during the school day, with exceptions for students with medical conditions or specialized learning needs.
So far, nine states have enacted laws that ban or restrict cellphones in school, and 10 others have pilot programs. The push for bans has been driven by concerns about the impacts screen time has on students’ mental health, as well as being a distraction to learning, while objections often center around students and parents not being able to contact each other in an emergency.
Our debate on the House Floor centered around who should enforce the ban – the state or school districts?
At a time when Oregon continues to fall behind in education, and graduation rates are at an all-time low, I believe this bill is a step in the right direction. I also believe there is so much more we need to do as policy-makers to improve academic outcomes so that Oregon’s students are prepared for the future.
HB 2251 passed in the House with a 36-21 vote. It now heads to the Senate.
April 24th - Willamina Town Hall
April 25th - Celebrate the Children
From Juliette's House (Yamhill County's Child Advocacy Center):
To commemorate National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we invite you to join us for our Celebrate the Children annual fundraising dinner & auction in April 2025! This unforgettable evening will showcase exclusive silent, super silent, and live auction packages, delectable local food and beverages, a delightful dinner, a captivating live show, an inspiring live painting, and a variety of engaging activities—all aimed at raising critical support and awareness for children affected by abuse, neglect, and grief.
This event will be held at the Abbey Road Farm in Carlton, Oregon on April 25th, 2025. Doors will open at 5:00PM.
Bring Your Kids To Work Day
A highlight from the week - I was able to have my daughter (Faith) and son (Heath) join me at the Capitol! I’m so proud of their kind hearts and entrepreneurial minds.
Oregon Nursery Association Member Visit
I was happy to have Kyle Fessler, a nursery owner out of Woodburn, and his daughter come by for a visit this week! Kyle is also with the Oregon Nursery Association. We talked about the state of Oregon Agriculture, and their concerns about House Bill 2548 (which would create an Agriculture Workforce Standards Board). I appreciated the conversation and their advocacy.
I am honored to serve you and our community at the State Capitol this session. Please stay in touch and reach out if there are any issues you would like us to work on.
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All my best,
Representative Lucetta Elmer
House District 24
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1424
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-374, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.LucettaElmer@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/elmer
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