Talk soon,
Representative Cyrus Javadi
House District 32
2023 Legislative Session Recap
Local Wins
Part of representing you at the Capitol is advocating for the taxes that we pay to the state actually come back to benefit us. As part of the budget bills that ultimately passed, several line items will benefit our North Coast communities.
• $225,000 for Bay City’s Earthquake Isolation Valves for Water Reservoirs.
• $1,267,000 for Tillamook County Shilo Levee Rehabilitation project
• $570,000 for Clatsop Community Action’s Food Bank Warehouse Renovations and Equipment Upgrades
Policy Wins
While the bad legislation gets the majority of the headlines, I was able to help pass some good bipartisan peices of legislation this session.
• SB 406 – Establishes a housing pilot project in Tillamook County to encourage more affordable housing developments.
• HB 3201 – Allows state and local governments to better leverage Federal money in investments into rural broadband expansion.
• HB 2645 – Gives law enforcement more tools to protect communities from fentanyl.
• HB 3584 – Requires schools to notify parents electronically in the case of a security threat at their child’s school.
• HJR 16 – Refers measure to voters to ask if Oregonians want the Legislature to have the power to impeach statewide elected officials.
• HB 3204 – Increases access to virtual charter schools.
• HB 2725 – Lowers prescription drug costs by limiting the power of pharmacy benefit managers.
ODOT Data Breach
Several weeks ago, a massive data breach occured at the Oregon DMV that included unauthorized access to up to 90% of Oregonian’s data, including driver’s license information. ODOT confirmed that some DMV data had been copied and taken while transferring data through a software vendor. The broad-based attack impacted over 2,000 organizations worldwide.
Individuals with active credentials through the DMV (driver’s license, permit, ID card, etc.) SHOULD ASSUME information related to that credential is part of the breach. To protect yourself, regularly monitor your credit and consider freezing your credit. Here is the contact information for the three major credit monitoring agencies:
• Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services or 1-800-685-1111
• Experian: experian.com/help or 1-888-397-23742
• TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-help or 1-888-909-8872
Find more information here.
Other Notable New Laws
2024: Impeachment on the Ballot
In the final days of the Legislative session, on unanimous votes in both the House and Senate, House Joint Resolution 16 passed, which will ask voters in 2024 if they want the legislature to have the power to impeach a sitting statewide elected official. No matter your party, impeachment is an important accountability measure. Oregon is the only state in the nation without an impeachment process.
Pumping Gas: You Can Now Do It Yourself!
Tillamook and Clatsop Counties has some experience with pumping our own gas. For several years now, state law allowed local stations to be open for self-serve between 6pm and 6am.
But soon, even during the day you’ll be able to pump your own gas. HB 2426 passed this session, allowing Oregonians to pump their own gas. In Columbia County, gas stations may open up to 50% of their pumps to self serve, while the rest will be full-sersvice. But in Tillamook and Clatsop Counties, they may have self-serve at all hours.
Tax Relief for Farmers: HB 2073 and SB 498
Another set of bills that passed in the last hours of the 2023 session were two bills to help family farms.
HB 2073 will put certain agricultural processors on the same playing field as others for purposes of paying the corporate activities tax (CAT).
SB 498 increases the estate tax credit for generational farms, ranches, fisheries, and forests. The estate tax is an unfair double tax imposed after someone’s death. Over 96 percent of our state’s farms and ranches are family owned and operated. Oregon’s tax law should not punish an industry that feeds Oregon and provides essential jobs. Nor should our estate tax policy be in direct conflict with the desire to preserve and protect our family-owned farms and ranches. While I believe the estate tax is a cruel and unfair tax on everyone, this is what we could get passed this session.
Increase Access to Justice for Sex Abuse Survivors
I proudly supported HB 3632 to increase the statute of limitations for first-degree sex crimes from 12 years to 20 years after the crime. Minors will also benefit from this extended timeline by allowing them to come forward before they are 30.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1432
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-373, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.CyrusJavadi@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/javadi