DD Coalition Legislative Funding Priorities

• Direct Support Professional Wages (POP 132)
• DD Case Management (Full Funding)
• Regional Family to Family Networks ($1.5M) 
• Healthier Oregon - Access to Services (POP 105)

2023 DD Advocacy Event

Thursday, May 25th

DD Advocacy Online Workshop 10A-12P

Register at https://creatingops.typeform.com/2023DDadvocacy

Five Weeks Left in the Legislative Session!

Last Friday (May 19) was the Second Chamber Work Session Deadline. It was the last day for policy committees to move measures introduced in their chamber (i.e. Senate bills in the Senate, House bills in the House) out of committee. The deadline does not apply to Ways & Means, Revenue, Rules, and other joint committees.​



Our bill report on May 22 will only include bills that have survived past this deadline!

The session is scheduled to end in the next five weeks! Let's GO! Advocates!

All Children Deserve an Education

Yet, many of Oregon’s students with disabilities – including students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) – are denied the opportunity to learn alongside their non-disabled peers when they are placed on shortened school day programs. SB 819A-16 gets students with disabilities back in school full-time unless their parents' consent to a shortened school day.

SB 819A passed out of the House Education Committee and it needs your help to pass on the House Floor! Please contact your Representative and tell them why it is important that students with disabilities have access to a full day of school. You can find your representative here. 

Good News - State Revenue Forecast

How much money does the Legislature have to work with in the 2023-2025 budget?

This Wednesday, May 17, the Office of Economic Analysis presented the June Economic and Revenue Forecast to the House Revenue Committee. The meeting materials are here. We care about the Revenue Forecast because it tells Legislators how much money Oregon can allocate for the 2023-2025 biennium.

As OPB reported, this Revenue Forecast says legislators have about $2 billion more to spend in the next biennium that previously expected in the February forecast.

Legislators use the information from the Revenue Forecast to make decisions about how much money to put into State Agency Budgets like the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Department of Human Services (DD Services) budgets. The Forecast also helps Legislators decide how much money can fund other bills too.

The additional money in the Revenue Forecast is great news – and now is a great time to reach out to the Ways and Means members to tell them why funding DD services is important!

Keep the Conversation GOing...

Your voice matters! Legislators need to continue to hear about the importance of DD Services, referenced in the Human Services budget bill HB 5026. We are asking the legislature to support full funding for Direct Support Professional (DSP) Wages, DD Case Management, Regional Family Networks, and Healthier Oregon which open access to Oregonians who need DD services regardless of immigration status. Include a few sentences about what DD Services means in your life.

Email the Members of the Ways & Means Committee at: Sen.ElizabethSteiner@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.TawnaSanchez@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.FredGirod@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.DavidGomberg@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.GregSmith@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.SaraGelser@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.DickAnderson@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.WlnsveyCampos@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.TimKnopp@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.JamiCate@oregonlegislature.gov; rep.AndreaValderrama@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.LewFrederick@oregonlegislature.gov; Sen.BillHansell@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.PaulEvans@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.PaulHovey@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.RickLewis@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.KhanhPham@oregonlegislature.gov; Rep.EWernerReschke@oregonlegislature.gov; rep.vikkibreeseiverson@oregonlegislature.gov

If your State Senator and State Representative are not on this committee, include them on your email. To find out who your two state legislators are, visit the home page of the Oregon Legislature website at Oregon State Legislature (oregonlegislature.gov)

DD Advocacy Photo Rally

Help us "Keep the Conversation GOing" with legislators about the importance of DD Services! Take and post a picture on social media of yourself holding a DD Services Advocacy Photo Rally Sign, then ask your family and friends to join our online photo rally! #OregonDD23

Advocacy Tools

Weekly bill tracking reports can be found on our website and Facebook each week.

If you are interested in specific legislative topics, this video goes through each step to help you find where bills are in the legislative process and how to sign up for email alerts to get updates directly.

For additional advocacy tools, visit the GO Project's You Tube Channel legislative advocacy videos created by our GO! Advocacy Team.