Chip's Clips News from Senate District 22 - N/NE Portland

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1 Page 1 of 6 Chip's Clips News from Senate District 22 - N/NE Portland Hello! The 2015 legislative session has adjourned "sine die", which means without assigning a day for further meeting. I want to give you an update on the final few weeks of session and my efforts to support living-wage jobs, health care, schools, and equality. As always, don't hesitate to contact me or my staff if we can assist you or your family in any way. We can be reached at sen.chipshields@state.or.us or After July 11th, please direct your calls to our district office at Sincerely, Chip Shields State Senator, District 22 N/NE Portland For additional updates, like my new Facebook page! In this issue: Legislative Updates Special Thanks Legislative Updates Delivering for North and Northeast PDX Securing funding for community priorities As Co-Chair of the budget Subcommittee on Public Safety, I worked to slow the growth of prisons, so that more money can go to educate our kids. I am proud I helped to secure funding for N/NE Portland priorities, including additional funding for domestic violence prevention and support services, and programming to address

2 Page 2 of 6 intergenerational incarceration by assisting children of incarcerated parents and foster families. I helped to secure: $2.5 million for the Main Street Revitalization Grant Program which will benefit areas like St. John's Plaza $800,000 to help foster kids $400,000 for restarting the Family Preservation Project $10 million for free community college (The Oregon Promise, see below) $750,000 for the Concordia University and Faubion School Partnership $2 million for the Family Sentencing Alternative Pilot Program $5 million for levee inspection and repair for projects like the Columbia River Levee $10 million per year through 2024 in support of Oregon's growing film and television industry-- one of the few tax credits I support $3.2 million for the Oregon food bank $40 million for affordable housing for places like PCRI Ban the Box Helping those with prior arrests or convictions seek employment On June 11 th the Senate passed HB 3025 B, which bans the box that asks job applicants about past conviction history on job applications. It prohibits an employer from considering past conviction history HB 3025 B bans the conviction history prior to a job interview or a conditional offer of section from job applications employment if no interview is required for the position. The bill does not prevent an employer from considering an applicant's criminal history in making their hiring decisions. However, the new law will help exoffenders get interviews to get jobs and rebuild their lives. It simply moves consideration of a criminal record to later in the hiring process. Improving Police Accountability Banning profiling, implementing body cameras, and allowing audio recording of police HB 2002 B defines profiling and requires law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies on prohibiting profiling. Now, profiling is defined to mean that a law enforcement agency or officer targets an individual based solely on: age, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, language, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, homelessness, or disability. The bill also establishes a system for reporting complaints that allows individuals to report profiling to the local agency with which they experienced profiling as well as to the Law Enforcement Contacts Policy and Data Review Committee (LECC) at Portland State University. HB 2571 B clarifies rules about the use of body-worn cameras by police. It will allow the city of Portland to implement body cameras as a tool for law enforcement accountability. The new law requires police departments to limit their retention of body camera footage to one year.

3 Page 3 of 6 HB 2704 allows people to record conversations of police when in plain view and when an officer is performing official duties. Previously, a private citizen was required to specifically inform the parties involved that they were recording. Now citizens are able to record the police when they do so openly and in plain view while an officer is performing their official duties. SB 641, one of three digital privacy measures I co-sponsored as part of a bipartisan coalition with the ACLU, passed both chambers and has been signed into law by Governor Brown. SB 641 requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before accessing certain electronic communications, including data stored on a cell phone and information about cell phone location. Statewide police accountability laws will help make communities in Portland safer Improving Access to Contraceptives Allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control After passing legislation which allows people to access a full year's worth of birth control, the Oregon Oral Contraceptives legislature has furthered access to contraceptives by allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control pills and patches with the passage of HB Pharmacists will provide a self-screening risk assessment tool for patients to complete prior to receiving a prescription. Patients over 18 will be able to access birth control directly from a pharmacist without a prescription, while those under 18 must have evidence of a previous prescription from a health care practitioner in order to obtain contraceptives from a pharmacist. Increasing Access to Higher Education Tuition Equity, Higher Education Funding, Opportunity Grants, and Free Community College SB 932 C extends eligibility for financial-aid scholarships and grants to Oregonians who pay in-state tuition, regardless of their documentation status. The law improves upon the Tuition Equity Act of 2013, removing barriers to financial aid. The original law imposed timelines for enrolling in university following high school and for completing degree programs. Now students will be

4 Page 4 of 6 able to access education at their own pace. HB 5024, the higher education budget, provides a landmark thirty percent funding increase to public universities and a twenty percent funding increase to community colleges. The budget also includes $141 for the Oregon Opportunity Grant program, which is a 20% increase in funding. This funding boost will allow Oregon universities and community college to manage tuition costs, bolster career technical training, and maintain high quality education. SB 81 B creates a tuition waiver program called "The Oregon Promise" which will allow students to become eligible for waived tuition at Oregon community colleges. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission will distribute grants amounting to $10 million per fiscal year based on financial aid the student receives, cost of tuition, and enrollment statues. The 2015 legislative session had landmark gains for higher education Passing the ABLE Act Empowering people with disabilities to build savings SB 777 D creates a savings program for children with disabilities, or adults with disabilities whose disability manifested before 26 years of age. Previously people with disabilities have not been able to save more than $2,000 without losing access to medical care and disability resources. The ABLE program allows individuals with disabilities, their relatives, and other eligible parties to set aside money for disability related expenses including education, housing, transportation, Kaaren Londahl, a contractor who mails birthday postcards for my office, is a self-advocate with the Oregon Council on Development Disabilities. She joined Senator Gelser on the Senate floor for the passage of the ABLE Act. employment supports, health and wellness, and assistive technology. Contributions and distributions are tax deductible under state law with tax exempt contributions limited to those made before the beneficiary turns 21 years old. Moving Toward Retirement Security Creating the Oregon Retirement Savings Board On June 16 th the legislature passed HB 2960 B, which creates the Oregon Retirement Savings Board in the office of the State Treasurer. The law directs the board to develop a payroll deduction retirement plan for people employed in Oregon. The goal

5 Page 5 of 6 of the law is to provide every Oregonian with access to an easy, effective, portable retirement savings account. Insurance Reform Recap Putting Oregonians Ahead of Insurance Companies HB 2605 A requires the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) to issue preliminary decisions on health insurance rates and establishes a grievance process for anyone adversely affected by the agency's decision on an insurance company's requested rate increase or decrease. It is an advance in our efforts to make health insurance companies justify their premium increases-- it was signed into law on May 18th. SB 411 was signed into law by Governor Brown on March 12th. It puts injured drivers ahead of insurance companies by changing state laws on uninsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection coverage. It allows "stacking," in which injured motorists can add their uninsured motorist coverage on top of their at-fault driver's liability coverage. It also addresses Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. Previously a policyholder's PIP coverage was repaid to the insurance company before the injured party was paid total damages. SB 411 allows the injured motorist to recover their total damages first. The bill extends PIP coverage for medical bills following an accident from one to two years. I worked on legislation similar to SB 411 in my committee last session and I'm glad to see these reforms finally win approval in the legislature. Special Thanks Thank you to my staff! I couldn't have made it through the legislative session without my wonderful staffers who helped me focus on the big picture by meticulously taking care of every detail.

6 Page 6 of 6 My wonderul staff and contractor: Samantha Gladu, Kaaren Londahl, & Amanda Hess Forward this This was sent to sen.chipshields@state.or.us by sen.chipshields@state.or.us Update Profile/ Address Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe About our service provider. State Senator Chip Shields 2104 NE 45th Ave Portland OR 97213