NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Moving Into Week Four

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

As we enter week four of the five-week session, many bills have quietly died. Some are steadily working their way through committees and the two chambers and are on track to pass. And many, many have been reviewed by policy committees and then sent to the budget committee because they have some fiscal consequence. Among them are big-ticket measures like housing and homelessness, addiction and behavioral health, summer education programs for our kids, wildfire response, highway maintenance, safety, and clean-up, and support for the arts. Those bills wait in Ways and Means while legislative leadership sorts our priorities and matches them against the limited dollars available.

All of these decisions will largely be finalized in this fourth week.

It may be hard to visualize what a legislator’s day is like in the middle of all this. Brad Fuqua of Philomath News had the unusual opportunity to spend one full day with me last Thursday. I really encourage you to spend five minutes and read his “behind the curtain” story here.

I presided for three hours in the House Thursday. Brad Fuqua of Philomath News was there to describe the entire day. Read his illustrative report here. (Photo by Brad Fuqua/Philomath News)

Last week I detailed three bills I thought might interest you. But legislative work is about more than passing legislation. This week I wanted to highlight some of the advocacy and administrative work we also do which fills out our long, busy session days.

I have been critical of late of a campaign by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) discouraging liquor consumption. Problem drinking and addiction is a serious issue. But the “Re-think the Drink” campaign seemed to be saying that some types of alcohol are acceptable and others are not at all. As co-chair of the legislative wine caucus, I took issue with ads that said beer was ok but encouraged shoppers to put wine back on the shelf.

Now we are learning about further problems with alcohol at OHA.

The agency paid for a study of how wine and beer taxes affect sales. They were advocating an increase in taxes to reduce consumption. But when the study said there was no connection, OHA failed to release the report.
The agency said they lost track of the study but reports now show that simply wasn’t true.
A paid lobbyist for Oregon Recovers who has advocated for higher alcohol taxes was briefed on a memorandum about the study. The lobbyist then suggested changes to the memorandum. But the agency told lawmakers they did not share the study with “any other partners or special interests.”
OHA provided data to their advisory council suggesting consumption was increasing in Oregon. But the data only covered the pandemic years through 2021 and the. OLCC data for the following three years indicate sales and consumption are no longer increasing.
And while we work to promote Oregon’s homegrown wine, beer, spirits, and cider industries, OHA is spending a million dollars to discourage drinking including a Superbowl ad.

Again I stress that alcohol addiction and abuse is a serious problem that needs to be thoughtfully addressed. I currently serve as co-chair of the Legislative Wine Caucus to promote this iconic Oregon industry and also to encourage responsible consumption. I’m now working with other legislators to prepare a letter to Governor Kotek this week outlining concerns about OHA transparency, practices, and priorities.

Spending big bucks to support an industry and then also spending to convince people not to buy their products makes no sense. The conversation about addiction is an important one and OHA’s misdirection and manipulation of data is not advancing that discussion.

I was interviewed recently about misleading wine ads.

Last year, Oregon passed my bill to declare the rescue dog and cat as the Oregon Official Pet. But now, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is proposing major increases in shelter licensing fees.

Animal Rescue Entity (ARE) licensing rules monitor organizations that care for animals and make sure that care is up to state standards. Under existing law, animal rescue entities, which are largely nonprofit organizations, pay an annual license fee of $375. But apparently, not enough have registered to cover the cost of the one employee who visits each rescue once a year.

The Department is asking to increase annual fees to as much as $2,000 depending on how many animals are handled. One concern is that shelters may turn animals away in order to keep numbers – and license costs – down. Rescues in Oregon are now at capacity and some worry that fee increases will force them to shut down.

See a KEZI report on proposed shelter fee increases here.

I’ve been working with the Governor’s office and ODA to find an alternative to fee changes.

Meanwhile, you can provide written comments until 5 p.m. on February 29 by emailing animalrescue@oda.oregon.gov or by postal mail at 635 Capitol St NE, Salem, OR 97301.

For more than a year, coastal legislators have been asking the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to slow down plans for offshore wind farms and better consider their effect on the ocean environment, coastal communities, tribes, and the fishing fleet. To be clear, we want more renewable energy. We want good jobs in a part of Oregon that needs them. But we want to make sure all of this is done right and with full engagement with Oregonians.

The federal government’s announcement of the potential of floating offshore wind prompted pushback from local community members, tribal members, and the fishing industry last year. People from those groups called for a pause to better understand environmental impacts. They also felt that the federal government was not providing them with the answers they were seeking or opportunities for meaningful public engagement.

Instead, BOEM surprised us Tuesday with an announcement of two final floating offshore wind energy areas off Coos Bay and Brookings.

The Coastal Caucus responded with a public statement this week.

“Oregon’s coastal communities deserve to have their voices heard and their concerns addressed before any further action is taken on offshore wind development,” I wrote as the Chair of the Coastal Caucus. “We simply cannot support the advancement of this industry without meaningful consideration of the impacts on our communities, marine environment, and tribal interests. If BOEM is going to do this, they have to do it right. Currently they are not.”

Now, Oregon lawmakers have put forward House Bill 4080, which would require the state to develop a roadmap defining standards for offshore wind energy. It would also support state policy to include extensive engagement between impacted communities and tribes as well as developing labor standards. I am co-chief sponsor of the bill.

With the short session “freight train” running at full speed, my legislative email inbox seems more crowded than ever. I do appreciate the feedback and guidance, although sometimes mail is more helpful and constructive than other times.

Late last week we received about 200 letters urging us to support HB 4148. The letters were identical but it was impossible to tell if they were coming from people in our district or somewhere else in the state. (Note: Legislators are always more interested in what our own constituents think.) In this case, it was easy to respond since I was a sponsor of the bill I was being asked to support…

In another case, we received a lot of mail about HJR 201 which proposed a state property tax to fund public safety including wildfires and earthquakes. Much of the mail was angry, said that property taxes were already high, and many suggested that the question should be referred to voters. Actually, the proposal did indeed include a referral to voters. But more to the point, the proposal had already been declared dead before most of the mail arrived.

Here’s an example of one such letter: “If you vote 4 this you are a traitor and a real traitor 2 the people of Oregon so f****** move.” And again, this is a bill that was never voted on and will not advance this session.

HJR 201 will not be moving forward. But I hasten to add that we’ve had fires here on the coast. We’ve had freezes that shut down our communities. And someday we will have a major earthquake. This measure may not have been the answer. But someday soon we need to have a meaningful conversation about how we better prepare for natural disasters.

The other hot-button topic in my inbox is time changes. Do we go year-round with Standard Time, Daylight Saving, or make the change twice a year? With an earlier proposal to use DST year-round stalled waiting for Congressional approval, SB 1548 switched to proposing Standard Time year-round because Congress doesn’t need to approve.

This question produced strong differences of opinion, and in a fine example of political drama, the Senate vote tied, which means it failed to pass and the measure was sent back to the committee. I doubt we’ll see it again this session.

Thursday I left the capitol, picked up Susie in Otis, and scooted down the highway for the opening of the Newport Wine and Seafood Festival. It was a welcome relief and I was happy to be in a big room filled with people all smiling at each other.

Friday I spent a few minutes with supporters of our Marine Reserves bill, HB 4132. The proposal has now been assigned to the budget Subcommittee On Natural Resources for a work session later today (Monday). Procedurally that means the measure is all but assured to be funded and passed. And that, friends, is a victory for our district and coastal communities.

Taking a moment to celebrate progress on HB 4132 with advocates. Pictured left to right: Julia DeGraw (OLCV), Ian Giancarlo (Environment America), Charlie Plybon (Surfrider Foundation), Joe Liebezeit (Bird Alliance of Oregon), Luke Harkins (my chief of staff).

I’m expecting more progress this week on Oregon’s

pressing concerns – addiction and behavioral health, housing and homelessness, education, and possibly even campaign finance reform. Stay tuned as the freight train approaches our destination.