Policy Update - What I am working on.
Bridges
It was released this week that the Port of Hood River was denied 2022 federal funds for the new White Salmon-Hood River bridge. This is disappointing, but according to Kevin Greenwood, the executive director of the Port of Hood River, it is not expected to delay the project. They will continue to apply for 2023 funds. One of my top priorities this session is to secure funding from the state to complete the project.
I am serving on the Transportation Committee which is beginning discussions about how we are going to complete the I-5 Bridge into Washington. Right now, the project is estimated to cost anywhere from $5 to $7.5 billion. Washington has ponied up $1 billion already, and now all eyes are on Oregon. To finish the project, we will have to come up with $1 billion also, in addition to adding a toll to the bridge itself to round out the funding. In Hood River, we are familiar with a toll on a bridge, but many are concerned about tolling, particularly during a time of broader discussions of tolling I-205 and I-5.
Here are two of my biggest questions remaining about the I-5 Bridge replacement. What questions do you have?
- How is Oregon going to come up with $1 billion?
- Will there be added capacity so that river crossing congestion can be eased?
Bringing Jobs Back to Oregon
On the Semiconductor Committee, we are discussing what changes to make to our land use laws to encourage manufacturing jobs to return to Oregon. We are looking around the state at the available stock of land to build a large-scale manufacturing facility. Our land use laws can be a divisive issue, but most Oregonians agree that land is too expensive, and it is causing people to leave the state. Whether for housing or for businesses, to compete in the global economy, we need to make thoughtful land use reforms to decrease the cost of doing business and living in Oregon.
Homelessness
As Vice-Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, I am diving deep into the root causes of what makes housing so expensive and why Oregon continues to fail to address homelessness in a meaningful way. Our policy in Oregon has been focused too much on housing and not enough on addiction and mental health. Measure 110 is making that worse.
Twenty-six years on the streets as a police officer taught me a lot about our homeless neighbors. They need help, but they aren't getting it under our current system. Those in charge of getting them treatment have failed to get money out the door.
This week I spoke on the House Floor about the failures of Measure 110. The Secretary of State recently released an audit that proves what we already knew, the unelected bureaucrats in charge of implementing the program are failing, and people are suffering. Oregon is the worst in the country for our drug problems. We are the only state in the nation to legalize hard drugs. This is not a coincidence.
Watch my comments here:
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