Issues
Education
Jobs and the Economy
Healthcare
Public Safety
Environment
Tax Reform
Restoring Trust and Accountability in Salem
Our children are our greatest asset for the future of our state. We must ensure that they are well educated and have the skills necessary to be competitive in the economy of tomorrow. In addition, we must ensure that people currently in the workforce have the training they need to succeed in the rapidly changing economy and job markets. Our schools must be fully funded to the levels of the Quality Education Model. This needs to be accomplished for every school district, be it large, small, urban, or rural. All our children deserve the same great public education regardless of where they live in Oregon. We need to view our schools, colleges and universities as economic investments in the future of our state.
Our university system partners with Oregon industries driving the innovation crucial to Oregon’s economy. It is essential that we attract superior faculty and students to our universities to lead the way in these new ideas. Community colleges are also important links to Oregon’s economy and opportunities for students and our workforce. It is vital that students are not priced out of a quality higher education in Oregon.
Oregon needs to make smart investments that grow our economy. The Oregon Business Plan has recognized the correlation between quality education and a good economy. Oregon needs to act on that recognition. We also need to make sure that our transportation and energy infrastructures have the capacity to support a growing economy. Oregon should develop alternative energies such as wind, wave, and solar; not just for environmental benefits, but as economic drivers. We need to foster the industries where Oregon can be a global leader; industries that will lead innovation in the future needs of the world. Oregon wage levels are well below the national average and a good economy needs higher wage jobs; that should be a major focus for Oregon. Economic development dollars must be used to create good jobs that provide workers with family wages and healthcare benefits; wages that help the overall local economy by providing individuals with more money to spend our local communities. We must continue to focus on keeping good jobs in Oregon and investing in a highly skilled workforce that can meet the challenges associated with new technology, innovation and tomorrow’s economy. Additionally, we must support local businesses that provide family wage jobs and have the community’s interest at heart.
In the last legislative session I was able to make some very substantive changes to healthcare in Oregon, however we must do more. One of the biggest changes that was made to the healthcare system came with the passage of Senate Bill 1, which corrected the imbalance between physical and mental health service coverage by requiring group health insurance policies to cover expenses for treatment of chemical dependency, and mental or nervous conditions at the same level as those of other medical conditions. This was an important policy step that will improve the lives of thousands of Oregonians.
I strongly support access to affordable and effective healthcare as a right of all Oregonians. In the next legislative session, I will work extend healthcare to every child in Oregon who isn’t otherwise covered by a health plan. This is an important first step towards the larger goal of ensuring all Oregonians have access to the healthcare services they need.
I also strongly support ballot measure 44, which would expand the Oregon prescription drug purchasing pool to all Oregonians, reducing the cost of prescriptions.
Healthcare costs have skyrocketed and limited healthcare coverage to many Oregonians. Insurance companies have little to no accountability to the public to justify these increases. Oregon needs to have accountability from health insurance companies and a system to justify rate increases to health insurance premiums. In the next session I will work to accomplish better oversight.
As your representative, I will continue to advocate for greater healthcare coverage for Oregonians and greater streamlining of the healthcare system to reduce costs without sacrificing quality and service.
In the last legislative session, the legislature took unprecedented steps to fight the methamphetamine epidemic, yet we continued to starve our police, district attorneys, and courts of much needed funding. The number of sworn, full time patrol positions has been reduced by half since 1979 while our population has increased by approximately 30%. State troopers are going on patrols with little chance of receiving backup if it is needed. Troopers suffer from inadequate resources at the crime lab to conduct forensic testing to solve crimes, and the radios and other equipment currently in use cannot handle a major emergency situation efficiently. The Legislative Emergency Board allocated additional revenue to hire more troopers, but we need to fund an additional 139 to provide 24 hour coverage throughout the state. In addition to funding state troopers, we need to also provide greater funds to the district attorney’s offices to prosecute crime and to the courts so that they are better able to adjudicate fairly. We have an immediate problem protecting the safety of the public. During the regular legislative session, I opposed the budgets for the state police and district attorneys, as I felt that they were grossly inadequate. I am currently on a Legislative Work Group looking at different funding ideas for next session. As your representative, I will continue to fight to ensure officers, district attorneys, and the courts have the resources needed to protect the public.
The best way for the state to reduce crime is to increase preventative measures and have a strong economy that keeps people working with living wage jobs. Prevention programs offer an incredible cost savings over prosecution and incarceration, and further the greater goal of preventing crime. People who break the law do need to be punished, but we need to place a greater emphasis on catching problems before they start and prevent as many crimes from occurring altogether.
Our natural resources and environment are a big part of what makes Oregon a great place to live. We must continue to protect our watersheds and forests with sustainable practices. In the last legislative session, I introduced another bill to include Oregon in the federal Forest Legacy program to protect forest lands from development through an innovative program that relies primarily on federal funds. A similar bill passed from the Senate and was weakened in the House to apply only to lands within urban growth boundaries. In the next session I will work on legislation to expand the program to the entire state.
We must continue to develop and use new environmentally friendly technologies. Last session I also sponsored House Bill 3001, which would have required the use of cost effective solar technologies on new public buildings. This bill passed unanimously in Committee, had bipartisan support, and was endorsed by the Governor; but unfortunately Republican leadership refused to allow it to come to a full vote before the legislature. I plan to introduce this bill again in the next session.
Last session we implemented the Pesticide Use Reporting System, a first step in identifying what pesticides are being used in Oregon. However we need to strengthen its provisions to allow for greater detail. It is important that the people know exactly what is being sprayed, where and when. The scientific community needs to have this information to recommend better practices to protect the environment and public health. As clean water is one of our most important resources, we need to be in a position to make a pro active effort in ensuring water quality.
Another issue that needs immediate attention by the legislature is our air quality.
After a more stringent tail pipe emissions bill (the Clean Car Program) failed in the Oregon House, the Governor implemented this much needed program through a Department of Environmental Quality rule. This will be a great help to our air quality. Our beautiful landscape and clean, clear air make Oregon a wonderful place to live. Unfortunately, year after year, during the summer months smoke from field and stack burning frequently fills the air. These practices benefit a very few people while causing serious health problems for many Oregonians, and obscuring our beautiful vistas. Field and stack burning represent a clear dancer to the public health and welfare. In the next legislative session, I will introduce legislation to eliminate the practice of field and stack burning in Oregon.
Oregon needs a fair tax system that raises the necessary revenue to meet the needs of its people. We must have progressive tax reform in which the largest corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. I support elimination of the corporate kicker and looking into the value of the personal kicker as well. These laws create greater instability in our already unstable revenue system. By eliminating them and adding the revenue to a rainy day fund, we can better prepare for budget shortfalls and provide greater stability. In addition, we need to increase the corporate minimum income tax to ensure that large corporations pay more than the current $10. We also need to adjust the income tax rates to decrease the burden on lower and middle income earners while placing a greater tax burden on those who are most able to pay. I strongly support the examination of new ways to reform the tax system to provide stable and adequate funding for services.
The legislature needs to review all tax expenditures and tax breaks. This review should examine the benefit being provided to Oregon and whether they warrant reauthorization. Further, all tax breaks and expenditures should have automatic sunsets, requiring review and possible reauthorization based on a positive return on Oregon’s investment. Tax breaks and expenditures that do not provide a clear benefit should be eliminated and the money allocated back to the General Fund to provide important services.
We need a government that works for the people of Oregon. Oregonians are rightly demanding greater efficiency and accountability in state services. We need to continue to streamline government wherever possible, so long as it doesn’t compromise the services Oregonians need. I strongly support using technology to make state services easier to access and a one-stop approach for the public to get answers from state agencies. We need to make sure that services are not being duplicated within agencies and that the procedures that are in place are simple, effective, and fair. The legislature should periodically review all tax expenditures and tax breaks, and reauthorize only those that are clearly beneficial to Oregon. We need to restore the trust and accountability in state government.
We need to increase accountability and decrease the possibility of corruption in government. To that end, I strongly support increased funding of the Government Standards and Practices Commission and the Audits Division of the Secretary of States’ Office. These agencies are essential in investigating and working with the Attorney General’s office to enforce ethics statutes in government. They have been drastically cut by the legislature over the years, and are grossly understaffed. It is vital that they receive the funding needed to do this important work.
For ten years Oregon has suffered the consequences of the double majority requirement which requires a turnout of more than 50% in an election for a revenue-raising measure to pass. By doing nothing, non-voters can trump voters. It has made it harder for school districts, cities, counties, and public safety agencies to raise the revenue necessary to provide services desired by the community—often despite widespread community support. We must recognize the value of the opinions of the people who vote over those who chose not to participate. Eliminating the double majority is a step the legislature can take to help our schools, police, firefighters, other local officials, and most importantly our communities to address local problems without spending a dime from the state’s General fund. In the next session I will work with a bipartisan group of legislators in the House and Senate to eliminate this law.
It is clear that Oregon government needs revenue to provide the essential services for its citizens. After years of budget cuts in education, public safety, healthcare, and human services, an artificial limit on spending growth can only hurt Oregonians and ensure government failure. Implementation of spending limits will make it impossible to restore many programs to efficient and effective levels. I urge all voters to vote no on Ballot Measure 48 and send its out of state proponents packing.
I am also opposed to legislative term limits. We already have term limits, they are called elections. Oregon was harmed by its first experiment with term limits, as experienced legislators and institutional memory were lost. Every job requires mentors to pass on the insights and knowledge necessary to function effectively. The legislature is no exception. I urge voters to vote no on Ballot Measure 45 and send its out of state proponents packing.