Capitol Update

Representative Chris Garrett

House District 38

Lake Oswego and lower Southwest Portland

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The 2009 legislative session adjourned on the evening of June 29.  Though legislators faced the most difficult economic climate in recent memory, we were able to finish on time, balance the budget, and complete a great deal of important policy work. 

Although the session is over, legislative work continues.  Last week I was honored to be elected by my colleagues to the position of Assistant Majority Leader.  In this role, I will help develop legislative priorities for the February 2010 session and beyond.

In this newsletter, you will find information on the following:

• Upcoming Town Hall meeting with Senator Devlin
• 2009-2011 budget
• My 2009 legislative accomplishments
• Other significant bills of the 2009 session
• Interim contact information

Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter.  I welcome comments and questions at any time.

Sincerely,

Chris Garrett

State Representative

House District 38

Town Hall

Senator Richard Devlin and I will co-host another Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, August 19, from 7 to 8:30 pm, in the Willamette Room of the West End building (4101 Kruse Way, Lake Oswego).

2009 - 2011 Budget

We entered the session with Oregon, like other states, facing rising unemployment, declining revenues, and the threat of cuts to state services because of the global economic crisis.  We tightened our belts and made targeted cuts to the state budget, while keeping our commitment to protect vital services like education, health care and public safety.  I worked especially hard to make sure our schools would not bear the brunt of the cuts.  While the K-12 budget of $6 billion does not meet every need, it will be enough to keep the school year intact around the state.

In order to fill an unprecedented budget shortfall exceeding $4 billion, legislators took a balanced approach that included budget cuts, the use of federal stimulus dollars and reserves, and the difficult step of raising taxes.  During those deliberations, I was often asked by constituents why this was necessary.  Why not just cut the budget?  In fact, we did cut the state budget, by billions of dollars.  The majority of the $4 billion hole was filled through budget cuts.  Many people are surprised to learn, however, that roughly 95% of Oregon’s general fund pays for just three core service areas: education, public safety, and human services for children, the elderly, the mentally ill, and other vulnerable Oregonians.  After long and painful deliberation, legislators concluded that we could only cut so much without doing crippling harm to essential programs that Oregonians truly value.  

Therefore, in order to keep those vital services intact, legislators asked the people who are doing well through this difficult economic time to contribute a little more.  I believe that a balanced approach to our budget deficit, through a combination of spending cuts and limited tax increases on corporations and high income individuals, was the responsible choice.  It should also be remembered that Oregon's tax system ranks among the more business-friendly in the nation, and it will remain so under the recent legislation.    

Below are some key points of the 2009 -2011 revenue package:

HB 2649 -- Personal income

HB 3405 -- Corporate income

• Increases tax rate on corporate profits above $250,000 by 1.3% (reduced to 1%  in 2011 and eliminated in 2013) 
• Increases tax rate on corporate profits above $10 million by 1.3% (reduced to 1% in 2011)
• Increases corporate minimum tax, for the first time since 1931, from $10 to a sliding scale starting at $150 based on gross receipts

Legislative Accomplishments

Health Care.  As a member of the Health Care Committee, I played an active role in crafting two bills that will change the landscape of health care in Oregon. 

House Bill 2116 provides the largest expansion of health coverage since creation of the Oregon Health Plan two decades ago.  The bill will extend coverage to 80,000 uninsured children, ensuring that 95% of all children in Oregon will have health coverage by 2011 -- the highest rate in the United States.  The bill brings an additional 35,000 low-income adults into the Oregon Health Plan, where they will receive not only medical care, but mental health care and addiction treatment services.  The bill also creates 3,600 jobs and helps Oregon take advantage of up to $1 billion in federal money.

The Legislature also recognized that expanding coverage is not enough.  The spiraling costs of health care must be controlled.  House Bill 2009, a companion bill to HB 2116, will make health care more efficient and less costly by streamlining functions and taking advantage of technological advances that can improve care while reducing the price of care both in the short term and long term.  These cost-saving measures are expected to save billions of dollars over time.

Environment and Land Use.  As Vice Chair of the House Land Use Committee, I crafted legislation to implement recommendations of the "Big Look" task force on the Oregon land-use system.  House Bill 2229 will give local governments more flexibility to solve land-use problems while preserving our core goals of protecting valuable farmland and forestland from sprawl.
 

In one of the most intensely watched debates of the session, the Legislature passed House Bill 3298, which designates the Metolius River Basin for special protection under state land-use laws.  During our deliberations in the House Land Use Committee, thousands of Oregonians spoke out in favor of this legislation. 

I was a lead sponsor of Senate Bill 513, an innovative bill that creates a system by which private money can be used to supplement governmental and philanthropic funding for environmental protection.  The bill takes a first step towards authorizing the development of coordinated markets for ecosystem services.  In such markets, buyers and sellers exchange money for ecosystem services, which include clean air and water, as well as fish and wildlife habitat.  Thus, SB 513 sets the stage for private landowners to receive payments for providing ecosystem services when they make a special effort to do so.  Passage of the bill creates “green jobs,” brings cost savings to industry and local governments, and stimulates the creation of endangered species habitat.

Initiative Reform.  Several bills were introduced this session to reform the initiative process in response to growing public concern that Oregon’s hallmark process has degenerated into a tool for special interests.  As one contribution to this discussion, I introduced and led passage of House Bill 2941, which will reduce the manipulation of the initiative process by curbing a costly practice known as “ballot title shopping.”  This will lower costs for government and take some of the gamesmanship out of the process.

Justice for Child Victims.  Together with Rep. Andy Olson (R-Albany), I sponsored a bill to extend the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse.  This will ensure that victims have an adequate amount of time to bring civil actions against their abusers.

Other Significant Bills of the 2009 Session

Combating Climate Change.  Recognizing that climate change is a critical environmental and public health issue, the Legislature took action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  House Bill 2186 establishes a low-carbon fuel standard to reduce carbon emissions from fuel by 10% by 2020.  Oregon joins California as the second state to adopt the standard, which gives a leg up to local producers of biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol, and will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. 

Promoting Energy Efficiency.  The Legislature acted to stimulate energy efficiency across our state.  House Bill 2626 will establish an energy efficiency loan program to encourage investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy conservation.  The bill will allow property owners to upgrade their homes or businesses through a low-interest, long-term loan program funded through lottery bonds.  The loans will be paid back through savings on property owners’ energy bills and will help reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

Improving Oregon’s Water Laws.  Oregon is one of only two western states without a formal water supply plan, and we currently lack statewide mechanisms to finance water development projects.  Further, Oregon’s surface water is nearly fully allocated during summer months and ground water is showing declines in quantity and quality in some areas.  A bipartisan group of my colleagues spent a great deal of time crafting House Bill 3369, which takes the first steps to create a statewide water strategy and an active water investment mechanism.  Having a coherent water strategy and an active investment mechanism will position Oregon to pursue water development opportunities as they arise, such as tapping federal stimulus dollars.

Improving Transportation Infrastructure.  The 2009 transportation package, contained in House Bill 2001, invests $300 million per year improving and expanding Oregon’s state, county and city transportation systems.  The bill provides cities and counties with 50% of the $300 million raised, and sets aside an additional $100 million for rail, marine, air, transit and train projects under the Connect Oregon III program.  This large-scale package will put Oregonians back to work repairing our roads and bridges, relieving congestion, and enhancing bicycle and pedestrian transit.

Public Health.  We took steps to address the public health epidemic of obesity by requiring chain restaurants to provide nutritional information on their menus and drive-through displays.  Oregon follows the lead of New York and Washington in promoting better information to guide individual dietary choices.

Keeping Children Safe.  In 2008, The Oregonian reported that some school districts had entered into secret agreements with teachers that concealed details of teacher sexual misconduct with students.  House Bill 2062 solves this problem by banning secret agreements between school employees who engaged in misconduct and school employers and requiring training on avoiding, identifying, and reporting sexual misconduct. 

Promoting Government Transparency.  The Legislature took action to ensure a more transparent and accountable state government by passing House Bill 2500, which will create a website allowing Oregonians to access information about state government online, including revenue, expenditure, audit and agency program information from each state agency.  With passage of HB 2500, Oregon joints 23 other states in creating a searchable internet site allowing people to view detailed records of how their tax dollars are spent. 

Rainy Day Fund.  The volatility of Oregon's revenue system is well known.  The Legislature took a prudent and responsible step to protect against future economic downturns by passing House Bill 2073, which will divert some corporate tax revenue into Oregon’s Rainy Day Fund. 

Interim Contact Information

Over the past six months, many of you have met my Legislative Assisstant, Tim Hughes. Tim will continue to work for me over the interim. Our contact information will be as follows:

P.O. Box 132

Lake Oswego, OR 97034

(503) 210-2474

rep.chrisgarrett@state.or.us