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Capitol Update
State Senator Jackie Dingfelder
Senate District 23
Northeast and Southeast Portland
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 2009 Legislature is in its third week and as in
sessions past we hit the ground running. This week,
the State Senate passed an economic stimulus
package by improving the state's infrastructure. These
bonds are not the ultimate solution to our ailing
economy but they represent a strong starting point by
funding projects that are ready to begin immediately,
while creating infrastructure improvements that will
allow the economy to grow faster.
Last Saturday, I participated in a town hall with State
Representatives Ben Cannon and Michael Dembrow.
I want to thank everyone who took time out of their
Saturday morning to share their thoughts, opinions,
and priorities for Oregon and our district. As always,
please contact about the articles in this news letter.
My staff and I are happy to field your questions about
state programs and pending legislation or resolve
issues you may have regarding state agencies and
actions. Thank you for subscribing to Capital
Update. You may unsubscribe at any time by using
the link at the bottom of the newsletter. As always, I
am honored to represent you.
Jackie Dingfelder
State Senator
Senate District 23
In This Issue
- Committee Updates
- Town Hall Roundup
- New Appointments
- Meet My New Intern
- Events
Committee Updates
As you may know, I serve on the Senate Judiciary
Committee. Recently, we heard public comments on
Senate Bill 311, which
would reestablish a limit to the
amount of damages from lawsuits that can be paid by
local governments, the state, and Oregon Health
Sciences University. This bill would not affect lawsuits
against private individuals or corporations, only
against the government.
These types of limits were first passed in the 1960's
but a ruling last year by the Oregon Supreme Court
created a need for the legislature to clarify the law.
This bill will resolve the legal ambiguity, while raising
the damage limits. I am supporting this bill because it
represents a broad compromise between local
governments, Oregon Health Sciences University, the
state, and the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. The
bill is currently being fine tuned in a work group and
will be voted on by the Judiciary Committee in the near
future.
Town Hall Roundup
Last Saturday, January 24th, Representatives Ben
Cannon, Michael Dembrow and I held our first town
hall of the session. We had a full house at the
Hollywood Senior Center, as you can see in the
photo. Rep. Cannon, Rep. Dembrow and I were very
grateful that so many of you chose to venture out on a
cold Saturday morning to talk with us.
We focused on listening to your concerns, questions
and comments since we are beginning a session at a
tough economic time and will need to make some
very difficult choices in the coming months. While we
talked about declining state revenues, we also talked
about the different ways to raise money to fund
critically needed services such as mental health,
substance abuse prevention and treatment, oral
health, senior programs, and education. I specifically
spoke about a bill I have sponsored to increase the
beer tax and how the increased revenue would go to
fund substance abuse prevention, treatment, and
recovery programs-programs which have been
starved for funds for too many years.
Overall, Rep. Cannon, Rep. Dembrow, and I were
pleased to hear from so many of you that now is the
time to be bold and make the decisions that will
benefit Oregon in the long term. Your input is very
important to us, and we will be keeping your
comments in mind as we proceed through the
session. We will be hosting more town halls in the
future, so please look for those announcements in
upcoming newsletters.
New Appointments
This past week I was honored to receive
appointments to two new commissions by Senate
President Peter Courtney. Starting this past week I
became a member of the Oregon Commission on
Asian Affairs and the Oregon Cultural Trust Board.
Both of these appointments provide opportunities to
reach beyond the legislature when investing in the
cultural wealth of our state.
The Commission on Asian Affairs works to create a
dialogue between Oregon's Asian-American
communities and the Oregon community as a whole.
In an age of global interdependence, the work of
bridging the divide between diverse communities
takes on greater significance. I look forward to this
opportunity to strengthening the bonds among the
increasingly diverse cross-section of Oregonians.
The Oregon Cultural Trust works to bring stable
funding to the arts and cultural programs of our state.
With the difficult economy, this mission has taken on
greater significance. This appointment presents a
new set of opportunities for strengthening the cultural
and artistic riches of Oregon.
Meet My New Intern
Gregory Campbell joined my staff this session as an
intern. Gregory is originally from Central California but
has lived in Oregon for fifteen years, leading him to
feel like a proper webfoot. He majored in Psychology
at Oregon State University and the University of
Oregon, leaving him somewhat conflicted during Civil
War games. For the past five years he has lived in NE
Portland, working for DHS while pursuing a BA in
Political Science at Portland State University. In his
spare time Gregory enjoys gardening, reading, and
volunteering for a number of environmental groups.
Events
This past Sunday I attended a meeting of the AFL-CIO.
I am pictured here with two other AFL-CIO members. I
enjoyed learning about the opinions and positions of
workers throughout Oregon.
An upcoming event I will be attending is the Oregon
Climate Dialogue at the Joseph L. Meek Professional
Technical high School. This will be a round-table
dialogue about the challenges and solutions to global
warming. The event is on Friday, February 6, at 10:00
am and is located at:
- 4039 NE Alberta Ct., Portland, 97211
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