Friends and neighbors,

Another week in the books here in Salem. While it was a busy one with meetings and committees, I also had some very exciting things happen! I find myself being so thankful to be part of the conversations that are shaping the future of this state. While being leader has come with its challenges, it has also given me a very loud microphone with which I can share the concerns of House District 52. It is humbling to be here day in and day out, and I thank you all for the support you have shown.

We are coming up on the final weeks of this short session and we have yet to tackle the issues we set out to address. Ballot Measure 110 conversations continue to happen daily, and the details of that proposal are still yet to come. It will be important to see what the final text of that bill is. The stage is set, the arguments have been laid out, and now we just wait to see how this all plays out in the waning moments of this session. Stay safe, and enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Sincerely,

Representative Jeff Helfrich

What's Happening in Salem

During a short session, members are limited to two bills. I am pleased to say that one of my two bills passed the House Floor this week! HB 4115 is a bill that I have been working on with the Oregon Sheriffs Association as well as the Chiefs of Police and many other law enforcement organizations across the state. We started working on it because these organizations identified problems with getting good officers to want to rise to positions of leadership within their organizations. This will not solve all the problems an agency might have within their ranks, but hopefully by encouraging the good ones to rise through the ranks, we can use their experience and tutelage to guide the next generation of law enforcement officers.

My office received a lot concerns regarding HJR 201 which had a hearing last week, but people were worried it would pop up again. For those who don't know, this measure would create another "administrative body" that would be the authority for funding public safety in the state. Funding public safety is great, but this bill would be funded through a statewide property tax. Like I said before, I have heard loud and clear the problems this would create for our state. While I agree that we have to find a way to better fund our public safety in this state, creating a new tax is not the way to go. Our record kicker this year as well as our overall budget numbers show that this state has a lot of money available to it through the taxes it already has. We need to get back to prioritizing our funds. If public safety is what we want to focus on, then we have to find the money from our existing budget.

The latest Ballot Measure 110 amendment should be coming out early next week. Now is a great time to write in to legislators and give them your thoughts on what direction we should go. I have a feeling that by the time I get out my next newsletter next weekend, that cake will have already been baked!

If you have never followed a committee or a measure before, the visual below should help. Anywhere on OLIS you should be able to see this "eSubscribe" option. Add what ever you are interested in following and you will get email alerts about where it is at in the process!

Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer joined us on the House floor this last week. We have been friends for a while, and I appreciated getting to have her at my desk.

I also had the privilege of having my kids visit me. Being a legislator can be challenging on young families, so I am thankful to get to spend any time I can with them during a short session!

Oregon 211

We received come information recently on the Oregon 211info program. For those who may not know "211info operates as a vital hotline connecting Oregonians to essential services 24/7/365. These services encompass housing and shelter assistance, utility support, child care, healthcare, and more." You can see a 1-pager on the Oregon 211info service here.

As they stated in the email "In times of crises such as wildfires, extreme weather events, and global pandemics, 211info has been and continues to be a key partner in supporting local communities statewide, enhancing the resilience of Oregonians during challenging circumstances." So if you know of anyone who might be struggling and could use some help, do not hesitate to have them call 211, or to visit their website.

Unemployment Disruptions

I read an article this week about some upcoming Unemployment Department disruptions. You can read the article here! It talks about how their system will be down from February 28th-March 1st. If you need to file a claim or check on a claim make sure you account for these outages. The department is transferring data to a new automated system, which is the reason for the disruption. I believe the following excerpt is important:

The key deadlines are:

Wednesday, Feb. 28: Weekly claims for unemployment benefits for the week of Feb. 18-24 must be filed by 5 p.m. in the current system. If people file claims for this week after the deadline, benefit payments will be delayed. For new unemployment benefit claims, the deadline is one day earlier at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27.

Monday, March 4: The new automated system goes live. Claims for the week of Feb. 18-24 can be backdated.

I hope you have enjoyed this read, and as always my office welcomes your feedback, questions, and comments on anything you see here or in the district. You can sign up for the large print version of this newsletter here, or the Spanish version here. Please send me a note at Rep.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov or call 503-986-1452.