Hello friends, and Happy New Year!
February - and its supplemental session - is just around the corner. I am looking forward to a short, productive, and cooperative four weeks in Salem beginning February 4. In anticipation of this, I will co-host a town hall with Senator Avel Gordly and Representative Jackie Dingfelder on Thursday, January 24th at PCC Southeast in Rooms 139 and 140. Click here for a map and to get directions. We will address upcoming legislation as well as spend some time exploring the state's budgeting process, including the powerful role played by the Legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee.
Before I move on to a preview of specific legislation coming forward next month, I want to draw people's attention to some important news about the Oregon Health Plan. A couple of weeks ago, DHS Director Bruce Goldberg announced an expansion to OHP. A "reservation list" will be open starting on January 28th and until February 29th in order to fill the new slots in OHP Standard with eligible, uninsured Oregonians. Please click
here for more information, and please spread the word to anyone who might benefit from inclusion in the Oregon Health Plan.
Over the past several weeks, Legislative attorneys have been busy - very busy - drafting bills for the session. Committees are meeting, and conversations are swirling around the 100 or so bills that the Legislature is likely to consider next month.
Under rules adopted for this special session, individual House members are not allowed to introduce their own bills. Instead, I have focused on the bills that will be put forward by my two committees: the House Committee on Energy and the Environment, of which I am vice-chair, and House Committee on Health Care.
The House Committee on Energy and the Environment will propose three bills in February. One is a technical fix to a 2007 bill requiring dentists to properly dispose of mercury-containing amalgam fillings. Another establishes energy efficiency requirements for state buildings. Third, and most importantly, we are working on a bill which instructs state agencies to adopt plans for meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction goals we set last session. This is just one step toward a larger effort to reduce Oregon's carbon footprint. In 2009, the Legislature will almost certainly consider whether to bring Oregon into compliance with the Western Climate Initiative - a multi-state effort to create a regional carbon cap-and-trade program. Click here to find out more about those efforts.
The House Committee on Health Care is working on two pieces of legislation. One of these, the HOPE Amendment, would refer to voters a constitutional amendment declaring that health care is a fundamental right. Passage would essentially require the Legislature to design - and keep - a system for ensuring that all Oregonians have access to health care. The other bill combines an effort to increase the number of children enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan with a pilot program for improved delivery models for health care. Both of these bills serve as companion pieces to the work of the Health Care Fund Board. Click here to learn more about the work of this board, which is currently working to reform Oregon's health care system.
I will also be working on many of the following items from the House Democrats' "Roadmap for Oregon's Future":
Roadmap for Oregon's Future:
Oregon House Democrats February 2008 Priority Actions
- IMPROVING TOY SAFETY LAWS
We will work to ensure the safety and health of our children by prohibiting the sale of toys and other children's items that have been recalled.
- PROTECTING ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN
We will fight to protect abused and neglected children by increasing the number of staff devoted to regularly visiting homes to ensure our children are safe, while also reducing the growing backlog of home visits.
- KEEPING SENIORS HEALTHY AND INDEPENDENT
Along with constructing a blueprint for how Oregon will ensure the health and independence of our growing senior population and creating a stable system of long term care, we will act to strengthen these programs in order to maintain continued access to the most appropriate level of care.
- BUILDING A STRONGER OREGON STATE POLICE
Continuing our successful efforts from the 2007 session in adding 100 new state troopers, we will move the Oregon State Police toward 24/7 coverage on Oregon highways.
- PROTECTING FAMILIES FROM FORECLOSURE
We will enact stronger laws to provide Oregon families with the tools, strategies and assistance they need to avoid foreclosure of their homes. We will also work to identify long-term solutions to the mortgage lending crisis.
- INCREASING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
We will promote greater accountability in state government, including passing legislation to create an advisory Committee on Performance Excellence, while improving the state's ability to respond quickly to policy and budget issues as they arise.
- INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE
In order to ensure business and job growth, we will lay the foundation for improvements in water storage and land use planning to ensure these systems are robust and dependable; and continue discussions about transportation improvements for 2009.
As Legislative Counsel is still working on drafting the bills for the upcoming session, it is impossible to know what each bill will look at this point. At this stage, I am interested in the following bills in addition to those listed above:
- The Farm to Schools Program, a bill in the House Committee on Education
- Marine Reserves, a bill in the House Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Ocean Policy
- Fusion voting, a bill coming from Senator Brad Avakian
- A grant fund for water assessment studies, a bill in the Senate Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources
- Affordable Housing, a bill coming from an individual senator
- Reforms to how ballot initiatives are funded, a bill coming from an individual senator
During the last legislative session, I did my best to keep my constituents posted on opportunities to get involved in the legislative process, as well as to keep you abreast of the latest news from Salem. I hope to continue this trend and you can expect to hear from me at last two more times between now and the end of the session.
In the meantime, if any of the bills mentioned above particularly interest you, please be in touch. My staff and I will connect you with the right folks in order to get involved in the efforts to pass that particular bill.
Yours sincerely,
State Representative Ben Cannon
1125 SE Madison, Suite 100B
Portland, OR 97214
rep.bencannon@state.or.us
http://www.repbencannon.com
(503) 236-3351
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