About that Transportation Package...

Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 07/19/2025 08:00 AM PDT

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To contact me, please click here: Sen.DebPatterson@oregonlegislature.gov

About that Transportation Package...

Dear Friends,

I hope you are all doing well and staying cool, and I hope to see you at the upcoming Town Hall at Center 50+ with Attorney Dan Rayfield and Representatives Paul Evans and Tom Andersen. (See below for details.)

Having had some time to reflect on the legislative session just ended, I’d like to take a moment to share some thoughts with you.

First of all, thanks to collaborative efforts by our SD 10 staff and community advocates, we were able to accomplish a great deal. We moved forward with policies that should help to speed up hospital discharge, which will hopefully make it easier for people to find needed care following discharge, as well as potentially shorten waits in our emergency departments. That was SB 296, and I’m grateful to the Hospital Association of Oregon, the Oregon Healthcare Association, the Oregon Nurses Association, SEIU, and many others for their work on this for over a year. Special thanks to Jimmy Jones, Executive Director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, and Dr. Elizabeth Burns, Chief Medical Office for Avamere of Oregon for their leadership as Chair and Co-Chair of the Task Force that pulled together the recommendations, along with all the others who served on the Task Force and contributed to its work. It was an honor to work with you all on this.

I’m also thrilled that we were able to pass SB 951, which keeps clinics in the hands of medical providers, not in the hands of private equity. I was honored to chief sponsor and would like to thank House Majority Leader Ben Bowman and his staff for their work on this bill, which is ground-breaking here in the US.

We also were able to obtain needed funding to help with local needs, including $6 million for the Marion Polk Food Share, which has suffered cuts to their federal funding. Western Oregon University will receive $13 million for their data center, and Helping Hands will receive nearly $1 million for their work to help provide clothing and household goods to those truly in need. Please stay tuned for more information about other funding that we were able to obtain for our area, a real win given the tight budget environment.

Sadly, we were not able to pass a transportation bill. There is great need across the state, and certainly there is here in our area, as well. For example, the City of Salem alone has 1250 miles of streets and 36.8 miles of alleys, 68 bridges, and 826 miles of sidewalks. The city’s expenditure for FY 2024-25 is budgeted at $19.6 million, with 76% of that to coming from State Highway Funds. The problem is State Highway Funds aren’t keeping pace with the need for maintenance and upgrades. That’s where the Transportation package would have come in.

The Transportation package would have made modest increases to the gas tax and to the fee for registration of vehicles, along with a few other changes to the current system of transportation funding, including increased fees for electric vehicles. It would have made modest investment in public transportation and safe routes to schools. But at the end of the day, we were just short of the 18 votes needed to pass this bill in the Senate. (The House also did not have enough votes.) In conversation with other Senators, I would urge the Governor to convene a special session as soon as possible, to avoid the layoffs of several hundred ODOT employees and to avoid tanking the budgets of our communities who count on the State’s contribution to safely maintain our roadways.

I’m back from a family vacation and am back at work. Again, please join us at our Town Hall next week, and stay in touch.

Best regards,

Deb

Salem Town Hall

On Wednesday, July 23, I will be holding a joint town hall with Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, State Rep. Tom Andersen, and State Rep. Paul Evans. Please join us at 6pm at Center 50+ to share how you've been impacted by federal actions – whether around healthcare, support for veterans, schools, libraries, or federal workers, or something else.

The event is part of a statewide “Safeguarding Oregon: Federal Oversight Series” focused on hearing directly from Oregonians to shape legal strategies that protect the state’s interest. You can RSVP at https://bit.ly/July23Salem.

I hope to see you there!

Hot weather resources

Summer weather can go from beautiful to life-threatening when conditions shift. Local services can give some relief to people struggling with the heat, and verified guidance can help anyone prepare for a heat wave.

Cooling centers open or expand access in severe conditions. Dates and times vary at each location, but you can check the list of cooling centers at https://bit.ly/211-cooling-centers. If possible, follow up with the location to verify it's open.

Oregon State University’s Extension Service also has helpful tips for staying safe in summer heat:

Check on family, friends and animals often. Make sure animals have a cool place and plenty of water.
Limit outdoor activities and rest indoors during the hottest parts of the day.
Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water, start now. Limit caffeinated or alcoholic drinks.
Prepare for power outages. Keep cell phones charged. Fill car with gas. Have insulation to surround freezer. Have a supply of water ready if you have a well.
Cover any windows that face the sun with aluminum foil-covered cardboard. This is very effective in keeping out heat. Plain cardboard or dark fabrics will also help. Add extra coverings even if you have curtains.
Have a fan to move air in your home if you don’t have air conditioning. When the temperatures drop at night, open doors and windows to cool off the interior of the home before the sun comes up the next day. Keep as many lights and appliances turned off as possible.
Have light, ready-to-eat foods ready for regular small meals and snacks.