Important Progress and New Opportunities Arise from 2022 Legislative Session

Thanks to The Way and its readers for being interested in politics and policy and letting me offer a few quick insights about the Oregon 2022 short session.

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

I think we got a lot done in 32 days. We were fortunate enough to have plenty of state revenue/general fund dollars and federal American Rescue Plan dollars to help us tackle five priorities: the homelessness and the affordable housing crisis; building stronger schools; supporting working families and small businesses; driving down the rising cost of living; and investing in community safety and violence prevention.

We allocated $400 million to respond to and prevent homelessness, increase the affordable housing supply, and keep people in affordable homes. These investments will address immediate statewide needs, including for more shelter capacity, rapid rehousing, resource referrals and services.

Students learn best when they are in classrooms five days a week. We entered the session knowing that teachers and schools needed more support and staffing to be successful coming off the pandemic to address teacher burnout and the resulting workforce shortages.

We made a $300 million education investment, including funding to recruit and retain critical staff like teachers, nurses, school counselors, and substitutes, so that our kids can stay in healthy, safe learning environments.

And for the second consecutive year, the state will support summer learning activities and programs. This will include support to help high school students stay on track for graduation, provide mental health support for kids, and help communities develop day camps, park programs, and tutoring.

Meanwhile, we need to rebuild an economy that prioritizes Oregon’s working families and small businesses, not just the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations.

To help our small businesses meet their workforce needs, we supported over $200 million in investments in career pathways and programs to retain and attract workers in critical sectors, including healthcare, behavioral health, education, manufacturing, and technology.

For too many Oregonians, covering their monthly expenses has become a challenge. That’s why we made targeted investments to drive down the cost of necessities that eat of the largest portion of Oregonians’ paychecks, like childcare and healthcare. We invested $100 million to stabilize the childcare workforce and increase access to affordable childcare statewide. 

Oregonians who received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in 2020 will receive a onetime $600 stimulus payment. This means about a quarter million Oregonians in low-wage jobs will receive a direct payment to help cover the costs of everyday necessities like groceries, prescriptions, and diapers.

We need to continue investing in proven programs to prevent violence, support crime victims, and provide mental health and substance abuse treatment. We increased funding to support community-based organizations working to prevent violence; expand hospital-based programs to stop shootings; help local communities clean up trash and provide sanitation services; and provide additional resources for the Oregon Domestic & Sexual Violence Services Fund.

Communities also need law enforcement to be able to focus on preventing and solving serious crimes. Senate Bill 1510 will reduce traffic stops for infractions like broken taillights that aren’t dangerous and disproportionately impact communities of color, so police can focus on stopping real crime.

There is more I could write about like farmworker overtime, but there is a word limit and I am getting close to being over it.

I was also asked to write about what didn’t get done. For me it is less about what didn’t get done in a “short session” that can only go for 35 days, and more about what we need to be planning for in ahead of the 2023 session. I am worried about how the war in the Ukraine plays out and what that means for the United States in the next few months. We made significant investments in so many parts of state government, particularly natural resources agencies, education, and healthcare. Will tax revenues keep up and enable us to maintain the services that Oregonians have come to rely upon particularly for the Oregon Health Plan/Medicaid? 

Even though we have made more than a $1 billion investment in behavioral health, there is still more work to do. For example, I look forward to extending the Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers pilot programs to other parts of the state and standing up the Community Mental Health Programs/Local Mental Health Authorities with more resources.

Will we be able to do something meaningful regarding climate change in the transportation sector? Can we stand up a better way to fund public defense in this state so everyone who needs a lawyer can get one? And of course, there will be the need to keep schools funded, especially as we continue to recover from the pandemic. 

My answer to those questions generally is that I think we can and will! If my time in the legislature has taught me anything it’s that timing is everything, persistence really helps, and having the right people in office with the right values makes a difference.

Rep. Rob Nosse represents House District 42 - Inner SE and Inner NE Portland - and is one of the Majority Whips for the House Democrats.