SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018 ❚ 3B Brown’s 2018 priorities include guns, opioids Connor Radnovich Salem Statesman Journal Opioid overdoses USA TODAY NETWORK Gun violence, the opioid overdose epidemic, government waste, PERS and rural construction jobs are Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's five legislative priorities for the 2018 short legislative session be- ginning Feb. 5, she announced Jan. 10. During the short session — which can last at most 35 days — lawmakers and legislative offices are limited to a fixed number of bills. Brown's bills will be re- leased publicly next week. PERS unfunded liability In line with Brown's position that the state cannot cut its way out from under- neath the Public Employees Retirement System's unfunded liability, she is pro- posing another way to raise revenue. That way is an employer incentive fund, where the state will use unexpect- ed or one-time revenue to create "side accounts" and contribute 25 cents for every dollar employers put into the fund. The governor's office described the proposal as another way to make side accounts more accessible as a way to pay down the unfunded liability. The "unfunded liability" is the differ- ence between what actuaries expect PERS to pay out to beneficiaries and what funds are available. It sits at around $20 billion according to a report released in November. Gun violence Brown is proposing an end to the so- called boyfriend loophole, which would prohibit individuals convicted of mis- demeanor stalking or domestic violence from buying a gun. The "boyfriend loophole" has re- ceived attention nationwide and is one of the policy targets for gun safety groups. The loophole allows partners who aren't married or living with the person he or she abused to buy a gun. As part of this legislation, authorities would be notified if prohibited individ- uals tried to buy a gun. A multi-part attempt at addressing the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic in Oregon, Brown wants to take steps to require opioid prescribers to register for a state-wide monitoring program, cre- ate a peer mentor program and require an examination of ways to make addic- tion treatment more accessible. Not all prescribers are registered with the Prescription Drug Monitoring Pro- gram, which the governor's office says limits the state's ability to identify ille- gal actions or negative health trends. The state's Opioid Task Force recom- mended making it a requirement was an important step. The task force also recommended lowering barriers to accessing addiction treatment, so Brown's proposal would require a report looking at that possibil- ity with the goal of legislation to come in 2019. Another aspect of this proposal that could grow later on is an addiction men- torship program. Four counties would initiate a pilot program for peer mentors to help addicts down the road to recov- ery. Most of these peers would be ad- dicts in recovery themselves. The ways the bill suggests doing so is through piloting a "reverse auction" sell- er bidding process, formalizing the "Oregon Buys" project (which tracks spending, among other things), and communicating to vendors that price will be a more important aspect of ap- proving contracts. Contact the reporter at cradnov- ich@statesmanjournal.com or 503- 399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich. 12 MONTH SPECIAL OFFER Subscribe for about 99 Rural construction This bill would temporarily waive the fees and formal education requirements associated with obtaining supervisory licenses from the Construction Contrac- tors Board, with the goal if getting more construction professionals working, particularly in rural areas. Work experience would take the place of formal training. The state would provide loans to in- centivize the construction of affordable housing projects to subcontractors. Also, the bill would create grants to boost the training of local construction workers. ¢ PER WEEK! * BILLED MONTHLY LOCK IN THIS SPECIAL RATE! Procurement Addressing waste, Brown's final bill would attempt to lower procurement costs across the state's 85 executive agencies. VISIT StatesmanJournal.com/PPC CALL 1-800-452-2511 *Offer expires 3/31/2018. Certain restrictions apply. For complete details, Call or visit website. Price per week is based on a full access subscription including Sunday and Wednesday print delivery at $4.30 per month for the first 12 months. Gov. Kate Brown will focus on gun violence, the opioid overdose epidemic, government waste, PERS and rural construction jobs during the 2018 short legislative session. MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL P-PC ENT5211 " "- # #& && '#,& /#+& "- #! 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