November 27, 2007

CONTACT: Kendra Rosenberg (503) 986-1718, Erin Devaney (503) 350-0804

Senator Burdick and Representative Galizio hold town hall

PORTLAND –Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland/Tigard) and Representative Larry Galizio (D-Tigard/ SW Portland) met with constituents for a town hall at the Multnomah Arts Center in Portland on November 17, 2007. The town hall covered the newly enacted identity theft legislation from the 2007 session that provides greater assistance to victims of identity theft (Senate Bill 583).

Guest speaker Cory Streisinger, director of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, gave a presentation on the need for all Oregonians, including business and consumers, to take the risks of identity theft seriously.

“We’ve been going around the state training businesses and they are taking this new legislation seriously,” said Streisinger.  Oregon currently ranks 13th in the nation per capita for identity theft.  The most common incidents are fraudulent credit card use and fraudulent banking activity can result in damaged credit records and unauthorized activities. 

During a question and answer session with constituents Senator Burdick highlighted the bipartisan efforts of the 2007 legislative session.

“Both parties worked together to serve the people of Oregon,” Burdick said.  “It was an invigorating session, both because of the work that was accomplished and the bipartisan cooperation on important issues for all Oregonians.  The accomplishments of this session will create more opportunities for significant legislation in the future.”

Representative Galizio noted that his 2nd term in the legislature was “a success under new leadership. In this session, our unprecedented efforts to reach across the aisle meant huge gains for education, public safety, consumer protection and environmental reforms for every citizen of Oregon.”

Topics discussed during the town hall included tax reform, higher education and health care.  Both legislators are committed to addressing these issues in future legislative sessions.