The bee bill: HB 4139 looks at the impact of pesticides on pollinators; the collapse of bee colonies has become an increased concern for farms and the environment.

Silver Alert: Just like Amber Alert for missing children, Silver Alert aims to help protect vulnerable adults, such as persons with impaired mental condition like Alzheimer's disease, a disability, or brain injury.  I'm happy to have voted yes on SB 1577 requiring local law enforcement agencies to develop policies ensuring quick response for these missing persons.

Funding the 9-1-1 service: Almost everyone who uses a phone pays an automatic charge (75 cents a month) to help support 9-1-1 emergency service. But anyone using a pre-paid cell phone has been off the hook, until now. HB 4055 establishes a fee on those phones, too. We need to ensure that our calls for emergency service are handled by expert, trained staff and routed quickly on reliable equipment to our first responders in the field. This bill helps do that.

Helping small business: SB 1563 raises the cap on the Entrepreneurial Development Loan Fund from $70,000 to $100,000, to help small businesses looking to hire and expand.

Education and jobs: HB 4058 supports apprenticeship as a career pathway in Oregon's 40-40-20 education goals. The goal: by 2025, Oregon will ensure that 40% of adults will have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, 40% will have earned an associate degree or post-secondary credential, and 20% will have earned a high school diploma or equivalent. These credentialed apprenticeship programs ensure math, science, language, and other educational curriculum along with specific and marketable job skills.  

Class action lawsuits: In a nutshell, HB 4143 says that wrong-doers should pay up on court-ordered damages. Currently, the guilty party keeps money that was not claimed. Under this bill, uncollected money from class action lawsuits will to go to Legal Aid to assist low-income Oregonians who are in need of legal services. 

Ballot measure review: I was happy to testify in a Senate committee on SB 1544, supporting the Citizens Initiative Review, and Healthy Democracy. CIR organizes an unbiased panel of citizens with diverse political viewpoints to come together for several days to hear from  experts and advocates for and against a ballot measure. After deliberation, they publish their findings in the state Voters' Guide. CIR helps voters by providing non-partisan, unbiased review that cuts through the blizzard of paid postcards, ads, billboards and phone calls. I have enjoyed working with my colleague, Senator Arnie Roblan, to get permanent status for this program. For the 2012 election, over half of all Oregon voters read a CIR ballot measure statement; two-thirds found it useful for voting. About CIR.

LCC and Oregon Student Association visits my office

College Students: HB 4102 would have helped protect students from being charged unfair fees when they access and use their financial aid -- for example, by eliminating "swipe fees" for students using a debit card linked to their financial aid. Although it passed the House, it did not make it out of the Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development. We expect this will be discussed during the interim, and be re-introduced during the 2015 session.

Vaping instead of smoking: HB 4073 would have expanded Oregon law to prohibit the sale of vapor products (or e-cigarettes) to minors. I support this idea but it's "dead" for this year.

Predatory practices: SB 1571 would have set business practice rules and allowed a brief period to rescind contracts that homeowners sign for restoration services after a disaster. This bill would have addressed the predatory practices of certain restoration companies, such as approaching victims of a house fire while the home is still burning, and talking them into signing contracts while they are under extreme duress.

An online health care newsletter, The Lund Report, reported my comments on the value of 2-1-1 and social service programs.