State Representative
Nancy Nathanson
November-December 2020
cookies
This fall was the final period of a two-year legislative assembly. One evening this week I attended a 3+ hour virtual farewell party for members of the House not returning for another term. Yet the past few weeks have been far from "winding down." This time always brings a flurry of activity as legislators put finishing touches on draft legislation to propose for the next legislative assembly. There was a mad dash to meet the deadline to “drop” bills for pre-session filing. (Lingo warning: In legislative work, drop is short for “dropped at the desk” of the Chief Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate. That's the opposite of how most people use the word in regular conversation: to drop it means to give up on it or let it go!)

Bills filed “pre-session” will have their first reading as soon as work begins in the new legislative session, and will start down a path to be assigned to a committee. Legislators requested about 3,200 drafts, a bit more than previous sessions. Any current legislator can request that Legislative Counsel draft a bill (thus the name "LC Request"). Bills drafted by legislators who aren't returning for another term are often handed over to the new member elected to their district, or to another member. Some legislators have dozens of bills drafted. I usually request about 20 drafts, but this year it was fewer – just about a dozen – since I was also overseeing the preparation of a few dozen bills for the work of the House Committee on Revenue. Many of those are “SOP” (Standard Operating Procedure), such as technical changes and renewals of tax credits that sunset on a six-year interval (the sunset ensures they are reviewed before renewing via a bill). Several others were to carry forward bills that were well underway to passage when the legislature prematurely closed shop last winter.

Many legislators spent weeks preparing for the possibility of a third special session – and then it happened. On December 21 the Oregon legislature passed policy and budget changes to provide additional emergency relief, and in the following sections I’ll provide more detail about that and also about components of recent federal bills and budgets.

Then, finally, I turned my attention to making holiday cookies to share with neighbors. The photo is a batch of cream cheese spritz cookies using the cookie press my mother gave me. Some of you may remember there was a TV show we called TW3, That Was The Week That Was. We will all be looking back at 2020 as That Was The Year That Was. Best wishes to all for a happier, healthy, more peaceful New Year.

"Mask up, Back up, and Wash your hands."
At the Capitol
The next Legislative Assembly

Members will be sworn in on January 11, in person, to meet constitutional requirements for convening the 81st Legislative Assembly, but the swearing-in and everything else about our work will be under new rules and procedures. While some of the details still need to be approved, I understand that family and friends will not be allowed to attend the ceremony, there will be no “State of the State” speech from the Governor to a combined House and Senate, and initial training sessions and committee meetings will be held online.

Some of our senior members will no longer be there. Some notables you may know: Jeff Barker, retired police officer, who chaired Judiciary Committee for many years. Caddy McKeown, former Port Commissioner, and Coos Bay School Board member who co-chaired the historic, complex, and monumental investment in transportation infrastructure for highways, bridges, ports, and transit. Margaret Doherty, retired educator, who chaired the Education Committee. Alissa Keny-Guyer, passionate advocate and Human Services and Housing chair who after several years hard work passed legislation banning toxic toys. Mitch Greenlick, who chaired the Health Care Committee, fought for Health Care as a human right, and died earlier this year.

Who will be there: younger faces, and more people of color. The House will see 12 new members – about the average turnover rate – and the Senate will see five new members. Three-quarters of the incoming class are women, and women will make up 50% of the House (compared to about 29% of the 2020 national average).
Special Session 3
Third special session started and finished on Dec. 21

After much anticipation, and lots of ideas considered by representatives and senators, the Governor called a special session. After some unusual activity in the morning as protesters tried to "storm" the Capitol (photo: closed circuit TV showing state troopers moving through the Rotunda) the legislature's business was conducted efficiently and completed in a single day.

I was disappointed that the bill I developed with Rep. Paul Evans was ultimately not considered, so we quickly shifted gears and had the bill prepared for pre-session filing to consider next year. It would have initiated work with Oregon businesses interested in supplying PPE and testing supplies to reduce our state’s dependence on unreliable sources. The bill also initiates a Disaster Resilience Stockpile program to ensure better preparation and advance organization to meet the needs of various disasters (public health, wildfire, earthquake, etc.).

Still, the legislature accomplished some important work to address urgent needs to keep people in their homes, support struggling independent restaurants, and allocate funds for critical pandemic-related programs. There is still more to do to support Oregon families suffering with high unemployment, BIPOC communities and low-income workers who are facing disproportionate impacts, and small businesses working hard to keep their doors open.

Each of the four measures was developed over a number of weeks, considering various options and incorporating ideas and compromises to gain support; I voted “yes” on each of them.

Four bills passed

Eviction Moratorium and Landlord Compensation Fund
Renters who can’t pay their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to remain in their home (cannot be evicted) through June 30, 2021, but with tightened rules on eligibility. The bill (HB 4401) also established a $150 million fund to cover overdue rent payments, which will help eligible renters avoid falling further behind, and created a mechanism for landlords to recover payments they were counting on. Recent data from the National Council of State Housing Agencies estimates that anywhere from 27,700 to 56,100 Oregon households would have been at risk of eviction on January 1st without the extension of the eviction moratorium statewide. (Find more on housing, renter, and landlord assistance on my website and in the Oregon Law Center fact sheet).

Schools: Limited Liability Protections
This measure helps schools following public health guidance to protect dollars meant for education and avoid spending money on costly lawsuits. HB 4402 provides temporary liability protections to schools that are complying with COVID-19 emergency rules, including Oregon Occupational Safety & Health (OSHA) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) rules. The measure also provides whistleblower protections to third party contractors, such as janitorial service providers, bus drivers, and food service providers.

Restaurant Relief
Restaurants and bars are in the industry hardest hit from the pandemic; many are hanging on by a thread. SB 1801 bill helps those struggling small businesses by temporarily allowing restaurants and bars to sell and deliver mixed drinks to-go. The mixed drink must be sold in a sealed container, and fees that third-party delivery providers can charge to the business is capped at 15% (local governments with already-existing third-party fee caps can maintain their own lower limits).

Emergency funding for COVID-19 and Wildfire Recovery
A large portion of the federal funding that Congress passed through the CARES Act expired at the end of 2020. The legislature approved $600 million of General Fund money to continue critical pandemic-related programs that will support Oregonians in the first few months of 2021, as well as provide more support for Oregonians impacted by the Labor Day wildfires. The funding bill also includes $150 million for the Landlord Compensation Fund and $50 million for rental assistance supporting the policy bill (HB 4401) described above .
Relief package from Congress
From Senator Merkley: “These bills include key investments to create jobs in the woods and reduce wildfire risk. They support stakeholders working on collaborative water solutions so family farms have the irrigation water they need to make it to the next generation. They will create new housing where it’s desperately needed, help modernize infrastructure without burdening ratepayers, support port dredging on the coast, and keep small airports open for business.”

From Senator Wyden: “Oregonians in every nook and cranny of our state are hurting from the devastating blows delivered in 2020. I've heard their concerns throughout this challenging year over Zoom, virtual town halls and socially distant conversations, and I’m glad to report this bill will open doors for new jobs, housing, water solutions for small farms, and healthier and safer communities in our state - during a time when we need it most.”

Selected highlights of the package include the following investments:
  • Wildfire Management: hazardous fuels reduction, making forests far more resilient to wildfires
  • Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT): to fund vital services for rural communities, including public safety, social services, transportation and housing. This funding goes to Oregon counties that have large tracts of federal land, which doesn’t pay property taxes.
  • Tribal Programs: health care to thousands of Oregon tribal members and advancing the ongoing effort to improve tribal housing.
  • Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF): Acquiring and protecting public lands, providing environmental and recreational benefits and creating jobs in the tourism, recreation, timber, fishing, and other natural resource sectors.
  • Earthquake Preparedness: $25.7 million for the West Coast ShakeAlert early warning project, supporting state investments that I’ve helped steer. 
  • Small Ports and Army Corps Navigation.
  • Expanding Renewable Energy: increasing investment in wind energy. Also includes solar power programs, and ongoing water power research at OSU.
  • Rural Housing: The Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), funding nonprofit sweat-equity homebuilders, such as Habitat for Humanity, to cover land purchases and infrastructure costs. 
  • Homeless Assistance Grants benefiting organizations across Oregon, including rapid rehousing programs for victims of domestic violence and homeless youth programs.
  • HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing: new rental assistance vouchers for homeless veterans.
  • Marine Energy Research and Development: including national marine renewable energy research, development and demonstration centers including one operated by Oregon State University. The legislation also directs the DOE to research ways to build a stable marine energy supply chain in the United States, as well as ways to ensure marine energy development does not interfere with ocean navigation, fisheries and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.
  • Water for Conservation and Farming to plan conservation projects that improve drinking water quality and supply.
COVID-19: testing, vaccines, and rules
Testing

UO now has free COVID-19 testing available for Lane County residents without symptoms. Reservations are available through the university’s Monitoring and Assessment Program (MAP) on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more and register for testing here.

Lane County testing facilities: Look here for a list of locations and whether you need an appointment, and more about testing.
Vaccine

I’ll start with the difficult news: the federal vaccine distribution and rollout has been slow and disappointing. A recent article published by The Lund Report explains "Officials with Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccine allocation program, acknowledged last week that they had unexpectedly cut the promised amounts of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine going to a number of states, including Oregon. The New York Times said the amounts were cut to at least 14 states ..." Read the full article.

Who decides (Whose priorities) : a state or federal decision?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) controls the supply of the vaccine to each state, and has defined a phased vaccine distribution plan. Due to the limited supply of the vaccine, high-risk populations are prioritized to receive the vaccine sooner than lower risk populations. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) must follow the CDC's distribution plan, but has some flexibility to define the prioritization of groups within each phase.

The CDC distribution phases
  1. Phase 1: Potentially limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses available
  2. Phase 2: Large number of vaccine does available
  3. Phase 3: Sufficient supply of vaccine doses for the entire population.

More information:
High risk-populations begin to receive COVID-19 Vaccine

OHA announced that 4,475 health care workers were vaccinated in the first week of the state’s COVID-19 immunization program. The data are part of a new public data dashboard showing the status of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination effort. The OHA COVID-19 vaccine website will provide daily updates on the number of people partially and fully vaccinated, along with key demographic information showing race, ethnicity, sex and age of everyone immunized, and information by county. As of 12:01 AM on Dec. 30, 31,380 people have been vaccinated (2,403 in Lane County). Hospital staff and residents, caregivers and staff at nursing facilities received the first doses.
Rules, guidelines, activities

See Oregon Health Authority’s Guidance by Activity Table for full details. The Oregon Health Authority will reassess county risk levels every two weeks based on the Disease Metrics Table. Until COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, health and safety precautions will remain in place so that schools, businesses, and communities can stay open once they reopen. Learn more about the new health and safety framework on the Keeping Eugene Safe page.

The City of Eugene provides this overview:

Lane County currently falls under the "extreme risk" category in the Oregon’s Risk and Protection Framework due to the spread of COVID-19 in our community. While this is the highest risk category under Governor Brown’s new order, there are some changes.  What’s allowed:
  • Outdoor dining; takeout highly recommended
  • Retail stores: max 50 percent of capacity, encourage curbside pickup
  • Faith institutions: indoor max 25 percent capacity or 100 total (whichever is smaller), 150 outdoor
  • Parks, hiking trails and outdoor gardens: max 50 people
  • Outdoor recreation and fitness establishments: max 50 people
  • Outdoor entertainment establishments: max 50 people
  • Personal services

School districts

With the goal of returning to in-person schooling, especially for elementary schools, by February 15, the Governor directed OHA and the Oregon Department of Education to continue to partner with school districts to ensure reopening plans are grounded in science and health and safety measures. Starting January 1, the reopening metrics used for school districts will be advisory and not mandatory. Decisions to hold in-person instruction will be made locally by districts and schools. See more in the Governor’s press release. District 4J announced a plan to phase in a hybrid model learning, a mix of in-person and remote, starting February 1. Under this plan, groups of students will attend in-person in alternating weeks, and all in-person instruction will be phased in by grade level, starting with the youngest students and moving to older grades gradually. 4J has not yet announced whether the new guidelines will change their plans.
Here at home: around the district
Downtown Riverfront projects
City of Eugene is creating park and civic space adjacent to the EWEB building. Infrastructure including some limited access roadway is being added for access to public space, river viewing areas, and new housing and commercial development opportunities. Here I am on a recent site visit, between rainy days. Some of these ideas were percolating back in the 1990's when I chaired a city committee envisioning connecting downtown to the riverfront and appropriate development of vacant land, and improving an inaccessible riverfront.
From Eugene's website: "The redevelopment of the Downtown Riverfront has been a part of the community’s vision for decades, reinforced through numerous public engagement opportunities over several years. The City's Urban Renewal Agency now owns 16 acres of riverfront property that can become Eugene’s riverfront neighborhood – directly connecting our downtown and campus areas to the Willamette River and creating more access points for the community to enjoy. We have an opportunity to fulfill our community’s vision. Find out the latest about the proposed Williams/Dame & Associates (WDA) redevelopment, Steam Plant re-use, the Riverfront Park, and how you can get involved."
Riverfront devt at EWEB
The EWEB building behind us, and Willamette River riverbank.
Riverfront devt at EWEB
Lots of attention to community values, including plants, habitat zones, and bioswales. See the EWEB Riverfront Master Plan.
Around the State
Helping homeless veterans
The Roseburg VA Health Care System has resources and programs, including emergency housing, to help veterans get off the street. “The weather is changing and it can become a dangerous, even life-threatening, situation for our Veterans who are homeless or chronically under-housed during the holiday season,” said Kevin Wagner, Homeless Program Coordinator with the Roseburg VA. “We want to find as many eligible Veterans as we can to help get them into safe, secure, warm temporary housing." The Roseburg VA’s Homeless Veterans Program is a conduit for homeless Veterans to temporary housing, social services, and health care. The Roseburg VA Homeless Veterans Program is available to assist in Lane County; call 541-242-0445.
Oregon's aviation and aerospace workforce

The Oregon Department of Education (DOE) is hosting a series of meetings on aviation and aerospace workforce development and education across the state in February and March. This follows work started in 2019, when a group of middle and high school aviation education programs from around Oregon decided to pursue the development of an aviation cluster of Programs of Study (POS) within the DOE.

The meetings are specifically designed for anyone in Oregon who is either an aviation or aerospace industry professional or post-secondary (two- or four-year) educator. To participate, click on the link for a Willamette region meeting.
Employment Department updates
Extension of unemployment benefits passed by Congress

The Oregon Employment Department (OED) is currently awaiting final language and guidance from the U.S Department of Labor to implement the unemployment programs in the recent package passed by Congress. OED is already starting to review the language so they can start the programs as quickly as possible once they receive official guidance.

The new legislation extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs and reauthorizes the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program at $300, reduced from $600 per week. There is also a new program that allows for an additional $100/week for “mixed earners”, who earn a combination of regular wages and self-employed income. OED is waiting for guidance before interpreting how this program will be implemented for Oregon unemployment recipients.

OED has stated “We will continue to apply technology, skilled employees, and process improvements wherever we are able, to implement every program we can as quickly as possible. We know Oregonians are counting on us. In the meantime, people should keep claiming weekly benefits.”

Unemployment Insurance Fraud Hotline
If you or anyone you know believes they have been subject to possible UI fraud or attempts at UI fraud, please call OED’s fraud unit at: 1-877-668-3204, or contact the fraud unit by reporting here.
Legislative Office Team
For the legislative session we're expanding to include another legislative aide.
Welcome to Nick, a recent UO graduate whose experience includes working on a local congressional campaign, and at The Shedd (John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in downtown Eugene),
and with OSPIRG (Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group).
NN and Lindsay
Lindsay is LA #1
chief of staff and working with committees
Jenna intern 2020
Jenna, constituent services
Nick Haskins 2020
Nick, LA #2
bills, scheduling, constituent issues
Lauren intern 2020
Lauren, research projects