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Capitol Address: |
Senator Jason Atkinson Welcome to the legislative website for Oregon’s 2nd Senate District. This page is for you, the voters of Southern Oregon to stay updated on the goings-on in Salem, and to get to know me better. You can track individual bills through the Legislative bill tracker system. You can see when certain topics are scheduled for hearings and you can view the bill itself plus amendments as they are adopted. Please feel free to come and testify on issues that are important to you or to submit written testimony for the committee's consideration. If you like, you may send written testimony to our e-mail address at sen.jasonatkinson@state.or.us and we will forward it on to the appropriate committee members. Please feel free to contact my office with any thoughts you have on a particular bill or if I can be of service to you in any other way. My Legislative Director, Lauren Smith, and Policy Advisor, Kyle Vinyard, are more than happy to answer any questions you have or provide any assistance you need. I am on the following committees for the 76th Oregon Legislative Session: Business, Transportation and Economic Development 2011 Legislative Priorities: Reduce Capital Gains Taxes: This year we will lower capital gains taxes and provide businesses incentives to put Oregonians back to work by offering tax savings for hiring new employees. My biggest priority this session is to put Oregonians back to work by making us a more business-friendly state to attract new industries and bring capital investment back to Oregon. Prioritize the Budget: In these lean economic times, Oregon families have tightened their belts and prioritized their budgets. The Oregon legislature should behave the same way and not tax our way out of the finical mess. But as much as we have a budget problem, we also have a tremendous opportunity to prioritize and not fund nonessential programs. That is why I introduced my “81st Day” bill for the fifth session in a row – to force Oregon legislators to pass the K-12 budget by the 81st day of session or forfeit their compensation. Oregon should fully fund education and public safety before it funds any other departments. I also have a bill to force the legislature to cut up its credit card by prohibiting bonding and borrowing for a period of five years, so we must prioritize the budget and not bond our way out of a budget shortfall. Safe Neighborhoods: One of government’s main jobs is to protect citizens. An important part of protecting families is knowing your neighbors. I am creating a statewide registry of every individual who has a medical marijuana card, every primary caretaker of someone who has a medical marijuana card, all doctors licensed to write medical marijuana prescriptions and all medical marijuana grow sites. Law enforcement officials will have access to the registry to ensure that an individual is a legitimate user or grower of medical marijuana. I also will keep families more informed of who is living in their neighborhoods. It is my goal to give local law enforcement the authority to inform the community when violent criminals or sex offenders are released from jail into their neighborhoods, so parents may better protect their children. Drunk drivers are a threat to everyone, so I am making it easier for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, in conjunction with local police, to temporarily close down “problem bars”, many of which are also places where crime is frequent. Many people continue to ask about expanding the political tax credit by allowing people to direct their donations to homeless shelters and safe homes for women and children. The political tax credit was as high as $18 million and I think money is better spent at the Dunn House or The Children’s Advocacy Center to help victims of domestic or child abuse.
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