Feb 4, 2010
SALEM –Senate President Peter Courtney unveiled legislation Thursday that will open the door to private community programs providing medium and long-term child care for families in crisis.

“These are tough times for many Oregonians. Parents have lost jobs and families have lost their homes. Too often it’s the children who suffer most,” Courtney said at an afternoon press conference at the Oregon State Capitol. “Safe Families will...

January 29, 2010
CONTACT: Molly Woon (503) 986-1074
molly.woon@state.or.us

Senate Democrats prepare to move legislation expanding aid to unemployed

Senate committee will hold hearing Monday, move bill on Wednesday.

SALEM – This coming Monday, on the opening day of the February session, the Senate Commerce and Workforce Development Committee will hold an informational hearing on extending unemployment insurance benefits to an estimated 18,600 out-of-work Oregonians.

We passed the tax measures in spite of much opposition and misinformation! A big thank you to Sara Gelser for all her work speaking, persuading, and even calling voters to get out the vote! A big thank you to Marion McNamara also for organizing the phone banking and doing a whole lot herself!! There are a whole lot of other thank you's to offer, too many to list here but thank you all who worked, talked with your friends, cared enough to become informed and vote! Hooray for Oregon!

Ballots for the M66/M67 election began arriving in ballots this weekend. I plan to vote in favor of both of these measures, which will preserve the budget passed by the Legislature last June. If the measures fail, the budget will be short approximately $733 million in general fund for the remaining 19 months of the biennium. Because of being partway through the biennium, and because of the potential loss of federal matching funds, the real cuts in services will be closer to $1 billion.

Measure 66 provides tax relief for tax filers receiving unemployment benefits in 2009 by exempting the first $2400 of those benefits. It also increases the marginal tax rate on couples with over $250,000 a year in taxable income. (Your taxable income is what is left after you’ve taken your deductions, such as dependent and home mortgage deductions.) A couple with $260,000 in taxable income would pay approximately $180 more a year in taxes than they would without the taxes. By 2013, that will decrease to $90.

Measure 67 increases Oregon's $10 corporate minimum tax for the first time since 1931. This tax would impact ONLY C Corporations, and the new minimum would be $150 for companies with up to $500,000 in Oregon sales. For companies with more than $500,000 in Oregon sales there would be an increased minimum based on a sliding scale. In rough terms, these companies would pay a penny for every thousand dollars in sales above $500,000.

For companies not paying the corporate minimum, Measure 67 would increase the corporate profits tax on C-corporations with more than $500,000 in annual profits. This increase in marginal corporate profits tax is temporary for all companies except those with profit of more than $10 million in a year. Beginning in 2013, these corporations will have their increased tax go into Oregon's Rainy Day Fund to protect us in future recessions. (Please note, a c-corporation will pay only one of these taxes, not both.)

If passed, Oregon will still have the lowest corporate taxes in the West, and among the lowest in the nation. Under Measure 67, 97.5% of Oregon businesses will pay $150 or less, or no more than what they are paying today.

If you have questions about how these measures will impact you, please check out these handy flow charts.

The Oregonian also offers an easy to use online calculator where you can estimate your tax under M66/M67.

The impact to our community is substantial if these measures fail. The Corvallis School District stands to lose $3.3 million in state funding if the measures fail. Philomath Schools will lose over $800,000. According to Oregon University System officials, the Oregon State University campus alone faces over $19 million in cuts this biennium if the measures go down.

Ballots are due by 5pm on January 26. Please be sure to get your ballot in!

This week, the Legislature will also be meeting in “Legislative Days” as we prepare for the February Legislative Session. Committees will hold public hearings and informational sessions on legislative concepts likely to be considered during the February session. Check the Legislative Agendas website to see what your favorite committee will be working on. (See below for an overview of what we will hear in the House Education Committee, which I chair.)

To read a retrospective report from Jeff Merkley, click on Jeff Merkley's 2009 Oregon Report.

From the National Democratic Party website:

...Following the Democratic Presidential primaries and caucuses of the 2008 presidential nominating campaign the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee, at the request of then Senator Obama, drafted a resolution calling for a Democratic Change Commission to review and recommend changes to the 2012 nominating process. That was adopted on August 25, 2008 by the full Democratic National Convention and thus created the Democratic Change Commission.

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine recently recorded a special video update on the ongoing campaign to pass real health care reform. In his message, he recounts a few of the many stories that illustrate just how urgent the need for reform is.

President Obama has made health care reform a top priority. While Congress works to on the details of legislation, supporters across the country are organizing to

HB 2867 would establish best practices in awarding public contracts

June 25, 2009

SALEM – House Democrats today voted to adopt stronger accountability measures in public contracting, which will result in increased quality and efficiency in state funded projects. HB 2867 will do so by mandating quality standards and reducing conflicts of interest for contractors, and by opening the books of contractors and state agencies in the auditing of public contracts.

HB 2186 would increase energy security, build the economy and help the environment

June 26, 2009

SALEM – The House of Representatives today passed HB 2186, a landmark bill that reduces dependence on foreign oil by establishing a low carbon fuel standard, after concurring with Senate amendments. Oregon becomes just the second state in the country to enact a low carbon fuel standard.

HB 2510 gives veterans employment preference for public sector jobs

SALEM – The 15-year limit on hiring preferences for military veterans will be removed with legislation passed this morning in the Oregon Senate. HB 2510 guarantees all of Oregon’s veterans a lifetime hiring priority for public sector competitive merit-based recruitment positions.

From the House Majority Office:

April 15, 2009

HB 2763 would give preference to Oregon agricultural products in public bids.

SALEM – The House today passed a bill, championed by Representative Brian Clem (D-Salem), which would allow contracting agencies that buy goods for the public to give preferential treatment to Oregon-based agricultural products.

I wanted to start this newsletter by thanking all of you for your communication with my office. We receive dozens of letters from constituents each day on more topics than you might imagine. In recent weeks, the most popular topics of letters and phone calls have been health care reform, protecting the Metolius River, overwhelming support for anti-puppy mill legislation (sprinkled with letters of concern from responsible local breeders and dog people), and all sorts of education related issues.

To see entire newsletter, click here. For more information, see Sara Gelser's website.

March 18, 2009

Contact: Michael Cox (503) 986-1904

HB 2062 and HB 2063 create the strongest student protection regulations in the nation

SALEM – The House today passed two bills, HB 2062 and HB 2063, aimed at protecting kids from educator and school employee misconduct. The bills each passed by a vote of 58-0.

Discussion of what we can DO to help the Legislature act on its program to improve health care in Oregon. Mitch Anderson, a Benton Co. health care administrator, Mike Huntington of PNHP and Joe Zaerr of Archimedes will give their insights and WE will act.

DPO State Central Committee Meeting

Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009 12:00pm - Sunday, March 15, 2009 9:59pm

The Democratic Party of Oregon will hold its State Central Committee Re-Organization meeting
March 14 and 15, 2009, at Linn-Benton Community College. Most DPO activities will take place in North Santiam Hall (NSH) and Forum (F).

SATURDAY