Oregon Governor Kotek has until April 17 to sign, veto or pass without a signature Senate Bill 1578. SB 1578 will force a government-run healthcare interpreter scheduling system while providing major financial and political kickbacks to AFSCME and well-known Democrat activist organization Unite Oregon.

Republican Legislators write Governor Kotek to veto SB 1578. "At best, SB 1578 is a costly solution in search of a problem. At worst, it is a bill that creates a redundant and inferior state-run healthcare interpreter scheduling system – with unknown costs - for the express purpose of helping a labor union achieve its objective of organizing the interpreter workforce and funneling state money to politically connected non-profits that also act as activists for the Democrat party."

This bill was at the request of Lamar Wise, AFSCME. Wise is the statewide political director for the Oregon chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Patients and healthcare professionals did not ask for this bill. This bill was strictly pushed by Wise seeking to embed this program deeper into union operations, which will result in:

• More money to big union AFSCME and potentially activist group Unite Oregon
• Less access to healthcare for Oregon patients
• Massive cost to taxpayers
• Removing the services from private companies already serving patients well
• Giving unions (and Democrat activist organizations) direct access to "two million contacts throughout the Oregon healthcare system"

Willamette Week reported that Senator Cedric Hayden (R-Roseburg), noted the bill described the desired nonprofit’s attributes precisely—it “works with certified and qualified health care interpreters and individuals from immigrant, refugee, low-income and rural communities.” That describes Portland-based nonprofit Unite Oregon.

When Hayden asked Wise if AFSCME had “hand-picked” a likely nonprofit, he responded, “We know there are a few organizations that fit that description. We have also been working closely with Unite Oregon.” He added that his union nevertheless expected a competitive bidding process.

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Another controversy is over Senator Kayse Jama (D-East Portland, Clackamas) involvement being the founder of Unite Oregon. The letter points out political favors for AFSCME and Unite Oregon as intended beneficiaries of this bill. “Both entities were lobbying side-by-side. The flow of money from this bill is articulated by the recent Willamette Week article. Replace “Unite Oregon” with “Oregon Right to Life” and tell us how you would analyze this bill. The obvious expenditure of taxpayer resources to favored political organizations is becoming more prevalent and needs to stop. It is akin to political money laundering. It is well known that Unite Oregon performed canvassing activities for many Democrats in the legislature and was openly hostile to Republican legislators during the deliberations on HB 4002 this session. The fact that Unite Oregon was already awarded $3 million in SB 1530 to purchase a property on East Burnside to develop affordable housing – well beyond the scope of their mission statement and core competency, is equally dubious.”

Jama founded the Center for Intercultural Organizing in 2002, which later became Unite Oregon in 2016 after merging with Oregon Action. Jama stepped down as Executive Director after his appointment to serve as Senator for District 24. The question is whether Jama has a potential conflict of interest from his relationship with Unite Oregon as founder and his leverage for their financial gain received under SB 1530 and potential financial gain under SB 1578. He did not declare a conflict of interest for either bill.

Residents can request the Governor to veto the legislation here.


--Dollie Banner

Post Date: 2024-03-20 12:31:34

Last Update: 2024-03-20 00:27:58

Oregon Governor Kotek delivered remarks at the first meeting of the State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, established by the Governor’s Executive Order 23-26. Governor Kotek created the State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council in response to the growing role that generative artificial intelligence is playing in society.

“Artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving landscape which the state must be well-prepared for,” Governor Kotek said. “The Council will conduct important work in identifying how the state can mitigate risk and center equity in this new technological frontier. As such, a fundamental priority of my office was developing a council that included a diversity of voices, perspectives, and backgrounds. I look forward to reviewing the recommendations they will bring to my desk.”

The Council will provide a recommended action plan framework to the Governor’s Office no later than six months from the date of its first convening, and a final recommended action plan no later than 12 months from its first convening.

The council is to recommend policy changes in order for the Governor to promote state employee awareness of artificial intelligence (AI) with information needed for their decision making. That the state has clear usage policies for the use of AI tools protecting personally identifiable information and other sensitive information. The recommended action plan is to include concrete executive actions, policies, and investments needed to leverage artificial intelligence while honoring transparency, privacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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The executive order 23-26 articulates a council membership requirement list that is anything but diverse, equitable and inclusion. The requirements are not aimed at being bi-partisan, and the scale of justice is overweighted on the left.

A full list of members on the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council:

• Terrence Woods, State Chief Information Officer
• Kathryn Darnell Helms, State Chief Data Officer
• Melinda Gross, Department of Administrative Services Cultural Change Officer
• TBA, Governor's Racial Justice Council
• Daniel Bonham, Member of the Oregon State Senate (R-Hood River)
• Daniel Nguyen, Member of the House of Representatives (D-Lake Oswego)
• Jesse Hyatt, Executive Branch Agency Representative
• Andres Lopez, Member - Coalition of Communities of Color, sociologist and professional research and evaluation scientist centered on how
• inequalities of race, gender, and sexuality are reproduced in organizations and urban settings.
• Catie Theisen, Member - SEIU Oregon State Council employee, political and policy specialist
• Hector Dominguez Aguirre, Member - Smart City PDX team, Open Data Coordinator
• Janice Lee, Member - Korean American writer, teacher, spiritual scholar, and shamanic healer
• Justus Eaglesmith, Member - Willamette graduate basketball star
• Kimberly McCullough, Member - legislative director for the Oregon Department of Justice
• K S Venkatraman, Member - Oregon Workforce and Talent Development Board/Director, AI Computing at NVIDIA DisruptHR Portland OR
• Saby Waraich, Member - speaker and an award-winning Technology Leader

Meetings of the State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council are open to the public. Public comment may be made during the meeting. For more information on the Council’s meetings and charge, click here.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-03-19 16:01:43

Last Update: 2024-03-19 17:28:07

On Saturday, March 16th, the Oregon Republican Party Central Committee voted to select new representation to the RNC national party. The convention to do so was held in Coos Bay.

Longtime Committeeman Solomon Yue will be departing in his role, with Dan Mason of Washington County to be the new Committeeman.

"It's humbling to be elected by the ORP Central Committee to represent the 720,000 registered republicans in Oregon at the RNC and ORP executive team", said Mason. "Its important we have credible and competent candidates to compete with democrats up and down the ballot. They have proven over and over again, democrats in power don't have a monopoly on solutions, otherwise Oregonians would not be struggling in so many areas of life. I'm excited to build support for our team in a presidential year and beyond."

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Tracy Honl of Clatsop County was re-elected as the National Committeewoman.

"I’m so grateful for the trust and support that the Oregon Republican Party has placed in me to continue to serve as its National Committeewoman", said Honl. "We’re moving in the right direction to make the ORP stronger than ever before. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work once again with my friend and Oregon’s new National Committeeman Dan Mason on party building activities that helps us elect Republicans here in Oregon and at the national level - including Donald J. Trump for President this November."

Next, on May 25th, the Oregon Republican Party Central Committee will meet at the Oregon State Fairgrounds to select delegates to the Republican National Convention in July. Any Republican PCPS (Precinct-Committee-Persons) in Oregon who are interested in applying must complete and submit the application available on the convention webpage.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2024-03-17 15:36:47

Last Update: 2024-03-17 19:52:43

Editors note: This is the first in a five-part series on School Choice Initiatives aimed for the November 2024 election ballot.

The Oregon leadership doesn’t think voters are motivated to pass the school choice initiative and stopped the school choice bill, HB 4161 after its first hearing. But their pursuit of SB 1583 may have put new life into school choice initiatives IP 5 and IP 6. It passed through the Senate and was headed for a floor vote in the House at the close of the session. SB 1583 blocked school boards and parents from having any kind of standards for choosing materials used in public schools, claiming it would be discriminatory to someone.

Education Freedom for Oregon, a 501c4 organization, was started to ensure every Oregon student has access to education options. ”Let Them Learn” is their Oregon campaign to leave limits behind and let our kids learn by passing the School Choice Amendment, IP 5, and Open Enrollment Amendment, IP 6, to the Oregon Constitution.

Donna Kreitzberg, one of the sponsors of IP5 and IP6, says the two amendments were crafted with the input of parents, grandparents, teachers, students, legislators, constitutional attorneys, and school choice think tanks and policy advocates from about 20 states.

The Amendments were created with protections in mind. Kreitzberg says, “Nothing in the Act may ever limit the independence or autonomy of any person or entity receiving or using distributions into education savings accounts created under the Act to provide education to students nor make the actions of such person or entitles the actions of this state. Neither the government, the Department of Education, State Board of Education, nor any state agency (or nonprofit organization contracting with any state agency) may regulate the education programs, curricula, teaching qualifications or admission policies of any person or entity receiving or using distributions under the Act.“

Kreitzberg refers to IP5 and IP6 as not just being about students needing the opportunity to learn in different school settings. Teachers also need the opportunity to teach in different school settings. She says, “We have wonderful teachers with stellar qualifications who are stifled or frustrated and not able to teach in the manner they think is in the best interests of their students. They are not getting the fulfillment that they had hoped when they chose teaching as a profession. With school choice, teachers will be valued more because they will have more opportunities to choose an environment that works better for them or even start a school of their own!”

School lock downs, leaving kids at home without social interaction brought on a whole new challenge for teachers. Now classrooms are becoming a war zone. In Salem-Keizer School District, a first grader threw a chair at the teacher cutting her head. One school psychologist said there is no respect for teachers and fights are more prevalent.

This is the case at the Tigard-Tualatin schools where the superintendent is being forced to resign over lack of management. When teachers testified before the board about the violence, some beaten by and received injuries from students, the board was dismissive saying the teachers were “insensitive” causing the teachers to walk out of the board meeting. One parent reports his son dropped out because he couldn’t stand the violence and they were fortunate to get him into another high school to finish and graduate.

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Petitioners have until July 4, 2024 to gather signatures with a goal of about 170,000 more signatures for each measure to have more than necessary and to show strong support among Oregonians. Kreitzberg says, “There are plenty of folks who want to sign, it is a matter of reaching them. We have been limited because we are a grassroots group working on a small budget. We have wonderful volunteers giving it their all and would love more folks to help.”

For more information, Education Freedom for Oregon website has information about the petitions, events on gathering signatures, and print and mail petitions.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-03-17 15:28:41

Last Update: 2024-03-24 02:32:30

The Oregon State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The meeting will take place remotely via the internet on Microsoft Teams and is open to the public. The agenda and handouts will be posted on the Council’s website.

What: Meeting of the State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council When: Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Where: Microsoft Teams click here to join the meeting Who: State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council

The State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council is established by Governor Kotek’s Executive Order 23-26, Establishing a State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council.

The purpose of the Council is to recommend an action plan to guide awareness education, and usage of artificial intelligence in state government that aligns with the State’s policies, goals, and values and supports public servants to deliver customer service more efficiently and effectively.

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The state says that the recommended action plan shall include concrete executive actions, policies, and investments needed to leverage artificial intelligence while honoring transparency, privacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Meetings of the State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council are open to the public. Public comment may be made during the meeting. Sign-up for public comment is required as spots are limited. Sign-up closes Friday, March 15 at noon. Written comment will also be accepted. Written comment can be submitted by mail to the Council Support Office, 550 Airport Rd SE Suite C, Salem, OR 97301 or online.

Accommodations can be arranged for persons with disabilities, and alternate formats of printed material are available upon request. Please contact Enterprise Information Services at 503-378-3175 at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting to request accommodations. Closed captioning is included on the Microsoft Teams meeting.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2024-03-17 11:10:19

Last Update: 2024-03-17 12:06:06

According to the Oregon Air National Guard and the 173rd Fighter Wing, the National Guard Bureau has now increased bonuses to the highest levels in recent memory for certain career fields to help alleviate recruiting and retention shortfalls. The new bonus structure took effect the first of March 2024.

Master Sgt. Jesse Olhiser, the 173rd Fighter Wing Retention Office Manager, explains that the highest bonus is $90,000 for a fully-qualified reenlistment in the munitions or fuels career fields—paid over five years—an annual recurring payment of $18,000.

“Never in eight-plus years of doing this have I seen anything even close to this,” Olhiser says. “These are by-far the largest bonuses I’ve seen.”

As of March 1, 2024 the National Guard Bureau has increased Air National Guard bonuses to the highest levels in recent memory for certain career fields to help alleviate recruiting and retention shortfalls.

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Other bonuses include $50,000 for a new enlistee headed off to basic training or bonuses in differing amounts for cross-trainee’s or for those interested in other critical career fields.

He adds that these rates are temporary, saying, “We are not sure when it will end; no guarantee it will extend even to the end of the Fiscal Year.”

He encourages those who want to take advantage of the program to contact a recruiter a soon as possible.

Olhiser explains that the program is to help bolster recruiting numbers following years of lower than desired numbers. He adds that hopefully this may help alleviate potential shortages in the near future.

Some basic qualifications include taking the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, have a high school diploma or equivalent—although high school students in their senior year can enlist—be drug-free and have no criminal record.

Prospective enlistees will undergo screening arranged by a recruiter to determine fitness for duty.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2024-03-15 14:43:14

Last Update: 2024-03-15 17:31:57

Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade released the final list of candidates to appear on the 2024 Democratic and Republican Presidential Primary today for Oregon’s primary election on May 21st.

Democratic Candidates	Republican Candidates
Joseph Biden	Donald Trump
Marianne Williamson

ORS 249.078 (1)(a) states that a Secretary of State may place the name of a candidate on a major party Presidential primary ballot if the Secretary, in their “sole discretion, has determined that the candidate’s candidacy is generally advocated or is recognized in national news media.” Candidates may also access the ballot by nominating petition as provided in ORS 249.078 (1)(b).

Oregon law allows major parties to decide whether to hold “open” or “closed” primaries. In this year’s May Primary, both the Democratic and Republican parties will hold “closed” primaries — meaning that a voter must be registered with that party by April 30th to participate in its primary election. Oregonians can register to vote or change their party registration at OregonVotes.gov.

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“Oregonians are voters,” said Secretary Griffin-Valade. “In 2022 we had the highest voter turnout in the county. We have been trailblazers in creating modern and secure elections through our vote-by-mail system, which we’ve operated for more than 20 years without a single instance of widespread voter fraud. We are taking every precaution to ensure the 2024 elections will be no different.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2024-03-13 14:26:20

Last Update: 2024-03-13 14:33:47

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek delivered opening remarks at the fourth and final workshop of the Western Governors’ Association’s (WGA) Decarbonizing the West Initiative, hosted by the State of Oregon.

In Governor Kotek’s opening remarks, she states, “Oregon has long been a national leader in establishing strong climate policies. Under my leadership as Speaker, we passed very bold climate policies to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45% below 1990 levels by 2035.”

What actually happened is in 2020, Governor Brown issued Executive Order 20-04, which added a 2035 interim goal to achieve greenhouse gas levels that are 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2035. It also updated greenhouse gas levels for 2050 to be at least 80 percent below 1990 levels. In 2023, as part of the Climate Action Roadmap to 2030, the Oregon Climate Action Commission recommended a package of GHG goal updates. However, there is no evidence that these goals were “passed into law” by the legislature with public hearings. The proposed updates included:

• Oregon will achieve at least a 45 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2030.
• Oregon will achieve at least a 70 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2040.
• Oregon will achieve at least a 95 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2050.
• By 2050, or as soon as practicable, Oregon will also achieve net zero emissions and achieve and maintain net negative emissions thereafter.

The Governor continues her remarks saying, “These policies are an important step forward, but only if they are implemented well, and equitably across the state to benefit our communities, and especially our underserved rural and frontier communities.” Was her use of “rural” separate from “frontier” communities a deliberate implication of wealth disparities for the underserved?

Governor Kotek says transformative, transitional work is already underway. The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association’s PNWHG Hub was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of the nation’s cleanest energy hubs in the nation. Spanning across Oregon, Washington and Montana, it will leverage clean power and innovative technology to accelerate the production of clean hydrogen energy.

Mean while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is being pushed by nonprofits to remove dams. US Geological Survey considers hydro dams as renewable energy, but all forms of energy needs equipment that isn’t classified as “green.” Dams, however, have the highest electric generation capacity of all U.S. power plants. Four dams are scheduled for removal on the Oregon/California boarder to benefit the Coho Salmon. Seven dams in the Willamette Valley are on the list to close its hydro power but not removed because they are flood control structures. Governor Kotek has in mind to replace it with 1500 acres of solar energy. How is she spending Oregon’s share of $7 billion in federal funding on “green” hydrogen?

To listen to the Governor’s remarks, click here.

Decarbonizing the West is the 2024 WGA Chair initiative of Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. The initiative examines how decarbonization strategies and technologies, including carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies, direct air capture (DAC), and natural sequestration, can position western states at the forefront of innovation and reduce the effects of carbon emissions on the environment. Carbon capture and storage involves capturing carbon dioxide at emission sources, such as power stations, then transporting and storing it underground.

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The webinar included exploration of regulatory framework to managing risks in accessing large-scale, permanent carbon storage that is necessary to support the growth of the carbon capture industry. Geologic carbon storage for long-term storage of carbon has liability challenges that may be prohibitive to project development. The development and operation of geologic storage facilities carries technical risks, such as potential leakage and induced seismicity, which in turn may present regulatory, legal, economic, and social challenges.

Of the two methods of carbon sequestration, geologic and biologic, the WGA is focused more on geologic even though biologic carbon sequestration can be accelerated through natural methods of land use and agricultural practices. Geological sequestration refers to capturing CO2 from factories, then compressed and transported for storage underground in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, saline formations, or deep, coal beds unsuitable for mining. Storage has risks and leakage is deadly. Each method has some drawback and storage costs along with cost of energy to sequestrator carbon should turn the research towards natural processes.

Geological sequestration from factories are mostly in metropolitan and suburbs that are highly populated. Governor Kotek’s reference to “rural and frontier communities” is not for their equitable benefit. What gets sequestrated from cities will most likely get transported to “rural and frontier communities” where there is land for storage plants. To say that storage plants are a benefit comes with all the risks. It can be fatal if the injected gas leaks out due to structural faults in the geological formation. This is because carbon dioxide is denser than air and settles near the ground. Once the leak is stopped it could still take a day to dissipate.

An initiative report will be released at the conclusion of the initiative in summer 2024.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-03-13 11:14:59

Last Update: 2024-03-13 02:06:18

A
s Oregon’s sine die conversations celebrate taking baby steps towards recriminalizing illicit drugs, taxing still-housed Oregonians more to improve shelters for Oregon’s homeless, as well as passing a measure to ‘end unlimited campaign contributions' for the relatively small donors (opening wide the door for large PAC donations to eclipse voters’ financial support), a partisan battle blew right by mainstream media’s watchful eye: Offshore Wind Energy.

HB 4080 was introduced by Representatives David Gomberg and Dacia Grayber.

After four failed attempts by House Republicans to refer HB 4080, including its -1 Amendment back to a committee -- any committee- removing it from the floor, the measure was passed by all House Democrats on March 5th assisted by two Republican Reps, Greg Smith (R-Heppner) and Mark Owens (R-Crane), both from Eastern Oregon who also voted YES, leaving a minority vote of only 21 Republican Reps to oppose the controversial “green energy” bill.

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Despite offshore wind power’s misinformation and challenges to produce a positive ROI, rendering it as what some say more of a money pit than an intelligent investment, was summarily ignored by all Senate Democrats, as they passed the measure 17 vs. 11 two days later.

With HB 4080 now on Gov. Kotek’s desk, Oregonians can still comment on the Federal Register’s Ocean Energy Management Bureau (BOEM) notice page:

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for Commercial Wind Leasing and Site Assessment Activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Oregon

All comments must be received by BOEM no later than 8:59 pm PDT on Friday, March 15, 2024.

CONTACT: Lisa Gilbane, BOEM Pacific Region Office of Environment, 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 102, Camarillo, California 93010, (805) 384–6387 or lisa.gilbane@boem.gov.


--Kyle Sharpe

Post Date: 2024-03-11 19:59:22

Last Update: 2024-03-18 22:43:13

regon Fourth Congressional District Candidate Monique DeSpain criticized Congresswoman Val Hoyle’s (D-Eugene) disturbing no vote recently on H.R. 7511, the Laken Riley Act, a bipartisan bill supported by 37 Democrats that would have required Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to arrest illegal migrants who commit crimes in the United States.

“Val Hoyle’s vote against the Laken Riley Act is another example of how out of touch career politicians are with our communities and our core American values. While voters across Oregon’s 4th Congressional District are reeling from concerns about rising crime and law enforcement that is continuing to be handcuffed by failed Democrat policies, Val Hoyle, once again, chooses to prioritize criminals over innocent victims like Laken Riley and so many others like her,” said Monique DeSpain.

“Laken was a young college coed who went for a jog in her community only to be murdered by an illegal immigrant who had multiple encounters with ICE, and domestic law enforcement, in Laken’s community, with no consequences," DeSpain continued. "Laken’s murderer should have never been in the country to commit this heinous act, and he certainly should not have remained for one minute longer after he committed a previous crime in the U.S. Instead, Laken’s parents are devastated, a community mourns and is gripped in fear, and Val Hoyle can’t bring herself to support preventing the certain next tragedy.”

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“This is another example of how the dysfunction of Washington DC is perpetuated by career politicians like Val Hoyle. Let’s remember that this is the same Val Hoyle who thinks it’s a good idea to house illegal migrants in our national parks and public lands and who refuses to condemn the national security emergency created by President Biden at our southern border,” said DeSpain. “Unfortunately, Val Hoyle’s refusal to do the right thing and pass the right laws to ensure the safety of everyday citizens in our communities exposes her true priority -- serving her radical special interest masters in Washington D.C. instead.”

“It is time for new leadership that puts the welfare and safety of our citizens first. This is why I am asking voters to deploy me to Congress. The difference between Val Hoyle and I is crystal clear; I will put crime victims first and always have the backs of first responders and law enforcement so they can do the job they need to do to keep us safe. Having served our country for 30 years in the Air Force, nothing is more important to me than the safety of our nation, communities, and families,” DeSpain added.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2024-03-11 13:47:00

Last Update: 2024-03-11 14:45:00

The Oregon Senate has passed SB 1564, a bill allowing cities who do not have the bandwidth to create and administer their own model ordinance codes to adopt a code created by DLCD that is aligned with that city’s population. It was carried by Senator Dick Anderson (R-Lincoln City), who introduced the measure.

“We need to build more homes of all types -- and quickly -- to alleviate the severe housing shortage that exists in nearly every corner of Oregon. The Legislature can help these efforts by embracing bold solutions rather than the failed policies that have handcuffed cities, overregulated builders, and stifled development for decades,” said Senator Anderson, vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development. “My hope is SB 1564 will give rural communities a necessary tool in their toolbox to free them from their housing gridlock and build more homes for Oregonians.”

SB 1564 directs the Department of Land Conservation and Development to create 3 model ordinances that provide clear and objective standards for the development of various housing types. The model ordinances are to be targeted towards cities with different population sizes, ranging from populations of less than 2,500, to populations of more than 25,000. DLCD is to develop these model ordinances by January 1, 2026.

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The measure appropriates $550,000 General Fund to DLCD for adoption of the model ordinances. Projected costs under this measure include contracting for work on model codes, community engagement, and legal expenses.

One citizen, David Brown of Salem offered testimony to the Senate Committee On Housing and Development. "The severe housing shortage that exists in Oregon today was created over time by status-quo policies that have handcuffed cities, overregulated builders, and stifled development. The reforms in this bill will free up land to invest in housing of all types in all communities, not just Portland, and not just for low-income."

The bill now heads to Governor Kotek for her signature.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2024-03-07 13:39:17

Last Update: 2024-03-07 15:20:35

The Senate and House Republican Caucuses have sent a letter to Governor Tina Kotek urging for the immediate reconsideration of ODF’s proposed Habitat Conservation Plan. According to a press release from the House and Senate Caucuses, this controversial 70-year logging scale back has already had negative consequences on businesses and concern has only been heightened after the closure of multiple sawmills in the last two months. As written, the HCP desperately lacks a balance between sound forest management policy and conservation goals of the State. The letter reads as follows:

The letter is critical of the current state of the HCP. "While ODF has previously signaled its intent to balance conservation goals while maintaining current harvest levels, the newest projections released on December 13, 2023, visibly show a dramatic increase in conservation acres and a major decrease in timber harvest levels below what was promised. ODF advertised this HCP as a conservation plan with harvest certainty of about 250 mmbf (board feet) annually. The new projections show that timber harvest will be down between 168-185 mmbf annually. Obviously, this 70-year plan is heavy on conservation and light on economic viability which is not in alignment with Greatest Permanent Value."

The letter tied timber production to several issues which have been looming as themes during recent legislative sessions.

The caucuses were quick to point out how timber production is related to housing -- one of Governor Kotek's pet issues. "On average, about 240-250 million board feet of timber have been harvested from Oregon’s western state forests over the last 5-10 years. 64% of the revenue from state harvests goes back to the counties and smaller “taxing districts” within them – an average of nearly $68 million each year during the last decade. For reference, 250 million board feet of timber is equivalent to 32,500 average-size homes -- almost the number of homes Governor Kotek wants produced annually. 250mmbf also creates or retains 2,750 jobs per the Oregon Forests Resources Institute."

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"Not only will counties lose critical funding but mill closures and mass job losses will continue to cause a ripple effect through Oregon’s rural communities contributing to more homelessness, drug addiction, and the need for public services. Communities surrounded by forests -- especially unmanaged forests – need fire departments to protect them from forest fires. Fire Departments relying on timber harvest revenue to operate will suffer or be forced to close. This leaves our vulnerable communities defenseless."

The letter continued, "Additionally, we are very concerned with our water and air quality, especially during fire season. This HCP will leave much of our state forests without management; 70 years of fuel accumulation increases the risk of fire and fire severity. Forest fire smoke already fills our air every year and the debris, ash, and mud destroy waterways. The cleanest groundwater comes from our forests before, during, and after forest operations. Children are choking on smoke during sporting events while the elderly hide inside their homes to survive our fire seasons. The unintended consequences of this HCP will increase the potential for more catastrophic forest fires, smoke, and poor water quality."

Oregon’s Department of Forestry has added approximately 100,000 acres of conservation above what is required for the HCP. (Northern Spotted Owl habitat is shown in ODF’s graph but does not include the Marbled Murrelet, Red Tree Vole, or Coho Salmon habitat that are also being set aside)

The letter concluded, "We understand your priorities as Governor include homelessness, affordable housing, drug addiction, and forest fires. The HCP will exacerbate these issues. Alternatively, opening our forests to proper and sustainable management would help mitigate these issues and provide the necessary renewable wood products and building materials to address our housing crisis."

"ODF will be in the same situation as the Trust Land Counties regarding the loss of timber harvest revenue. Taxpayers will be asked to foot the bill while mills close, logging companies auction off their equipment, our constituents lose their jobs, county services are strained, schools close, 4-H programs are canceled, libraries are closed, and emergency services are compromised."

The Oregon Board of Forestry will make a final decision on whether to adopt the HCP at a meeting this Thursday.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2024-03-07 12:46:28

Last Update: 2024-03-07 13:39:17