Hello friends,

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend and were able to enjoy time with friends and family.

The 2019 Legislative Session is slowly winding down and our bills are still moving through the chambers. Yesterday, our Emergency Communications Funding bill (HB 2449 B) passed in the House and is now headed over to the Senate where it will be assigned to a committee by Senate President Courtney. The 9-1-1 surcharge has not been adjusted since 1995, leaving Oregon’s public service answering points (PSAPs) severely underfunded in the face of significant technological advancements and population growth. As a legislative body, we take very few votes that literally have the ability to save lives. If we continue to underfund our PSAPs then Oregonians all over the state, from Multnomah County to Malheur County, will suffer. Oregonians expect and deserve to have the best, most reliable access to emergency services. HB 2449 B will provide critical funding to our PSAPs, ensuring that all Oregonians can dial 9-1-1 confidently knowing there will be someone on the other end of the line to help.

This past week SB 870 also passed in the House and is waiting to be signed by the Governor. This bill enacts the Interstate Compact Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote eliminating the electoral college. The Compact does not become effective until it is passed by states that cumulatively possess a majority of all electoral votes. Currently, 15 states have adopted the Compact: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont. These states represent 189 electoral votes of the 270 electoral votes necessary to make the Compact legally binding. SB 870 passed in the House along party lines and I personally voted against it. My fear is that by eliminating the electoral college, states with smaller populations (like Oregon) will be ignored during national elections with candidates focusing on states with the most people.

Yesterday, SB 320 A passed in the House and is headed to Gov. Brown’s desk to be signed. This bill would eliminate the annual one-hour time change from standard time to daylight saving time, so that most of Oregon (except for a large portion of Malheur County) would stay on daylight saving time all year long. For those of you in Malheur County, this means you would have the same time as the rest of the state for part of the year and be an hour ahead for the other part. This change will only take place if it is approved at the federal level. It’s also important to know that California and Washington have both voted to eliminate standard time and continue in daylight saving time, so it should not drastically affect commerce between the Western states.

This past Wednesday was our last Remote Town Hall of the 2019 Legislative Session. I am planning to do Town Halls in Baker, Grant, Harney, Lake, and Malheur counties in August and September. I will be sending out notifications on Facebook as we get closer.

As always, please feel free to reach out to my office if there is anything we can do to assist you. Enjoy your summer.

Warm regards,