3
Street roots
Jan 3, 2014
Poverty issues to mostly take a back seat in Salem
BY AMANDA WALDROUPE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When legislators convene in Salem for
the Legislature’s month-long session,
scheduled to begin Feb. 3, they are likely to
focus on economic development, job growth,
continuing to fund and reform education,
and pass legislation that didn’t quite make it
during the 2013 session.
The short, month-long session allows
lawmakers to adjust the state’s budget and
make any necessary tweaks to legislation.
Because of the session’s brevity, it’s difficult
to pursue new or complex legislation.
House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland)
says the funds lawmakers will have at its to
disposal to spend will be limited, meaning
the Legislature will making funding
decisions based upoq how effectively the
money can be spent.
“You don’t have time for a huge, wide
variety of conversations,” says Jim Moore, a
Pacific University political science professor.
“They’re so short, legislators need to have
active plans and winding up votes by now.”
Each legislative committee will sponsor
five bills, and legislators are allowed to
introduce two “priority bills.” Legislators
are expected to revisit the small business
tax cuts approved during the special session
in October, and also decide how to spend
$26 million generated frotn scaling back a
senior medical deduction.
Affordable housing, social justice, poverty
and the safety net are not expected to be big
topics. While Oregon continues to rank high
among other states in hunger, homelessness
and unemployment, Moore and others, think
the sense that the economy is improving
and the recession ending will dampen
arguments to increase funding for social
safety net programs.
/ But legislators may consider coming to
the aid of Oregonians whose long-term
unemployment came to an end last week
when Congress did not authorize newz -
funding. “They can absolutely do that,”
Moore says. “Whether they’re willing to or
not is another issue.”
Kotek, who has championed affordable
housing and poverty issues as a legislator,
says the level of funding the programs will
receive is uncertain. “We will be making
tough decisions between a number of very
important programs,” she says. “At this
point, it’s difficult to make any promises
about that kind of funding request.”
The Housing Alliance, a statewide ,
membership organization advocating for
increased resources for affordable housing
and poverty programs, plans to lobby the
Legislature on two funding appropriations
and one bill that would add funding or
bolster programs that prevent or end
homelessness and increase affordable
housing.
The first would add three million dollars
to the Emergency Housing Account and one
million dollars to the State Homeless
Assistance Program - an amount, says
Alison McIntosh, deputy director of
Neighborhood Partnerships, the advocacy
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organization overseeing the Housing
Alliance’s work, that could help
approximately 1,200 families who are either
homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Both programs allow money to be spent
flexibly, and pay for short-term rent
assistance and other programs designed to
prevent homelessness or end short-term >
homelessness. “The great thing about the
Emergency Housing Account and the State
Hopieless
Assistance
Program is
designed to meet
people’s needs>”
McIntosh says.
The Housing
Alliance advocated
for that amount of
money to be added
to the Emergency
Housing Account,
and the State
Homeless
Assistance
Program during
the 2013 session,
but the Legislature
didn’t allocate the
money, The
funding would
return the budgets
of both programs
to their pre
recession levels.
The second
focus of housing
advocates is increasing funding for the
state’s new foreclosure mediation program,
which allows, homeowners to work with
banks to avoid foreclosure. Any additional
money could provide more funding for
counseling, legal support and outreach to
homeowners.
Third, housing advocates will throw their
support behind legislation that would
require owners of manufactured home parks
to notify tenants that they plan to sell the
park, and give tenants the time and
opportunity to create a reasonable offer to
purchase the park themselves. A bill
creating this provision died in the 2013
session, but hàs been the focus of a
bipartisan workgroup since then, meaning
it’s likely to pass.
In general, McIntosh thinks, legislators
are becoming more attuned to housing
issues. “Having a House committee
dedicated to! housing has increased the
focus significantly;” McIntosh says. “I think
people are beginning to understand how
critical housing is to helping people be
healthy, and kids be successful in school.”
Many of the bills legislators will consider
were originally introduced during the 2013
session, but did not pass in the final weeks
of the Legislature, partially because Senator
Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) was in a car
accident during thè session and was absent
from the Senate for a couple weeks, causing
the Senate to be evenly tied between
democrats and republicans.
“People are going to come in with a
whole boatload of things that didn’t quite
make it in the regular session,” Moore says.
One piece of re-introduced legislation,
sponsored by Senator Mike Dembrow
(D-Portland), would create a state Public
Guardian and Conservator program within
the state’s Office of the Long-Term Care
Ombudsman. The program would allow
Oregonians with developmental disabilities,
inability to enroll individuals into health
insurance through its website. But it’s
unclear what action, if any, the Legislature
, may take to help Cover Oregon through its
troubles.
There is also likely to be talk about the
Columbia River Crossing, which the
Legislature voted to fund last year. But
when the Washington Legislature did not
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dementia, mental illness or injuries who are
unable to make decisions about their care or
finances to have a guardian make those
decisions on their behalf.
provide its own funding, it seemed as if the
project would be. scrapped. Governor John
Kitzhaber and House Speaker Tina Kotek,
both democrats, have publicly stated
The legislation, expected to pass, is one
n u m e ro u s tim e s th e y will p u r s u e a w ay to
program that would be funded by money
generated from the senior medical
deduction. Other senior programs, such as
Oregon Project Independence, are expected
to get additional funding with the money as
well. “Senior advocates andagency staff are
still putting together details on how we can
get the best results with (that] money,”
Kotek says. ~
Other 2013 legislation most likely to be
reintroduced will cover topics like public-
lands, banning toxic substances from toys,
clean fuel standards, and marijuana
legalization. A series of gun control bills .
that did not pass the Legislature last year
are unlikely to be reintroduced again, since
the window of opportunity-rlast year's
shootings in Newtown, Conn, and the
Clackamas Town Center—has closed.
Health care has taken up a lot of oxygen
in the Legislature, since the body
completely overhauled the Oregon Health
Plan and created a health insurance
exchange during the 2011 session. The
Senate and House health committees will
likely hear informational updates on the
progress and work of the Oregon Health
Plan’s coordinated care organizations, as
well as how Cover Oregon-the state’s health
insurance exchange-is recovering from its
fund the bridge’s construction using only
Oregon and federal funds. But the bridge
continues to be controversial, and neither
the Governor’s office nor any legislators
have publicly presented a plan to pay for its
construction.
Another topic that will almost certainly
be an elephant in the room is tax reform.
Kitzhaber is vocal about his desire overhaul
the state’s tax code and even creating a
sales tax—something that is anathema to
Oregonians, but increasingly recognized as
a way to avoid sharp dips in state revenue
when the economy sours. There is .not
enough time in the February session to
pass tax reform legislation, but any
informational sessions and legislators ;
reactions could indicate what the discussion
might look like during the 2015 session.
While advocates; lobbyists and political
commentators expect a mellow session; the
fact that 2014 is an election year could
affect the dynamics and legislator’s actions,
especially if they are seeking re-election in a
tough district or another office. It reflects
something seasoned lobbyists learned long
ago — you never know what might happen
once the Oregon Legislature gets going.
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