Accomplishments

After a year of serving as your State Senator from District 20, I continue to meet with citizens, businesses, and members of our military community to craft policies that reflect the needs of our communities.

There is no doubt that we live in challenging times and these challenges continue to frame how we deal with the work that lies before us. I am committed to middle class families, job creation and our business community; I am committed to providing a world class education for our children and our young adults; and I am committed to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, working to make sure they return home to communities that understand the sacrifices they’ve made for our state and our country.

Together, we will help Oregonians through these difficult economic times, and will work with our business community to create jobs and educate our workforce for the 21st Century economy. Please take time to read about some of our legislative accomplishments I have outlined below.

Job Creation and Economic Development

This session I was co-sponsor of Senate Bill 1017, a bill which gives small businesses easier access to loan funds. This bill allows businesses to retain existing jobs, create new ones, and to start to bounce back from the economic recession. It will streamline, improve and expand the loan process for the Oregon Business Development Fund. We also passed legislation that will provide capital for small businesses that create new, full-time jobs in Oregon. Another important bill I supported was House Bill 3627, Oregon Entrepreneur Investment Act. This bill allows workers who receive a severance package to deduct that severance pay from their income taxes in order to invest in a new or existing small business. Finally I am proud of House Bill 3674, which allows more facilities to participate in biomass production and take advantage of the incentives of Oregon’s renewable portfolio standards. This will promote healthy forests while helping to create jobs in some of the hardest hit communities across Oregon.

Transportation

During the 2009 session the legislature passed HB 2001, also known as the Jobs and Transportation Act. During this session ODOT reported on the number of projects moving forward, creating jobs and rebuilding our infrastructure. I helped to secure $23-million for Clackamas County to undergo several improvement projects, including the Jug Handle in Oregon City, and that money will create jobs in infrastructure improvement, helping to put Oregonians back to work.

Government Transparency

I introduced Senate Bill 996 this session and it passed through both chambers with unanimous votes. This bill increases government transparency by making it easier for public sector employees to discuss issues with local elected officials without fear of recrimination. This bill was a simple expansion of existing whistleblower laws, and it was supported by local governments and citizens from across the state.

I am also pleased to report that I have been appointed co-chair of the Transparency Oregon Advisory Commission. This Commission is doing vital work to ensure that government in our State is more open and accountable. For more information on the work we have done, visit http://www.oregon.gov/transparency.

Veterans

As the Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I have made standing up for our returning veterans my top priority. I am very proud of the work we have done including the passage of Senate Bill 1000, which helps returning soldiers’ access services. Senate Bill 1000, aides the Department of Veterans’ Services in identifying and providing services to more Oregon veterans by allowing their status to be noted on their Oregon issued identification card or driver’s license. I was also a big supporter of House Bill 3696, which helps veterans access higher educational opportunities and allows some funds in the Veterans’ Small Business Repair Loan Fund to be used to finance educational benefits for veterans.

Further Successes

The legislature voted to extend unemployment benefits for nearly 19,000 Oregonians whose benefits have run out or will soon expire. We protected Oregonians from fraud and abuse by giving consumers the chance to hold lenders accountable. We protected families who lose their homes to foreclosure from being sued by the bank or lender that holds their 80/20 loan. We prohibited insurance companies from discriminating against victims of sexual violence by treating that victimization as a preexisting condition.

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