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Friends and Neighbors,
The 2018 Legislative Session has ended! This year, we took steps to address Oregon's housing crisis, protect consumers at home and online, support our veterans, bring down prescription drug costs, and much more. Please continue reading below for more details on what we accomplished this legislative session.
I'd also like to invite you to my upcoming Post-Session Town Hall on Tuesday, April 3rd at 6:00 PM at Oregon City Public Library. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions about the session and share your thoughts and ideas with me directly. I hope you can join us!
Yours truly,
Mark Meek
State Representative
Expanding Affordable Housing and Home Ownership
The Legislature continued to address Oregon's housing crisis in meaningful ways. Last year I introduced legislation to establish First-Time Home Buyer Savings Accounts in Oregon, and I'm proud that this year we were able to pass it. This program will allow more Oregonians to save and purchase their first home.
We also invested an additional $60 million in ongoing funding for emergency housing, with 25 percent of that going towards veterans housing. The Legislature also allocated $5 million for emergency shelter and homeless services across the state, including almost $1 million for Clackamas County.
Read more here: "Rep. Mark Meek Sponsors Bills for Affordable Housing" (Clackamas Review, 3/5/18)
Testifying with supporters of HB 4010, my bill to address racial disparities in home ownership. We passed the bill, and it now awaits the Governor's signature!
Protecting Consumers At Home and Online
We took action this year to protect internet freedom, private information, and personal data. Oregon is the second state in America to pass legislation enshrining essential net neutrality protections to preserve a free and open internet. And after last year's Equifax data breach, we passed legislation to provide victims with additional protections for their private information.
Investing in our Veterans
Last year the Legislature made record-level investments in veterans' outreach and services, and this year we continued that progress by investing $15 million in additional ongoing funding for veterans housing.
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We passed my bill (HB 4098) to provide veterans with greater access to apprenticeship opportunities and federal educational benefits. I also sponsored successful legislation that extends scholarship benefits to Oregon National Guard members and expands the rights of students who are ordered to federal or state active duty.
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Healthcare, Education, and More
The high-cost of prescription drugs is something that many of us have personally experienced. This year we passed bipartisan legislation (HB 4005) to reduce prescription drug prices through increased drug cost transparency. CLICK HERE to watch my speech on the House floor in support of the bill.
HD 40 constituents Carolyn and Matt visited me to discuss the needs of Alzheimer's patients.
We also made significant new investments to improve child welfare and boost mental health services. We passed a significant new funding package to protect children in foster care and hire hundreds of new caseworkers. We also invested over $2 million to tackle the opiod crisis, nearly $1 million to improve access to school-based mental health services, and another $1 million to improve access to care for adults in psychiatric crisis.
Students deserve a high-quality and affordable education, and this year we passed legislation to ensure greater student voice and transparency in the college tuition-setting process. That's good news for Oregon City students like Lilly and Seth, who visited my office in Salem!
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The Legislature made progress on other important issues as well. We passed a plan that will implement the Cleaner Air Oregon program - with broad bipartisan support - to reduce the risk of toxic air contaminants. We passed legislation to protect victims of domestic violence from armed abusers. And we took steps to strengthen our economy by cutting red tape to make it easier for small business contractors to start their own businesses.
Joined by HD 40 constituents who came to speak with me about Clean Energy Jobs legislation!
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The legislature has adjourned for the rest of the year, but I will continue working hard to make your voice heard on the issues facing our community and our state. I would love to keep in touch - send me an email or call my office if you have thoughts to share or if I can ever be of assistance to you and your family.
Capitol Phone: (503) 986-1440
Email: Rep.MarkMeek@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/meek
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