YEAR 2022

Year 2022
SALEM, OR - With the end of the year comes an opportunity to reflect on all we’ve accomplished, and all the work we have yet to do.

The year 2021 will be remembered as a year when widespread COVID-19 vaccinations began helping to return some normalcy and stability to our lives, when schools reopened for full-time in-person learning, when the economy continued its robust—yet uneven—growth, and when the Oregon Legislature used a largely virtual legislative session to deliver historic, urgently needed help to struggling families.

In addition to the full six-month long legislative session, Democrats in the Oregon Legislature also convened a special session in December to prevent thousands of Oregonians from getting evicted, provide drought relief to rural communities, fund services for Afghan refugees, and help ease the growing humanitarian crisis occurring at illegal cannabis grow sites in Southern Oregon.

“This year, we focused on rebuilding Oregon’s economy in a way that ensures that everyone is able to prosper, while continuing to provide emergency relief to families impacted by the ongoing COVID pandemic,” says House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner. “Oregon has been able to weather the COVID storm better than most states, and that’s because we’ve all come together to do what’s right. There’s much more work to do to ensure that prosperity reaches every corner of the state, and that’s what we’ll be focused on in the coming year.”

Below is a partial list of legislative highlights from 2021:

Economic Recovery
HB 3073: Provides comprehensive support for Oregon’s childcare system to address the alarming lack of access keeping parents from rejoining the workforce.

HB 2266: Improves access to capital for small businesses, especially those who’ve faced discrimination in lending and small business support.

HB 2345: Establishes the Oregon Rural Capacity Fund to assist in securing economic development grants for rural communities.

SB 483: Protects frontline workers from retaliation for reporting unsafe working conditions.

HB 2341, HB 3218, HB 2607, HB 3272, and HB 2289: Supports families and small businesses rebuilding after last year’s wildfires.

SB 892 and SB 5561 (Special Session): Provides $100 million in support and relief for farmers impacted by drought and wildfires
Education and Workforce Development
SB 5514: Funds K-12 schools at a record $9.3 billion, the largest school budget in Oregon history.

HB 5042: Provides $250 million to districts and community organizations for summer learning and enrichment programs.

HB 2166: Creates a comprehensive approach to improving equity and supporting BIPOC students.

HB 2590: Gives students a voice; establishes Task Force on Student Success for Underrepresented Students in Higher Education that includes BIPOC, rural, low-income, and other underrepresented students. 

SB 52: Creates an inclusive statewide education plan for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit, intersex, asexual, nonbinary, or any other minority gender identity.
 
Equity and Justice for All
HB 2575: Ensures police have training to provide a trauma-informed response to best meet the needs of the public and build community trust.

HB 3145: Requires law enforcement to report any discipline resulting in economic sanctions against an officer, to report that information to the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) for publication on their database.

HB 2936: Strengthens background checks for law enforcement officers, including character assessments. Instructs agencies to develop social media policies Requires DPSST to create a uniform background check. 

HB 2513: Requires law enforcement be trained in airway and circulatory anatomy and physiology and certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation; requires emergency response if someone who is restrained shows signs of respiratory distress

HB 2928: Regulates the use of tear gas and munitions in protests.

HB 2986: Requires law enforcement to be trained to investigate crimes motivated by gender bias.

SB 621: Establishes local civilian oversight boards to oversee disciplinary matters concerning law enforcement.

HB 2204: Creates Restorative Justice grants for local communities

HB 3265: Updates the Sanctuary Promise Act to protect immigrant and refugee communities and prioritize public safety, keeping local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities separate. 

SB 778: Establishes the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement that will partner with immigrant and refugee communities to provide policy support to communities across the state.

SB 5561 (Special Session): Provides $18 million to fund Afghan refugee resettlement
 
Protecting Public Health
SB 755: Implements Ballot Measure 110 and invests millions in recovery services.

SB 554: Requires gun owners to securely store their firearms to reduce gun deaths.

SB 587: Creates a Tobacco Retail Licensure program.

HB 3069: Establishes 9-8-8 suicide prevention hotline to aid Oregonians experiencing a mental health crisis.

HB 2417: Provides $10 million to expand mobile crisis stabilization centers.

HB 2086: Requires Oregon Health Authority to establish peer and community-driven programs that provide culturally specific and culturally responsive behavioral health services.
·      $350 million in Behavioral Health investments, including:
·      $80 million for diversifying and expanding behavioral health workforce
·      $20 million for Behavioral Health Housing Fund
·      $5 million to fund the 988 crisis line
·      $121.4 million for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics

SB 5561 (Special Session): Provides $2 million in funding for gun violence prevention in East Multnomah County

SB 893 and SB 5561 (Special Session): Provides $25 million in community grant funding to address illegal cannabis operations in Southern Oregon and the growing humanitarian crisis for trafficked workers
 
Access to Health Care
HB 3352: Cover All People, expands eligibility for the Oregon Health Plan, including to DACA recipients.

SJR 12: Asks voters to amend the Oregon Constitution declaring healthcare a right.

HB 2359: Requires health care providers to work with health care interpreters from health care interpreter registry operated by Oregon Health Authority to provide interpretation services.

HB 2508: Increases reimbursement rates for telehealth providers, improving access for patients in rural and underserved areas.

SB 844: Creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to review and lower prices of certain prescription drugs.
 
A Place to Call Home
HB 2009: Extends COVID foreclosure protections for struggling homeowners

HB 2004: Provides $9.7 million for shelter assistance

HB 2006: Expedites and expands the siting of emergency shelter housing.

HB 2544: Provides $3.6 million in supports for unaccompanied homeless youth

HB 5042: Provides $20 million to build navigation centers in seven impacted communities

SB 278 and SB 282: Extends eviction protections for struggling renters who’ve applied for assistance funds; expands Landlord Compensation Fund to keep landlords whole. Provides additional time for tenants to repay back rent accrued during the pandemic emergency.

SB 891 and SB 5561 (Special Session): Extends a safe harbor protection for thousands of renters at risk of eviction, while ensuring that landlords are held whole
 
Climate Change and Wildfire Response
HB 2021: 100% Clean Energy - Invests $50 million in local jobs and clean energy for rural, coastal, low-income and BIPOC communities. This is the strongest electricity emissions reduction timeline in the country, setting the goal of 100% clean energy by 2040. 

HB 2842: Healthy Homes - Invests in home repairs for low-income Oregonians to improve energy efficiency, safety and drive down costs. 

HB 2165: Ensures low-income households can receive rebates to make electric vehicles affordable and accessible.

SB 762: Coordinates a statewide response to plan for and mitigate wildfires with a focus on community preparedness and public health ($188 million).

SB 582: Modernizes Oregon’s recycling system, setting statewide rates for plastic and recycling contamination reduction goals and increases accessibility in rural areas and apartment complexes.

HB 2927: Restructures and modernizes Oregon’s emergency management system to better respond to natural disasters.

SB 892 and SB 5561 (Special Session): Provides $100 million in support and relief for farmers impacted by drought and wildfires
 
Modernizing the Legislature
HB 2992: Requires compensation for service on boards and commissions, enabling more people to serve and influence policy.

HB 2993: Requires that the rule-making process include the voices of those who are impacted by policies; requires a statement of how a proposed rule would impact racial equity in the state.

HB 3021: Requires voting materials be published in the top five languages, increasing access to the ballot and our democracy.

HB 2650: Requires public meetings to be accessible remotely, ensuring greater access to the democratic process, including for people with disabilities.

Additionally, funding for language translation services in the Capitol, and dedicated funding for ADA/ASL access is included in the legislative branch budget.