Friends and neighbors,

We are only about a week away from the start of the 2024 Legislative short session. The wonderful people at our Legislative Policy and Research Office created the following graphics to help you navigate this whirlwind of a time.

As you can see there is not a lot of time in the session. This is why I believe we must tackle the most pressing issues facing our state, and we must do so with a sense of urgency. It is important to get your input on all these matters so please follow along and add these dates to your calendar. If there is any legislation that you would like help tracking, or learning how to track feel free to contact my office. Below are some important reminders about interacting with the legislature and its process.

• Use OLIS to find committee and bill information.

• E-Subscribe to committee agendas and email alerts about bills.

• Agenda posting deadlines:

48 hours prior to a first public hearing in a House committee

24 hours for all other types of meetings

• Amendment posting deadlines

4 hours for House committees

1 hour for Senate committees

• Register to testify on bills using the online system.

• Submit written testimony using the online testimony portal.

• Amendments and bills require fiscal and revenue statements

before committee action.

• Timelines for filing minority reports are different than long session;

see chamber and committee rules.

• Language Access Services are available! Call 503-986-1538 or

email languageaccess@oregonlegislature.gov

Again, many thanks to the hard working people at LPRO for putting this together for our constituencies.

With the Short session approaching, I will be spending the bulk of my time in Salem. There are many things I am looking to accomplish, but having a complete and successful session is my top priority. I want to come away from it feeling like regardless of what may have happened in the past, we took steps forward to compromise and find solutions that benefit ALL Oregonians, from Astoria to Klamath Falls. If you have any thoughts or concerns about how anything the legislature is considering might affect HD 52, please reach out to my office and let us know!

Sincerely,

Representative Jeff Helfrich

Get Connected!

You can catch me at a couple of virtual events next week! The first will be a Tele-Townhall addressing Ballot Measure 110 and the changes my caucus and I are hoping to make to it. Join me along with Representatives Lewis, Cramer, Diehl, Goodwin, and Mannix to discuss the in's and out's of the legislation we have put together and will be proposing this Short Session. The event will be at 7:00pm next Tuesday, January 30th, 2024. Participants can call in at 877-229-8493, PIN: 1222686. Come and hear what we have been putting together, and offer your thoughts on our approach.

I will be holding a local Virtual Townhall next Wednesday, January 31st, 2024 at 7:00pm. That one will be online over Microsoft Teams (for anyone who has used Zoom it is very similar). I will discuss some of my priorities going into this session, and what I think will be the pressing issues for HD 52. More so, this is a great opportunity for you to chime in and let me know some things you think I should consider, or take into account! With session being so fast paced, I do not foresee myself having another chance to touch base generally with the District before it concludes. Please use this time to give me your honest thoughts! If you would like to participate, please join via the following teams meeting link: Join Teams meeting. If you are having troubles, email my office at rep.jeffhelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov by Wednesday at 5:00pm so that we can get you the link. There is an option to call in as well, so if you would prefer that or do not have access to email call my office at 503-986-1452. I look forward to hearing from you.

A Chance to Help

We get a number of emails about amazing ways that our communities can help one another. First up this go around is a chance to help on the Translation Advisory Council (TAC). The Secretary of State writes "The TAC was established in 2022 via House Bill 3021 to guide the Secretary’s work of translating voters’ pamphlets for each election. Members spend time before each election reviewing translated voter information to ensure both the accuracy of translations and that they are culturally appropriate for voters who have limited English proficiency." They are currently looking for Arabic and Ukrainian speaking members to help out this next election cycle. If you would like to help, feel free to apply here.

Next up is the Oregon Teacher of the Year nominations! There are so many educators out there providing an incredible service for our youth. If you know of one, feel free to nominate them for Teacher of the Year. If you Educator is chosen, they can be awarded over $10,000. If you would like to learn more about this program, or would like to nominate someone you can follow this link.

And finally, the Pamplin Media Group also has there own way of honoring the Amazing Educators Oregon has out there with the aptly named "Amazing Educators" recognition edition. Nominating an educator you know or have encountered could get them in this years special edition which will reach almost a half million readers. Don't know if you know an educator currently? The Media Group recognizes "Anyone who works or volunteers in a public school, private school, community college or university located in one of the communities served by Pamplin Media Group..." as someone who can be nominated. They have a deadline of FEBRUARY 14TH, so get those submissions turned in soon! You can learn more about it or make your nomination on their website.

Rep. at Work

The last couple of weeks have been busy in the office. A couple of weeks ago we had Legislative Days, which are really the unofficial start to the short session. There is a flurry of staffers and members running all over the building getting people to sign on to their bills, as the end of that week marked the deadline for getting bills pre-session filed. That means that they will be available to the public before the session officially starts on the 5th of next month. It is also a busy time for meetings.

I took several meetings, but we managed to snag a picture with a group of educators and stakeholders who came to advocate for their Semiconductor Workforce Package. The semiconductor industry is a growing and vibrant industry in our state. I was happy to hear that it has helped create jobs that working mothers and fathers can take advantage of, while still earning degrees to advance themselves. We must continue to find opportunities to help grow industry in Oregon, so more people can find a good and prosperous living here.

For those who may not have heard, the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority announced they received $200 million to advance the building of a new bridge! This is very exciting news for our communities. You can read what I had to say about it here.

I hope you have enjoyed this read, and as always my office welcomes your feedback, questions, and comments on anything you see here or in the district. Please send me a note at Rep.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov or call 503-986-1452.