February 13, 2009                                                                     E-Newsletter Volume 3, No. 5

www.leg.state.or.us/witt                                                                     rep.bradwitt@state.or.us

Hello Everyone,

On Wednesday, I was privileged to attend a press conference held by Governor Kulongoski at Portland State University to announce the creation of a new public-private advisory council called The Oregon Way Advisory Group.  This group will advise and assist state agencies that are pursuing competitive federal grants under President Obama’s stimulus program.  The grant proposals will target innovative approaches to sustainability, renewable energy, carbon reduction, energy efficiency and green development.  At stake is $37 billion in construction oriented funding.

The Governor will be looking for expertise and ideas that integrate proposals around six key criteria: Immediate job creation; use of Oregon companies; green job training opportunities; advancing sustainability; innovation; and potential for future additional federal money through grants and other sources.  The group will also be looking for ways to showcase Oregon’s green expertise to the nation, such as Oregon’s “solar highway” project, which is the first major interchange (I-5/205 interchange) in the nation to be illuminated using electricity produced by solar panels and inverters.

Perhaps of greatest interest to District 31 citizens is Governor Kulongoski’s commitment to apply for millions of dollars in federal stimulus dollars to help rebuild the flood ravaged community of Vernonia.  Specifically, the state will ask for funds to rebuild Vernonia’s schools, aid homeowners in repairing flood-ravaged housing and rebuild the town’s water and sewer systems.  Truly, this is an answer to many prayers, and I was thrilled to be present at this announcement.  I and my office will do everything we can to assist the Governor’s office and the Oregon Way Advisory Group to compete for and obtain these funds.     

AT THE LEGISLATURE:                                              

Following the 2007 Legislative Session, many of us at the Capitol have been hearing from our locally elected officials such as city councilors, planning commission members, etc., that our latest election disclosure requirements (ethics laws) have gone too far.  These good people have complained with good reason, about the invasion of privacy that results from their having to disclose names of their relatives, even the names of their parents, children and siblings living in other states.  Many officials have chosen to resign their offices rather than disclose such personal information.  Several Oregon communities have been seriously impacted by these resignations as they struggle to maintain a quorum in their public meetings.

Responding to these injustices, the Senate Rules Committee held hearings this week on SB 30, legislation that would significantly reform Oregon’s current disclosure policies.  The bill proposes to eliminate the requirement that public officials report the names of family members on annual ethics reports.  It also strictly defines when an official may accept food at an event, and when gifts or tokens of gratitude are acceptable.  This is a move in the right direction and the bill should alleviate some rather onerous requirements imposed upon those who volunteer their time and talent to public service.

Affordable housing got a boost this week by way of HB 2436. This bill increases document recording fees by $15, and it will provide approximately $17 million for affordable housing in 2009-11, followed by $28 million in 2011-13, and $30 million in 2013-15.   It gained approval by both the Revenue Committee and my committee, the Ways and Means Sub-Committee on Transportation and Economic Development.  HB 2436 has been approved by the Full Ways and Means Committee and will be voted on by the House on Tuesday, February 17th.

This program will allow Oregon to embark on a long-term plan for low cost housing, emergency housing, multi-family housing and home ownership assistance.  It is something that many have been trying to achieve for almost 25 years.  My thanks to Jim Tierney, of the Community Action Team in Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook Counties, for taking the time to come to Salem and testify in favor of the bill.  He is a resident of Vernonia and has been a tireless advocate for the homeless and economically disadvantaged in our area.

Finally, I was privileged to speak on the floor of the House on February 10th in favor of HB 2420.  This bill presumes what every firefighter has known for decades:  that working in smoke-filled environments, where smoke and chemicals are released from a host of combusted or smoldering materials, creates a toxic brew that often permeates firefighters clothing, gear, and bodies.  Over the years, these kinds of high level exposures may lead to cancer.  One of the firefighters from my district, Patrick Martyn of St. Helens, exemplifies the risks and consequences of this occupation.  As he so eloquently wrote to me, “Growing up the fourth eldest in a family of eleven, I have the dubious distinction amongst my siblings as the only one to have pursued a career as a firefighter.  Even more distinctive is the fact that I am the only male (out of six) to have contracted prostate cancer and the only sibling to have contracted any form of cancer…In 2008, at age 55, I was diagnosed and treated for throat cancer.”  Both of these cancers have been included in HB 2420.

HB 2420 makes 12 kinds of firefighter cancers compensable under Oregon’s Workers Compensation system and I’d like to thank Chief Jay Tappan, Columbia River Fire and Rescue, for brining the importance of this coverage to my attention.  This system is overseen by the Management/Labor Advisory Committee (MLAC), whose five labor and five management members unanimously recommended passage of the bill.  It is worth noting that during MLAC’s past 19 years of oversight, our state’s workers’ compensation system has seen system-wide savings of $16.5 billion.  And never once in those 19 years has there been an increase in the pure premium rate for workers’ compensation insurance in Oregon. This is a cost control record that is unmatched by any other state. 

In keeping with that record, our state’s Workers Compensation Department finds that HB 2420 will “have a negligible impact on workers’ compensation assessment rates.”  This bill provides workers’ compensation coverage for potentially deadly occupational diseases and it will do so without offsetting our state’s $16.5 billion in workers’ compensation savings.  This is a great bill, and I was thrilled to be able to support it.