Dear Friends,

Our schedule continues to increase.  We now have floor sessions scheduled every day and our Judiciary Committee will have two meetings on Tuesdays to move bills.

This weekend, we have our first opportunity to schedule and attend events in District.  The Speaker of the House has designated Monday, March 23^rd as an in-District Day and there are no floor sessions or committee meetings scheduled.  We are scheduled to attend the High Desert NRA event at Eagle Crest on Saturday afternoon.  On Monday, I have a meet and greet at the Sunriver Chamber of Commerce from 9 to 10:30 AM and later will meet with some local business people.  Then, Rep. Stiegler, Senator Telfer, and I will participate in a Bend Broadband televised town hall meeting and discussion.  The details are provided below.  I wish the legislative schedule and geography provided more opportunities for meetings in District during the session.  However, it is very difficult to plan events due to our weather and my committee schedule.  I hope our “Legislative Updates” provide you the communications which you need to monitor our work for you.  

Sincerely,

Gene Whisnant

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

La Pine High School Girls Basketball team won the 4A State Championship last Saturday!  Congratulations to the Lady Hawks, Coach Beer, the other coaches, and the La Pine students.  Also, Maria Ramirez was named Qwest Play of the Game.  Great job!!!

Congratulations to the City of Redmond who was selected by Oregon Transportation Commission for a Federal Stimulus Project of $2,956,000 to reconstruct 5^th Street.  This is a project which will have a strong positive economic impact on the city of Redmond and improve driving conditions downtown.

COMMITTEES

The Joint Ways and Means Education subcommittee on Monday discussed the small ESD’s operations and the Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education new funding model.  On Tuesday, we had a public hearing on Teacher Standards & Practice agency.  Then, on Wednesday, we passed budgets for the Board of Chiropractic Examiners, Board of Clinic Social Workers, and Board of Dentistry.  On Thursday, we received an excellent presentation from Dr.  Pat Burk, ODE, on the Federal Stimulus education funding.  He did caution us that although we’ll receive almost $1 billion in additiona l funding; it is likely to be a one-time financial package and it comes with strings.  Thus, there will be a major maintenance of effort requirement.

The House Judiciary Committee worked many bills this week and I had the opportunity to chair the committee for a public hearing on one bill which tries to help integrate and employ ex-prisoners.

BILLS/VOTES

HJR 19 designated March 16, 2009 as SMART reading Day and passed the House on Monday.  I am a sponsor of the bill.

HJR 10 designating March as American Legion Month in honor of their 90^th birthday.

HB 2080 A encourages appropriate reuse of gray water for beneficial uses.  I voted for this bill which could help our water issue in Central Oregon.

HB 2062 A requires school boards to adopt policies concerning the reporting of sexual conduct by school employees.  I worked hard on this legislation during the interim as the vice chair of the House Interim Education Committee and a member of one of the work groups on this legislation.

EVENTS

La Pine Grange:  Last Saturday, Josie and I members of the La Pine Grange volunteered at the Farmers Market event.  We had rabbits, eggs, baked goods, soaps, and crafts for sell at the Grange Hall.  Robin Prante is in charge of this very successful event.  Please support it. 

Credit Union Day at the Capitol was Monday.  Many of the staff and board members of Mid Oregon Credit Union visited us in the Capitol and at a reception.

CONTACT INFO

      Please feel free to contact my office on any issues you would like to be brought to our attention, or to give your opinion on any legislation that is before your State House right now. We want to hear from you and make sure we are doing what we can for you here in Salem.

Our office phone number is 503-986-1453; our email is rep.genewhisnant@state.or.us; our mailing address is 900 Court St NE H-471 Salem OR 97301.

You may also follow our House Floor Sessions and Committee meetings by going to http://oregonchannel.org/rams.htm

OPEN MEETINGS

Monday, March 23 is designated as an in District Day for Legislators

9 AM until 10:30, Monday:  I’ll be at the Sunriver Chamber of Commerce for a meet and greet event.  Thanks to the Chamber for allowing us to use their facility.  Please drop! 

5:30 PM, Monday:  I’ll participate in the Talk of the Town, here are the details:

·         WHAT:  “Meet Your Legislators & Local Leaders:  A Look at the Year Ahead” in a televised town hall format discussion on Talk of the Town. Rep Gene Whisnant, Rep Judy Stiegler, Sen. Chris T elfer joined by Deschutes County Commissioners.

·         WHEN:   Monday, March 23^rd, 5:30 p.m.  Airs Monday, March 30th on COTV 11 at 7pm & each Monday through April 20^th. 

·         WHERE:  Cascades Theatrical Company, 148 NW Greenwood, Bend.

·         WHO:  OPEN to the PUBLIC.  Free to attend.  Please R.S.V.P. to Jamie Christman at:  talk@bendbroadband.com , or call 388-5814. Check out the web f or more details:  www.talkofthetownco.com. 

·         WHY:  BendBroadband/COTV-11 produces Talk of the Town to Central Oregon as a community service intended to “set the table” and dive deeper on issues that matter to Central Oregonians.