in other words
february7
2019
3
Salem Report
By Representative Brad Witt
House District 31
I’m back in Salem as
the 2019 Legislative
session is getting under
way. I was honored as
Oregon Chief Justice
Martha Lee Walters administered the
oath of office, marking the official start
of my 8 th term in office. It is truly a
privilege to serve the people of House
District 31, and I want to hear from you
in the coming months to make sure the
legislation we approve best serves our
area and all Oregonians.
Our first activities included
training for lawmakers and staff, famil-
iarizing us with the facilities, rules and
procedures, and reinforcing the best
ways to establish a collegial and pro-
fessional work environment that best
serves the needs of our constituents.
My priorities this session in-
clude legislation designed to reduce the
risk of school mass shootings. The se-
curity of our children and classrooms is
a state and national concern, and I hope
these are measures that all Oregonians
can support.
• HB 2289 would establish a school
safety task force to review safety fea-
tures for school facilities, develop rec-
ommendations for legislation, and then
report back to the legislature.
• HB 2290 requires the development
and implementation of a student threat
assessment policy while ensuring the
services of a behavioral health special-
ist for school districts.
• HB 2287 authorizes school districts to
allow firearm safety courses on school
property in cooperation with the local
law enforcement agency.
• HB 2291 is an Oregon Tax Credit for
Gun Safes and/or locking mechanisms,
$50 per individual, or $100 per joint fil-
ing, applying to tax years 2020-2026.
I know many folks in House
District 31 enjoy hunting and fishing
as I do, and I’ve been hearing about
problems you’ve had with the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife’s new
electronic licensing system. I reached
out to ODFW to share your concerns,
and they were very responsive. The elec-
tronic licensing system will save the de-
partment nearly $2 million over the next
biennium, and while there is still a paper
option, more people are opting for the
electronic license reporting. When tag-
ging your trophy, you report the same
information you would on the paper li-
cense. Connectivity can be a problem in
remote outdoor areas, but both ODFW
and Oregon State Police know this, and
as long you input the required informa-
tion on site, the data will sync up with
your license when your phone gets into
service range. Harvest of big game, in-
cluding turkeys, requires annual report-
ing, which was done by telephone, but is
easily done online. However, you must
verify your account first, before you
can successfully get into the system.
Families reporting to ODFW can use
the same computer terminal, but each
person above the age of 12 must have
a separate email account for reporting
purposes. The department safe-guards
personal information by withholding it
from the customer data base.
I very much appreciate ODFW’s
responsiveness to the concerns I raised
on your behalf. They are actively work-
ing to correct problems, and things
should go much more smoothly a year
from now, when we repeat our annual
reporting procedure. One of the im-
portant ways I can serve the people of
House District 31 is to interface with
State Agencies regarding your issues
and concerns. By working together
we’ll try to find more effective ways to
operate state agencies to benefit every-
one.
While I serve on several com-
mittees, I chair the House Natural Re-
sources Committee and we began our
meetings this week with informational
briefings from state agencies talking
about their programs and concepts for
legislation they’ll bring forward this
session.
Former Oregon State Forester
Jim Brown spoke to our committee.
Having had the pleasure of working
with Jim when I served on the Oregon
State Board of Forestry, I respect and
admire his dedication to Oregon’s natu-
ral resources, as did Governor Kulon-
goski, who made Jim his Natural Re-
source Office Director. Jim shared with
the committee results of surveys show-
ing Oregonians want a high quality of
life that includes jobs, education, public
safety, human resource services, and a
quality environment. In all areas of the
state, but especially rural areas such as
House District 31, the environment and
economy are interconnected. Oregon’s
forestlands have the best biodiversity of
any landscape in Oregon as well as the
cleanest waters.
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During Jim Brown’s tenure as
Oregon State Forester the Department
of Forestry worked on sustainable for-
est management practices, implement-
ing a plan for integrated multi-value
forest with the opportunity for innova-
tive management. The Oregon Forest
Management Plan was adopted with the
agreement that if the plan didn’t work,
it would be revisited. If there are any
problems or shortfalls, as elected of-
ficials with oversight responsibilities,
we owe it to the public to seek constant
improvement. Jim spoke to the point
that sustainable forest practices include
a balance between working landscapes,
institutional infrastructure, social eco-
nomic benefits, and a healthy ecosys-
tem. It’s the kind of balance I believe
we need when dealing with every natu-
ral resource issue. I liken it to a stool
with three legs under a bucket of milk.
If you shorten any one leg, then the milk
will spill. We can’t afford to waste the
milk, or Oregon’s natural resources. The
House Natural Resources committee
members must be mindful of balancing
the needs of all Oregonians when mak-
ing public policy. We must listen to
the debate, but not be unduly influenced
by the loudest voices, instead we need
to keep balance in mind and make our
decisions based on the broader public
interest.
The Natural Resource Commit-
tee also received an update from Larry
Warren, Director of the Oregon Marine
Board (OMB). This small agency works
to provide and enhance opportunities for
recreational boating, through contract-
ing and grants. Funding for the OMB
comes from boat registration fees, fed-
eral grants, and marine fuel taxes. That
money is used to contract with county
sheriff’s offices and the Oregon State
Police for marine law enforcement, and
grants for recreational boating facilities.
Some of the legislation they hope to ad-
vance this session includes improving
waterway access, licensing boat rental
operations, and combatting aquatic in-
vasive species.
Contact:
Email: Rep.BradWitt@
oregonlegislature.gov
Phone: (503) 986-1431
Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-382,
Salem, OR, 97301
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.
gov/witt
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Contributors
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Representative Brad Witt
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