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Friends and Neighbors,


We are three weeks into the legislative session and things are starting to pick up. Most committees are still in the "informational" stage, meaning we hear from experts and agencies about the issues our committees will consider.


For example, you might have heard about the gruesome story of a man getting his face chewed off by another man on the Portland MAX system. In the Transportation Committee, we had representatives from Oregon's public transit agencies explain their policies on public safety. I expect lawmakers will introduce legislation related to public safety on transit. 


Some committees are getting right to it and passing bills. Today, we held our first floor vote on a single, non-controversial bill. 


Things will continue to speed up here in the coming weeks. Make sure to follow me on Facebook for additional updates in between these newsletters.


The Mountain Times and the Columbia Gorge News have both been kind enough to allow me to publish monthly columns in their papers. Be on the lookout for the February edition next week!


Best,

Representative Jeff Helfrich

Bad Bill Alert


Taking Your Kicker


Oregon's kicker is set to return an average of $5,200 per household back to Oregon taxpayers this year. But there are two bills in the Senate right now that would take it all.

SJR 26 and SB 774 would allow the government to take your hard-earned tax dollars and use it any way they like. The kicker is Oregonians' last line of defense against run-away government spending. I believe that money belongs to you.


Our Senator, Daniel Bonham, gave a great speech about these bills that you can watch here.

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:

Bull Run Bridge Closes to All Traffic Weighing Over 12 Tons

As of January 23rd, trucks weighing over 12 tons will not be allowed to travel across the Bull Run Bridge in the Sandy area. Clackamas County received an updated bridge load rating notice from the Oregon Department of Transportation requiring new weight restrictions after a recent inspection.


It is still safe to cross the bridge within the weight limit restrictions. The county is continuing to pursue funds to replace the bridge and is hoping to receive news about a potential federal grant any day now. Traffic will continue to cross one-at-a-time in the center of the bridge.


I have heard concerns from constituents about access during emergencies. I have been in contact with Clackamas County and they are currently in the process of performing a load rating analysis to assess if the bridge could support emergency vehicles over 12 tons in a lifesaving emergency. They expect to receive results of this analysis is the coming weeks. 

Measure 114


Oregon's Attorney General's office asked the Oregon Supreme Court earlier this month to allow Measure 114 to go into effect. The law, which voters approved last year, has been on hold since Harney County Judge Robert S. Raschio put a temporary restraining order on it in December. The Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling.

National School Choice Week


This week is National School Choice Week. As a father of two kids, I want every Oregon child to get the best education possible. The pandemic revealed a lot about our education system and many families are looking for alternatives.


There are several bills this session that would expand educational opportunities for Oregon families, including ideas like allowing kids to go to any school, regardless of what school district they live in, establishing education savings accounts, and uncapping the limit of enrollment in virtual charter schools.

Recent polling has shown that 55% of Oregonians feel that our K-12 system is on the wrong track. 72% support school choice, and nearly 70% support open enrollment.


Since COVID, nearly 36,000 students have unenrolled from public schools, according to figures presented last week to the Senate's Education Committee. Families want school choice, but unfortunately, under our current system, it's often only wealthy families with the luxury of choice.


Unfortunately, choice is too often a luxury for only wealthy families. These options and opportunities should be open to all students, particularly low-income Oregon families.