No New Taxes, Fentanyl Bust, Teachers Week and Mothers Day

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE PROPOSAL THAT PROTECTS FAMILIES FROM TAX INCREASES, STABILIZES TRANSPORTATION

Last week, my colleagues and I announced a transportation proposal that protects Oregonians’ pocketbooks at a time when they’re facing rising costs and tax hikes. Our proposal prioritizes core functions of our Transportation Department, sidelines spending in non-essential programs and divisive agendas, protects federal transportation funding, and preserves critical road safety services.

In identifying approximately $685 million in refocused spending, cost savings, and spending cuts, we’re committed to delivering functioning roads without asking Oregonians to pay more.

Proposed cuts to ODOT’s budget include the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF), which the agency budgeted $306.7 million for in the 2025-2027 biennium. The STIF was introduced in HB 2017 and proposed that the state take over some of the responsibility of funding public transportation from local governments. The payroll tax alone cost Oregonians approximately $110 million per year.

Most of the funds benefit metropolitan areas -- with 60% going to the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District, 7% going to Salem Area Mass Transit District, and 6% going to the Lane Transit District. All other counties each received less than five percent of the funds.

LARGEST FENTANYL BUST IN US HISTORY; LEADER ARRESTED IN OREGON

Earlier this week, federal authorities announced one of the largest fentanyl busts in U.S. history when over 400 kilograms of fentanyl, including  three million pills, were seized from the Sinaloa Cartel.

Sixteen people were arrested across five states, including Oregon. Among them was cartel leader Heriberto Salazar Amaya, an illegal immigrant living in Salem, whom authorities say had been removed from the U.S. twice already.

Illegal drug cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel are killing Oregonians with fentanyl at rapidly increasing rates. In 2022, illicitly manufactured fentanyl contributed to 65% of all overdose deaths in Oregon, making it the deadliest illicit drug in our state.

In 2023, Oregon law enforcement officials seized over 3 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. Nearly all these drug seizures occurred along the I-5 corridor within Oregon counties designated as high-intensity drug trafficking areas (HIDTA).

Oregon shouldn’t be a sanctuary for criminals who flood our communities with deadly drugs and violent crime. This should be a wakeup call that if we don’t modernize our sanctuary state laws, Oregon will continue to be a haven for dangerous criminals instead of allowing local law enforcement to take them off our streets. 

This session I joined my colleagues in co-sponsoring HB 3551, which requires public bodies and law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws with respect to any individual who is convicted of a violent felony or Class A misdemeanor or felony sexual offense. No movement has been made on the bill since it was referred to the House Committee on Judiciary in February.

I want to offer a BIG THANK YOU to our teachers for everything they do. Teaching the next generation is a huge responsibility. We all have teachers that played a role in where we are today. I am so grateful for their sacrifice and service.

This Mother’s Day, I want to recognize and honor all the women who have been a motherly figure in somebody's life. My wife was an amazing mother to our son. Mothers raise us to become the best versions of ourselves and give so much of themselves for us to grow and thrive.

I have several colleagues that are mothers who spend an incredible amount of time serving in the State Legislature, and yet I know they are also incredible mothers. I am always amazed at their ability to do both so very well.

It is an honor to serve the people of Central & Southern Oregon. If you need assistance with a state matter, plan on visiting the Capitol or have an idea for legislation, please reach out to my office.

Best regards,

E.  WERNER RESCHKE
State Representative, HD 55
The Crater Lake District

Capitol Phone 
(503) 986-1455

Capitol Address 
900 Court St. NE, H-383
Salem, OR 97301

Email
Rep.EWernerReschke@oregonlegislature.gov

Website
www.oregonlegislature.gov/reschke