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Capitol Update
State Senator Jackie Dingfelder
Senate District 23
Northeast and Southeast Portland
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Today completes the fifth week of the legislative
session and as in sessions past there has been an
increase in activity. This past week, the Consumer
Protection and Public Affairs Committee heard
testimony for bills to close loopholes in the laws
protecting against improper debt collection. In the
Senate Judiciary Committee, which I serve on, a bill
was finalized to fix problems with the liability cap of
local governments, while the Oregon House and
Senate voted to disconnect the state income tax from
the federal income tax. Additionally, I cosponsored a
number of bills put forward by the Oregon Woman's
Health and Wellness Alliance as a means of ensuring
the continued and improved health of Oregonians. In
addition to my legislative work, I recently participated
in a teaching event on global warming at the Joseph
L. Meek Professional High School and an event to
launch Oregon's electronic waste recycling program.
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
- Senate Moves to Strengthen Consumer
Protection
- Public Liability Limits Sent to the Floor
- Senate Votes to Disconnect State and Federal
Income Taxes
- Woman's Health and Wellness Alliance Agenda
Moves Forward
- Electronic Waste Recycling Program Off To a
Great Start
- Oregon Climate Dialogue
- Events
Senate Moves to Strengthen Consumer Protection
This past week, The Consumer Protection and Public
Affairs Committee took public testimony on Senate
Bills 328 and 386. These bills address
shortcomings in Oregon's laws against improper debt
collection. Currently, if a debt collector tries to collect a
debt that he or she knows does not exists, the victim
of this attempted collection has no specific recourse
in the law. Senate Bill 386 would rectify this situation
by allowing citizens to sue companies that wrongly
target them for collection. Similarly, current Oregon
law bans many of the extreme debt collection
practices but no state agency has the authority to
enforce these protections. Senate Bill 328 fixes this
problem by allowing the Oregon Department of
Justice to enforce consumer laws against debt
collection companies. I am strongly supporting both of
these bills and I look forward to voting for them when
they come before the full Senate.
Public Liability Limits Sent to the Floor
This past Wednesday, February 11, the Judiciary
Committee voted on a final version of Senate Bill 311
which fixes problems with the liability cap for local
governments. As mentioned in previous newsletters,
SB 311 clarifies what government bodies are covered
by the state's 40-year old liability cap for government
entities. The bill will raise the maximum amount
of money that a plaintiff can collect, while also creating
a mechanism for raising the cap year to year, to reflect
inflation. I voted to approve SB 311 because it
represented a compromise among a broad number of
groups (ranging from Oregon Health Science
University to the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association) for
a very specific, and limited, purpose. The bill is
expected to go before the full Senate next week.
Senate Votes to Disconnect State and Federal Income Taxes
On Thursday, February 12, the State Senate voted to
disconnect the state income
tax from the federal
income tax. This change was done in anticipation of
the federal economic stimulus package adjusting
federal taxes and reflects the different needs and
abilities of the local and national governments. Unlike
the federal government, Oregon must run a balanced
budget, which requires all tax cuts to be offset by
equivalent spending cuts. Currently, the state income
tax is tied to the federal income tax, so any cuts in
federal income taxes result in state cuts as well. If the
two taxes were kept coupled, then the expected tax
cuts in the federal stimulus package would force
Oregon to cut local taxes, which would produce the
unintended consequence of cutting funding to state
programs. This bill does not prevent Oregon from
reconnecting the two income taxes in the future. I
support
the tax disconnect as a way of preserving funding
levels for state services in the face of uncertain
economic conditions.
Woman's Health and Wellness Alliance Agenda Moves Forward
This session the Oregon Woman's Health and
Wellness Alliance presented an agenda to improve
the health of Oregonians. I am cosponsoring a
number of bills related to the agenda goals, including
bills to:
- Expand screenings for breast and cervical
cancer.
- Create an insurance program for extended paid
family leave.
- Expand programs to stop domestic violence and
protect the jobs of victims of domestic violence.
- Expand the availability of prenatal care.
- Ban dangerous chemicals from children's toys
and products.
- Expand insurance coverage for HPV vaccines.
Electronic Waste Recycling Program Off To a Great Start
On Wednesday February 11th, I attended an event
celebrating Oregon's electronic waste recycling
program. In the program's first month, Oregonians
have already recycled 1.5 million pounds of
electronics. As you may know, creating a system for
electronic waste recycling was one of my top priorities
from last session and I am excited to see the program
off to such a strong start.
I am pictured in this photo with Senator Frank Morse,
who was a co-chief-sponsor of the e-waste legislation
from last session.
Oregon Climate Dialogue
Last Friday, February 6, I participated in a talk at
Joseph L Meek Professional Technical High School,
in connection with the "Oregon Climate Dialogue" and
the "National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions."
At the Dialogue, I listened to a presentation by the
students about solutions to global warming and
participated in a roundtable discussion on Oregon's
response to climate change.
Here, I am pictured with the class that participated in
the Climate Dialogue.
Events
Tomorrow, Saturday, February 14th, Oregon will
celebrate 150 years of statehood and there will be a
family event at the Capital Building. The ceremony will
be from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. It will feature
musical performances, tours of the Capital Building,
and a cake made for 3,000 people.
On Friday, February 20th, I will at Wholesome Blends
Coffee from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to meet with
constituents to hear about your issues and concerns. I
look forward to meeting with you. The address for the
drop in times is:
- Wholesome Blends, 4615 NE Sandy, 97213
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