By Representative Cyrus Javadi, House District 32

Sickness is going around at the Capitol, and unfortunately I got it this week. It kept me out of the Capitol, but I continued working from home to make sure the North Coast was represented. Even though I wasn’t physically there, my bill to boost the housing supply on the coast passed with bipartisan support – more on that below.

It’s been a slow moving week. The House has been working through a backlog of bills this week with many debates. The session, which started as a bipartisan one, has rapidly become more partisan. The controversial House Bills 2002 (abortion and “gender-affirming care”) and 2005 (gun control omnibus) have been the major culprits. This week, Republicans succeeded in pushing back the Floor votes on those two bills to the start of May. This hopefully gives us more time to negotiate these bills and minimize the damage. Both will need to go to the Senate, where more negotiations are happening.

The Oregonian Editorial Board put out a great op-ed this week that described Oregon’s issues that are leading to people moving out of the state. They wrote: “As much as Oregon has to offer, our housing unaffordability, homelessness, increasing taxation, drug addiction crisis, untreated mental illness, gun violence, traffic deaths, and educational mediocrity are changing the calculus for many about where to live, raise a family or retire.”

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with comments, questions, or concerns at 503-986-1432 or Rep.CyrusJavadi@oregonlegislature.gov.

Bill To Boost Coastal Housing Supply Passed House

This week, the Oregon House of Representatives passed House Bill 3442 with bipartisan support. Housing is a big topic this session, and this bill shows commitment to unique local solutions to our housing crisis.

I introduced this legislation to help coastal communities that struggle to develop land because many areas are within a tsunami zone. This bill would give more opportunities to coastal cities to build without the enormous costs of developing or rezoning land. Oregon’s housing shortage calls us to action. We will not be able to subsidize our way out of it. We must find ways to relax regulations to encourage the building supply.

The legislation passed 41-13 and will now head to the Senate.

Governor Signs Homelessness Package, Releases Funds

After signing House Bills 2001 and 5019, Governor Kotek has announced funding and the specific goals for the homelessness package. I am disappointed to see the Governor not dedicate any funding to coastal communities with the money the legislature approved. So far, the Governor has continued to overlook the North Coast and our needs. We do have a homelessness crisis and we need support from the state. I will continue to work to ensure we get our fair share of state resources on homelessness.

Below is an infographic from the recent lobby day held by the Oregon Association of Realtors. It clearly shows that Oregon is unaffordable because we aren’t building enough homes. While this homelessness program may not substantially lessen the burden of housing costs, it is expected to help a number of homeless individuals transition off the streets.

HB 2002

This week, the Ways and Means budget committee advanced HB 2002 to the House Floor. We will likely vote on the House Floor at the beginning of May.

I was surprised to see that both of the committee chairs, who supported the bill, gasped when the lawyers confirmed that the bill would allow 10-year-olds to get an abortion without parental consent. Watch that exchange here.

This week was National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, an annual event that honors the critical role emergency response coordination professionals play in keeping the nation’s communities safe and secure.

Oregon has 43 standalone 911 centers known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) that serve as the first and single point of contact for people seeking immediate relief during an emergency. Nearly 800 dedicated telecommunicators across the state answer at least 2 million emergency calls annually for law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services. These 911 professionals respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance in times of intense personal crises and community-wide disasters. Some 911 professionals are certified as emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs), emergency fire dispatchers (EFDs) or emergency police dispatchers (EPDs). All 911 professionals work diligently behind the scenes to help citizens during emergencies ranging from mental health crises, car accidents, missing person reports, burglaries and domestic violence disturbances. Since early 2020, Oregon’s public safety telecommunicators have had the added responsibility of serving throughout a pandemic, historic wildfires, heatwaves, winter storms, floods and severe staffing shortages. The critical work of Oregon’s public safety telecommunicators directly supports the operations of federal, state and local government agencies, including emergency management, highway safety, and search and rescue. Oregon’s 911 program was established by the 1981 Oregon Legislature and is managed by the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. Learn more at Oregon.gov/OEM.

OHA to Review Oregon Health Plan Eligibility

The Oregon Health Authority is reviewing income eligibility for approximately 1.5 million Oregon Health Plan (OHP) and Medicare Savings Program (MSP) members starting after COVID policies begin to expire. State health officials urge OHP members to review any notices they receive from OHA about their health benefits and respond promptly with any requested information. More here.

If you need help navigating a loss of benefits, you can call 211 or visit 211.org for assistance

Oregonians Save $1 Million for Higher Education through Recycled Bottles and Cans

BottleDrop and the Oregon College Savings Plan have announced that $1 million has been saved for higher education through their partnership program that allows individuals and families from across the state to leverage their Oregon Bottle Bill container redemptions to save for future education expenses. The program started just three years ago.

Participants can set up automatic fund transfers from their BottleDrop account to one or more Oregon College Savings Plan (OCSP) accounts. To date, 10 million beverage containers have been redeemed and recycled through the partnership, with the funds being transferred to OCSP accounts, to the benefit of more than 5,000 Oregonians saving for higher education expenses.

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1432
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-373, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.CyrusJavadi@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/javadi​